Insure & Protect

There’s no denying insurance is assurance for your business. Gina De Bonis takes us through the importance of being properly insured, and the key insurance products worth considering

Insurance is important to the livelihood of any business, and consumers should be aware of the possible pitfalls if they’re not adequately protecting themselves, or their business.

The forces of supply and demand significantly affect the insurance market. Economic instability reduces a consumer’s ability to plan and forecast their business activity, and can result in a reduction of their disposable income. The last thing a consumer then wants to spend their money on is insurance. This has resulted in more people underinsuring, or in most cases, self-insuring, which can place additional pressure on their personal and business lives.

Due to certain economic and industry factors, the insurance market is increasingly more competitive, with many more products and services on the market than ever before. So it’s an ideal time for business owners to do their homework to ensure they’re getting the best policy at the best price.

There are several insurance policies available to the corporate, retail, industrial, commercial and domestic sectors covering general insurance, life insurance and investment products. Aside from the array of domestic policies available on the market, there are also a huge variety of insurance policies available that should be considered by business operators. Here are some of the major classes of insurance, along with a description of what the policy covers:

• fire and perils—damage to assets caused by fire and nominated perils;

• computer or machinery breakdown—accidental, mechanical and electrical breakdown of computer equipment or machinery including consequential loss of income;

• glass—damage to fixed glass;

• burglary—theft of property following break and enter;

• business interruption—loss of trading income and increased expenses due to damage to fixed assets;

• public and products liability—bodily injury or property damage arising from business activities or from products manufactured, imported or sold;

• professional indemnity—breach of duty arising from the ‘professional activities’ of the insured;

• directors and officers liability—indemnity following a ‘wrongful act’ committed by the directors or officers of a company;

• employment practices—defamation, sexual harassment, discrimination, libel or slander of employees;

• personal accident and illness—death or disability following an accident or illness;

• travel—combined policy for medical, hospital, baggage, and cancellation, etc for individual or corporate travels in australia or worldwide;

• goods in transit—damage to goods while in transit, both overseas and locally;

• workers compensation—injury to employees engaged in any State or Territory of Australia;

• superannuation and group—personal and company superannuation, funding for retirement including group insurance strategies;

• key person—protects company cash flow or capital arising from death, disability or major illness of key personnel.