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Category: Liability Insurance

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Business Cyber Insurance Insurance Liability Insurance

Business Insurance Checklist for New Businesses in Australia

Checklist-insurance-for-new-businesses-in-Australia

Starting a new business can be an exciting and challenging endeavor but as a new business owner in Australia, you will have many things to consider, including finding business insurance with suitable coverage. To help you on your journey, we have compiled a checklist of coverage based on your general business needs and how insurance can protect your business.

Get liability insurance to protect your business from claims of property damage or third-party personal injurty

Liability Insurance

Cyber Liability Insurance

We live in a digital age with growing cyber threats. So Cyber Liability Insurance is becoming increasingly important, especially for businesses that store sensitive customer data or rely on technology and online platforms for their operations. The level of security may differ, but generally, Cyber Liability Insurance provides coverage for data breaches, cyber-attacks, and other online threats like hacking or data theft that can impact your business.

Public Liability Insurance

If your business interacts with or works with the public, one major insurance you’ll need is Public Liability Insurance. It provides coverage for claims against your business from property damage or third-party personal injury caused by your operations. This can be from activities at the workplace or at another location. Public liability insurance helps protect you from potential lawsuits.

Product Liability Insurance

Similar to Public Liability Insurance, product liability provides coverage for claims of property damage or third-party personal injury. The difference is instead of being a result of operations, product liability covers claims made against the products you sell or supply.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

When you provide services or advice to customers, Professional Indemnity Insurance protects your business from claims of negligence or errors and omissions in your services.

Reliance on heave equipment requires extensive breakdown and property insurance

Insurance for Properties and Assets

Commercial Property Insurance

Whether small or big business, Commercial Property Insurance is essential regardless of your industry. It covers any properties or assets used for your business operations, including infrastructure, equipment, and inventory against damage or loss due to fire, theft, vandalism, or natural disasters.

Investing in property insurance is not just about compliance or managing risk but also about ensuring the continuity and resilience of your business. By protecting your physical assets, you can mitigate the impact of unforeseen events, keeping your operations running smoothly and speeding up recovery after adverse situations.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

You’ll want Equipment Breakdown Insurance if your business relies on machines or technological equipment. This is not typically included in standard Commercial Property Insurance but is essential for businesses in manufacturing, technology, restaurants, and any other niche that heavily depends on functional equipment.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance can cover the repair or replacement costs of equipment that breaks down unexpectedly due to causes like motor burnout, power surges, or mechanical malfunctions. Beyond covering physical damage, it often addresses business losses incurred from equipment downtime, such as lost income and extra expenses needed to expedite repairs or procure temporary replacements.

Flood Insurance

Flood Insurance may only sometimes be included in Commercial Property Insurance. However, it is still a must-have, mainly if you operate in areas prone to flooding or work in an industry where the threat of flooding can derail business operations.

Business interruption insurance has been p

Finance Insurance

Business Interruption Insurance

When business operations are disrupted, whether by fire or weather conditions, Business Interruption Insurance can help you remain financially stable by covering the loss of income and even unforeseen expenses.

Credit Insurance

Credit Insurance is a risk management tool that helps businesses protect themselves from potential losses if their customers are unable to pay their debts. It’s particularly useful for businesses offering credit to customers, providing confidence when entering new markets or dealing with larger accounts. This insurance also helps companies manage credit risk effectively and optimize credit and collection procedures, safeguarding their financial health.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Workers’ Compensation Insurance is a mandatory insurance policy for businesses in Australia aimed at protecting employees if they become ill or injured due to their work. This type of insurance provides coverage for wages lost during the time off work, medical expenses, and rehabilitation costs needed to help the worker return to work.

The requirements and implementation of Workers’ Compensation Insurance can vary considerably across different states and territories in Australia. Differing regulatory bodies also manage worker’s compensation schemes. The State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) regulates those based in New South Wales, but WorkSafe Victoria manages insurance in Victoria.

So, before you work on finding business insurance for Workers’ Compensation, check your local regulatory office to ensure compliance.

Get your business insured

Finding business insurance doesn’t have to be complicated or stressful. At East West Insurance Brokers, we specialise in simplifying the process, helping you find the insurance coverage that best fits your business needs. Whether you’re just starting or looking to enhance your current policies, our team of dedicated Insurance Advisors is here to guide you every step of the way.

Don’t let uncertainties slow you or your business down. We’re here to help you secure your business’s future. Contact us today and get insured.

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Business Cyber Insurance Insurance Liability Insurance

Requirements for Getting a Business Insurance Quote

Requirements-for-getting-a-business-insurance-quote.

Getting business insurance is essential, but the first step of obtaining a business insurance quote can be very demanding. This process requires you to provide extensive information about your business, not only for assessing and understanding the potential risks your business may face but also for determining the most effective protection strategies and estimating the overall cost of business insurance. But what exactly is required to get an accurate insurance quote?

1. Business Information

Provide detailed information about your business to make it easier to assess the level of risk associated with insuring your business and affects the total cost of business insurance. This generally includes the following:

  1. Business Name: The legal name of your business.
  2. Business Address: The physical location of your business.
  3. Industry Type: The industry or sector in which your business operates.
  4. Number of Employees: The total number of employees working for your business.
  5. Annual Revenue: The yearly income generated by your business.
  6. Previous Insurance Coverage: Details of your business’s previous insurance coverage (if any).
List down your business assets.

2. Assets and Inventory

Another essential piece of information you need to provide is a comprehensive list of current assets and inventory. This should include specifics about the property where your business operates, the equipment utilised in daily operations, and any other assets requiring insurance coverage. The total value of your assets is factored in the calculation of your business insurance quote and can affect what coverage is recommended which leads to the next thing that needs to be assessed.

3. Coverage Needs

Clearly outline your coverage needs when you’re looking for a business insurance quote. By understanding and clearly expressing the specific protections your business requires, you help your insurance provider create a quote that matches your business’s unique needs. This careful preparation not only leads to a more accurate assessment but also ensures that you get the best and most comprehensive coverage.

Here are some examples:

  • General Liability Insurance – protection against claims of bodily injury or property damage to third parties resulting from business operations.
  • Property Insurance – covers damage to business property and assets due to events such as fire, theft, vandalism, or natural disasters.
  • Cyber Liability Insurance – with the increasing threat of cyberattacks and data breaches, businesses need coverage to protect against losses due to hacking, data theft, or other cyber incidents.
  • Commercial Auto Insurance – if your business owns vehicles or if employees use their vehicles for work purposes, this insurance provides coverage for accidents, injuries, and property damage involving those vehicles. This can be especially useful if employees often travel for work events.
  • Product Liability Insurance – for businesses that manufacture or sell products, this coverage protects against claims of injury or damage caused by defects in those products.

If you need clarification on what other types of coverage your business will need, contact East West Insurance Brokers. We are here to help you assess your requirements and needs to find the best coverage plan.

4. Claims History

Be ready to provide detailed information about any past insurance claims your business has filed, including the nature of the claims and the amounts paid out. Your business’s claims history is a significant factor in determining the cost of your insurance premiums.

Insurance providers use this history to gauge the risk level of insuring your business. A track record of frequent or high-value claims might indicate higher risk, which could lead to increased premium costs. Accurate and comprehensive details about your claims history help the insurance company provide a fair assessment and pricing for your coverage.

Hire a professsional to perform a business risk assessment.

5. Risk Assessment

Factors such as your industry, business operations, location, and safety measures are pivotal in the risk assessment process. Providing detailed and accurate information about these aspects will help ensure that your insurance quote is accurate and tailored to your needs. Many insurance providers include risk assessment services with their policies, offering a convenient option for assessing your business risks. Alternatively, hiring a specialized risk management consultant can provide a more in-depth analysis tailored to your specific industry or business niche.

Conducting your own risk assessment is another viable strategy. Start by identifying potential hazards, vulnerabilities, and threats that could impact your business operations. Also consider external factors from economic conditions, local and global politics, as well as health and environmental issues.

 Staying informed through industry publications and news sources is crucial for anticipating and mitigating future risks. There are multiple online resources available to assist businesses in conducting self-assessments and pinpointing potential risks. Being proactive can empower you to better manage and analyse your business’s vulnerabilities.

Looking for a convenient way to get a business insurance quote?

Conducting your own risk assessment to get an estimate cost of business insurance can be time-consuming, particularly when your priority is managing day-to-day business operations. At East West Insurance Brokers, we understand the importance of your time and the complexities of navigating multiple insurance policies. Our team is dedicated to guiding you through the process and identifying the coverage that best suits your needs. Contact our team today to streamline your insurance process and ensure your business is protected.

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Liability Insurance

A Tradie’s Guide to Public Liability Insurance

Tradies and sub-contractors have a lot to digest and understand when it comes to insurance. From trade to trade, and tradie to tradie, the sheer amount of unique risks to deal with can feel overwhelming. That’s where insurance advisors come in, to set you up with appropriate cover for the risks you face.

In this guide we’ll dive into public liability insurance, one of the more important types of cover you can have to protect yourself and your business.

What is public liability insurance?

Public liability insurance provides protection for your business against allegations by a member of the public (someone not part of your business) relating to an injury or property damage in connection to your business activities.

This is important, because whether it’s fair or not, as a business owner you may be held accountable for injuries that people have when they come into contact with your business. This could be labourers, customers, or even the general public. It also has nothing to do with whether you have employees or not, so public liability insurance for sole traders can be just as critical as it is for a large companies.

How much Public liability insurance costs varies based on the quantity and quality of the cover. However, as with most insurance, you’ll be very glad to have it if you ever find yourself in the position of using it.

Are tradies required to have public liability insurance?

While there aren’t too many business types that require public liability coverage by law, certain trades are the exception. For example, electricians in Queensland are required to hold public liability insurance to meet licensing requirements.

Generally speaking, any subcontractors should have their own public liability insurance as well. We often hear cases where a subcontractor believes they’re covered by a builder’s insurance, only to find out on the prickly end that that isn’t the case. Unless there is a specific provision made in the builder’s insurance policy, subcontractors usually aren’t covered.

Also, it’s often a contractual requirement for subcontractors to have public liability insurance in order to work on a site. Contractual obligations are always something to check over, especially when it comes to insurance.

Some clients will also require contractors to have public liability insurance before even entering the premises. So, as you can see, it can be a wise move to make sure you hold appropriate public liability cover.

How can public liability insurance protect tradies?

It’s not out of the ordinary for third parties to experience slips, trips, or falls around job sites. All it takes is for a client or passer-by to trip over something and injure themselves for a public liability claim to occur.

It’s also not uncommon for an accident or unforeseen circumstance to occur and cause property damage. That could be on the job site itself, or to a neighbouring premise. Anything from a sheet blowing off a frame, to a burst pipe or struck conduit.

If someone is injured or has their property damaged, they may well decide to make a claim against your business. You can be subject to costly legal fees on top of the cost of rectifying the damage or injury. That’s where public liability insurance comes in, to help cover those fees and costs.

Having suitable public liability insurance, you can rest easy knowing you’re protected against costly claims arising from a wide variety of possible accidents.

What happens if you don’t have public liability insurance?

If someone is injured as a result of your work or worksite, depending on the nature and severity of the injury, you may be required to pay for their recovery, rehabilitation, and replace lost earnings. Also, there are often various legal fees associated with such an incident. It’s a similar story with property damage as well.

As you could imagine, this can all add up very quickly and lead to financial troubles. However, if you do have public liability insurance, your insurer will manage your claim and appoint a legal counsel to assist you. In the event you are found negligent, your insurance policy can cover legal expenses and the third party’s loss.

Every trade business is unique, and many have complex risks that are not covered by off-the-shelf policies. At EWIB, we promise to work closely with you, to understand your work, and help you find the most suitable insurance for your trade business.