What is Business Insurance?
Business Insurance, also known as a Business Insurance Pack, can provide cover for your business’ premises and contents against loss, damage or theft, as well as protection against financial loss experienced from an insured interruption to your business.
It is usually broken down by the following types of protection:
a) Material damage loss for your physical assets
b) Financial loss due to business Interruption
Simply select which cover options are important to your business. The options include:
Public Liability insurance
This covers you if a third-party claims that your negligent business activities caused them injury or property damage. This includes cover for defence costs.
Building & Contents insurance
Building insurance provides cover for loss and damage to buildings you own, as a result of an insured event (such as fire, storm, wind).
Contents covers your business contents or stock if they are damaged in a fire, storm or due to malicious damage or some other defined event listed in the policy.
Glass insurance
Cover for breakage of internal and external glass and signage you own or for which you are legally responsible, at the insured premises. Glass can also include mirrors, porcelain and ceramics such as toilet and hand basins.
Tax Audit insurance
Cover for accountants’ fees incurred in connection with an audit by the Australian Taxation Office.
Business Interruption
Cover for financial loss as a result of an interruption to your business caused by an insured event.
Theft
Covers you against loss and damage as a result of theft or attempted theft from your business premises. Damage to the building, locks and safes as a result of a covered event will also be covered.
Employment Practices Liability insurance
Covers employment related claims against you, such as wrongful dismissal, bullying, harassment or discrimination.
Money insurance
Covers you in the event business money (cash, cheques, money orders and even things like lottery tickets) is stolen, lost or damaged while on your premises, in transit or temporarily stored in a private residence.
Employee Dishonesty insurance
Covers financial loss from dishonesty of employees.
Portable Equipment insurance
Portable Equipment insurance (also known as General Property insurance) covers you for loss and damage to items of portable equipment associated with your business. These can include tools of trade and items of stock.
Machinery Breakdown insurance
Machinery Breakdown insurance covers the cost to repair or replace specified machinery following a breakdown.
Electronic Equipment insurance
Covers your business against loss caused by accidental and unforeseen damage, breakdown of electronic equipment, which can include computers and printers.
Goods in Transit insurance
Covers loss of or damage to your goods (or in some circumstances goods you are responsible for) while in transit in Australia in a vehicle owned or operated by you, caused by an insured event such as collision, fire or theft.
Statutory Liability insurance
Statutory Liability insurance protects you, your business and your employees against certain unintentional breaches of some Australian laws. It also covers the costs of representation related to investigation costs for alleged breaches, as well as defence costs, and fines or penalties payable following a conviction.
Do I really need Business Insurance?
If your business has premises, you have purchased items in order to run your business (onsite or offsite) or you have stock items, then you may want to protect these with the right Business Insurance cover:
- Businesses that own stock and/or fixtures and fittings and contents
- Consultants that use portable valuables like laptops/iPads
- Property owners
- Example occupations: Restaurateurs, Shop owners, Accountants, Repairers, Small Manufacturers etc.
Recommended reading: What are the key benefits of insurance for small businesses
Could this happen to your business?
It’s easy to say ‘expect the unexpected’ but there are times when even the most prepared business person is left floored by the brevity of criminals and the power of Mother Nature.
Here are a couple of claims examples:
An unwanted trade:
A tradie working on a commercial building locked up his excavator before leaving the worksite at the end of the day. The next morning when the site was opened his machine worth $42,000 was nowhere to be seen. A double whammy – no excavator and potentially a contractual penalty for delaying the work. The insured’s claim was dealt with quickly and he was able to purchase another excavator in time to avoid all penalties.
A flood of claims:
Heavy rainfall and flash flooding caused severe damage to a café owner’s business. The owner was forced to close his business and repair the damage. The insured’s policy covered this sort of damage and the business owner received $6,000 for building contents, $4,500 for loss of income, $600 for lost wages, $16,450 for repairs and $470 for the appraisal cost.
