Business Insurance at a glance
What is business insurance?
“Having the right insurance will help protect your business and minimise its exposure to risk. This may include insuring your business, your income and your commercial risk.”
Who should consider it?
What can it cover?
Type of cover | Potential benefits |
Property damage | Repair or replacement of property damaged. |
Business interruption | Loss of trading profit following insured damage to property and additional costs and expenses incurred during a claim. |
Theft | Repair or replacement of property stolen. |
Money | Loss of money. |
Public or products liability | Your liability to pay compensation for personal injury and property damage as well as the costs involved in defending a claim triggered by the policy. |
Glass | For replacing glass inside or outside your premises, including your shopfront windows, mirrors or display cases. |
Transit | For stock that is in transit on the road, in the air or by sea. |
Electronic equipment breakdown | For repairing or replacing electronic equipment that breaks down. |
Machinery breakdown | Cover for costs associated with machinery breakdown. |
General property | To cover your tools of trade, including laptops and tools that you use for your profession or trade. |
Tax audit | To cover the costs of being audited by the ATO. |
Employee dishonesty | Direct financial loss of the business caused by the dishonest or fraudulent conduct of an employee which is first discovered during the period of insurance. |
What usually isn’t covered?
Exclusions, and the excess you need to pay, and limits of liability can vary greatly depending on your insurer and the requirements of your business.
There are other exclusions which your Insurance Broker can outline for you.
CASE STUDY
Owners of a shop in the city. One night a water pipe bursts, flooding the building and damaging stock. Even worse, the building must be evacuated and renovated to repair all the water damage. This means that Owners were unable to trade for six weeks.
The business insurance covers the cost of the renovations.
However because they also had business interruption insurance, the owner received a payout to cover the income lost for the period they were unable to trade.
Important note – the information provided here is general advice only and had been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. A product disclosure statement (PDS) is available from your insurance broker. You should consider the PDS in deciding whether to acquire, or continue to hold, business insurance.