Targeted Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Insurance Advisernet Australia Pty Ltd. AFSL No. 240549. Corporate Authorised Representative No. 441426. Visit the Insurance Advisernet website

Targeted Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Insurance Advisernet Australia Pty Ltd. AFSL No. 240549. Corporate Authorised Representative No. 441426. Visit the Insurance Advisernet website

2022 CORPORATE PROFILE

ABOUT INSURANCE ADVISERNET

Insurance Advisernet Australia was founded in 1996 and Insurance Advisernet New Zealand in 2006. Today we’re one of the largest and most respected general insurance businesses in Australia and New Zealand, with an ever growing network of over 250 authorised insurance advice practices.

As part of the AUB Group, an ASX-listed company, with over $4 billion in premium under influence across the AUB network, our buying power spans major insurers in Australia as well as access to major overseas insurers.

Insurance Advisernet have won the ANZIIF industry award for Authorised Representative Network of the Year since 2018 through to 2021!

ADVICE YOU CAN TRUST

Trust sits at the heart of any successful relationship. It’s the cornerstone on which Insurance Advisernet is built. For two decades Insurance Advisernet has grown through an unwavering trust from business owners across Australia and New Zealand; that we’ll always be transparent, do what we say we’ll do, and go further to understand your risk profile and ensure your insurance needs are accurately and objectively met. This trust has seen us become one of Australasia’s leading general insurance broker dealer groups by delivering the very best advice, the most efficient systems and the right insurance solutions for every individual client. It’s a trust we never take lightly or for granted. And one we look forward to sharing with you.

WHY CHOOSE INSURANCE ADVISERNET

Every year more and more businesses entrust their risk management requirements to Insurance Advisernet and enjoy considerable benefits in doing so. By choosing an authorised Insurance Advisernet representative, you will too.

The Four Pillars of Insurance Advisernet

We believe in delivering you the very best advice, the most efficient systems and the right insurance solutions, all built upon our four core business pillars: Trust, Advice, Choice & Value.

Advice

Great advice is based on great understanding and relationships. It’s why adopting a risk
management approach and assessing your unique risk profile is essential to ensuring the
right policies are always in place. It’s what sets us apart.

Trust

Trust is the cornerstone on which our business is built. It means we do what we say we’ll do. Use our expertise to put your needs first and foremost. And are always transparent about the advice we provide and why we provide it. AdviceGreat advice is based on great understanding and relationships. It’s why adopting a risk management approach and assessing your unique risk profile is essential to ensuring the right policies are always in place. It’s what sets us apart.

Value

Price is always important. But value goes much further. It’s the sum total of the depth of our
relationships, the quality of our advice, the breadth of our offering and the efficiency of our
systems – all bolstered by our unrivalled buying power as one of the leading general insurance broker dealer groups. Ultimately though, our key value to you is as your advocate in the event of a claim.

Choice

Insurance is no time for compromise. It’s vital to have access to a wide range of insurance options so, once identified, your needs can be effectively met. It’s why we have active relationships with more than 100 major insurers.

THE SUCCESS

The following graphs indicate the outstanding growth that Insurance Advisernet has achieved since inception and is a testimony to the success of the model and quality of the people within our network.

THE PURPOSE

Our vision is to provide insurance advisers with the benefits of maintaining their local presence whilst being able to tap into a national buying group for products and services needed by their customers in today’s complex business world.

Our Vision

  • Be a dynamic, market leading general insurance broking dealer group Deliver superior business systems, products and services to our advisers
  • Be innovative, agile and adept to remain relevant in a fast-changing insurance environment
  • Attract and retain highly professional team-orientated people
  • Retain our family culture with embedded values and people who ‘walk the talk’
  • Encourage a superior life/family/work balance

Our Mission

  • Provide our advisers with an AFSL, products and services that add superior value and become an integral part of their business
  • Be an advocate to protect, enhance and grow our advice practices
  • Deliver business tools that help our advisers provide quality professional advice and training
  • Provide our advisers with sound business advice
  • Provide our advisers with high quality new business referrals
  • Above all, consult and listen to our advisers to ensure everything we do allows them to achieve their personal and business goals with Insurance Advisernet

Through this vision and mission Insurance Advisernet advisers are able to offer their customers:

  • Competitively priced products
  • Peace of mind in their insurance arrangements
  • Access to leading Australian and international insurers
  • Sincere and personalised working relationships
  • More profitable, productive and safer workplaces for their staff
  • Claims advocacy advice to support our clients through the claims process

CLAIMS ADVOCACY

Being there for our clients at the time of a claim is probably the most important role your Insurance Advisernet Adviser can play. At times the claims process can be long and complex, but at Insurance Advisernet we work closely with our clients and insurer partners to make this process as simple and efficient as possible for you – ensuring you are back in business or on the road sooner!

At Insurance Advisernet, your adviser is there to guide our clients through the claims process. From lodgement of the claim, monitoring progress and negotiating with our insurer partners to ensure the best possible outcome for our clients.

Ultimately our key value to you is as your advocate in the event of a claim.

Our Claims Management Philosophy

  • Act fairly in the interests of our clients in the event of a claim
  • Assist our clients in the claims lodgement process through to finalisation of the claim
  • Assist our clients to understand overly complex policy interpretations
  • Assist our clients to reduce the cost and the number of claims through effective risk
  • management strategies
  • Provide 24hr emergency claims assistance where required

In the Event of a Claim

  • Assist our clients in lodging claims and maintain communication every step of the way
  • Advocate and negotiate with insurers on behalf of our clients to ensure they receive
  • their full entitlements
  • Arrange for a loss assessor to be appointed
  • where required
  • Arrange expert consultants including legal and accounting services where needed
  • Arrange access to Risk Management services to assist in prevention or mitigation against future loss

At Insurance Advisernet we also understand that not all incidents occur during normal business hours, that’s why we have established Insurance Advisernet 24/7 Emergency Claims Response. This ensures that our clients always have assistance on hand no matter what time of day. Simply give us a call on 1300 831 094.

5 STAR BEST PRACTICE

Insurance Advisernet is committed to providing our clients with advice on insurance best practice in key risk areas. Our 5 Star system provides our clients with a snapshot of how they are performing against industry best practice in respect to risk management, compliance and mitigation. The Insurance Advisernet 5 Star Survey & Report provides clients with a rating on their existing procedures as well as providing guidelines on how to upgrade to best practice. 5 Star Benchmarking is currently available for the following types of Insurance Risk:

  • Property
  • Cyber
  • WHS

PORTAL

At Insurance Advisernet we value our relationship with our clients more than anything but sometimes we know it’s nice to be able to do things in your own time. That’s why we’ve created an easy-to-use online portal that’s available 24/7 from your mobile or desktop.

You can use it in a range of ways:

  • Generate and download a confirmation of insurance certificate
  • View all up-to-date insurance summaries – see what policies are in place and view summaries of cover
  • Report an incident that might need a claim – get the conversation started if you think you might have a claim and provide some info to your adviser.

Access is easy, you can log in via IA’s website, your Advisers’ website or directly
from the Insurance Advisernet App.

OUR NETWORK

With over 250 authorised insurance advice practices and 950 staff across Australia and New Zealand, Insurance Advisernet is one of the leading insurance dealer groups in the Southern Hemisphere. Each year we help more than 110,000 active clients and manage in excess of 220,000 policies.

OUR PARTNERS

The strength of Insurance Advisernet goes far beyond the walls of our own business. It’s also about the quality partnerships we build and nurture every day, from our ongoing relationship with the highly respected AUB Group (Austbrokers), to the insurers we choose to work with and our ongoing involvement with key industry associations.

Leading Insurers

Rather than focus on a small number of ‘favoured’ insurers, our dedicated approach has allowed us to spend many years forging relationships with the very best local and international insurance providers. The benefits of these relationships are seen every day by our clients. Insurance Advisernet advisers have access to over 100 partners to meet our clients insurance needs.

Premium Funding

For many clients and industries we understand the vital importance of
preserving day-to-day cash flow. In such situations we can help our clients spread
their insurance premium payments over time through an instalment arrangement,
arranged via our relationships with reputable insurance premium funding companies.

Industry Affiliations

As one of the leading general insurance broking groups in Australasia, Insurance
Advisernet takes a deep and active role in the insurance industry through a
variety of initiatives and affiliations.

INSURANCE ADVISERNET FOUNDATION

At Insurance Advisernet, we feel very fortunate to be part of a dynamic and successful business. The Insurance Advisernet Foundation was established as part of Insurance Advisernets ongoing commitment to our people, our clients and the wider community. The Foundation supports local Australian and New Zealand organisations that work to help change the lives of individuals, families and/or communities for the better.

Insurance Advisernet and its Foundation has contributed over $2.5 million in the last 10 years to over 30 different charities. We will continue to donate over $400,000 each year through a variety of fundraising initiatives. By working closely with our staff, advisers and our insurance underwriting partners we aim to leave a social legacy for generations to come.

OUR BOARD

IAN CARR

FOUNDER & CHAIRMAN, INSURANCE ADVISERNET AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Ian has worked in the insurance broking industry for over 40 years. His extensive
experience includes numerous senior positions such as State Manager, General Manager and Director, Operations for a major national insurance broker in Australia. Ian founded
Insurance Advisernet in 1996 and under his stewardship Insurance Advisernet has grown
spectacularly to be one of the largest general insurance brokerages in Australia and New
Zealand. He holds an Advanced Diploma Financial Services (Broking) and is a Fellow
of NIBA, MAICD.

SHAUN STANDFIELD

MANAGING DIRECTOR, INSURANCE ADVISERNET AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

As an experienced insurance executive, Shaun boasts a proven track-record in leading
large multi-disciplined insurance sales, claims and underwriting operations and has led
significant change programs in both Australia and Asia. He holds a Bachelor of Business,
Graduate Management Qualification, Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Advanced
Diploma of Financial Services and Graduate Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

STEPHEN ROUVRAY

NON-EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

Stephen is currently a consultant to AUB Group Limited (formerly Austbrokers
Holdings Limited). He was Chief Financial Officer of Austbrokers from 2005 until his retirement in 2015. He has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry, covering general insurance, life insurance and investment management. He was also Company Secretary of Austbrokers from 1986 to 2015. Stephen was previously
General Manager of ING Australia Holdings from 2002 to 2005 and Company Secretary
of a number of ING subsidiaries from 1985 to 2005. Stephen joined ING’s predecessor
Mercantile Mutual as Company Secretary in 1985. From 1971 to 1984, Stephen worked in the accountancy profession where he specialised in the financial services sector concentrating on general insurance. Stephen has a Bachelor of Economics from The University of Sydney and is a Chartered Accountant.

SARAH FARMBOROUGH

FINANCIAL CONTROLLER, INSURANCE ADVISERNET
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND

Sarah brings over 15 years of high-level financial management and accounting
experience, gained in the UK, continental Europe and most recently Australia with
Insurance Advisernet. She holds an FCCA and her expertise spans financial reporting,
internal controls, consolidation, audits, process improvement, change management, budgeting and forecasting, project management, SAP, financial analysis and strategic planning.

JOHN BURKE

NON-EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER

John has enjoyed over 25 years in the Insurance Broking Industry in both client
facing and executive roles across Australia. His involvement with Insurance Advisernet
spans over 18 years and was previously our General Manager, Southern Region (12
years). Today, John is a Corporate Authorised Representative with Insurance Advisernet
and accordingly is well versed with our business operations.

John holds a Diploma of Insurance Broking, is an Affiliate CIP of the Australian and New
Zealand Institute of Insurance & Finance and a member of the National Insurance Brokers
Association.

FROM WEATHER AND CYBER THREATS TO PROPERTY VALUATIONS, IT’S TIME TO CROSS THE T’S AND DOT THE I’S.

With the busy holiday season approaching, it’s time to take a look at your business, and make sure you’re prepared for what’s coming next. This quarter, we outline issues affecting Australian businesses, including a major cyber security development that comes from Australia now having its own .au domain names.

Protecting your assets is also on the minds of many business owners as building costs have escalated significantly over the past 12 months. Luckily, we have struck an agreement with MCG Quantity Surveyors to provide affordable and accurate property and construction valuations.
The Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) has advised Australians to prepare their properties for a wet spring and possibly summer across eastern Australia following the Bureau of Meteorology’s (BOM) declaration of a La Niña weather pattern.

The ICA published its top five preparation steps to help Australians prepare for the heavy rainfalls better:

• Review all building, contents, and landlord insurance policies, specifically coverage for flood, storm and temporary accommodation for people and pets.
• Review your building and contents sum insured to check if the insurance sum matches current replacement, repair, and rebuild costs for your home and contents. Using a building and contents insurance calculator to check the current value helps avoid underinsurance.
• Prepare a room-by-room inventory of the contents of your home to help determine if you have enough insurance.
• Ensure you are covered now before the La Nina rain falls because some insurers may place a temporary embargo on new policy sales if storm and flooding are imminent.
• Inspect your property and take practical steps, such as clearing the gutters and downpipes to help water escape. Additionally, ensure your roof, windows, and doors can withstand heavy rainfall.

We can’t control the weather, but there are practical steps we can all take to reduce the risk storm and flood can bring or make recovery from those events easier.

Getting this groundwork correct is going to help you manage your business better through a time of increased uncertainty and economic pressures. Carefully considered risk management plus more individualised cover will lead to greater peace of mind.

Please keep reading as we take a closer look at these issues along with some other factors facing the Insurance Industry in the final quarter of 2022. As always, if you’d like to discuss any of the issues raised, please contact us at info@iaa.net.au or on 1800 366 085.

HAVE YOU SECURED YOUR .AU DOMAIN?

The arrival of .au web domains in mid-September is generally good news. However, the Australian Cyber Security Centre has also deemed this as a cyber security risk… If you plan to stick to using current domains such as .com, .com.au, .net.au, .org.au, .gov.au or .edu.au, just ensure you reserve any .au versions of your domains. Now that .au domains are active, anyone, including cyber frauds, can register the .au versions of your web domains. For instance, a cyber thief wanting to pass as insurance.com.au could legally register insurance.au, making it easy to impersonate that organisation. At a quick glance, the .au version of a URL, looks much like .com.au, allowing fake emails or web landing pages to look more legitimate.

So, make sure you protect your organisation or business by reserving the .au version of your domain ASAP. Ask your IT support to assist you or simply go to the site used to register your current domain such as Webcentral, GoDaddy, etc. You can then reserve the .au version of your domain without using it.

LOOKING TO A MANAGEABLE FUTURE

We believe the insurance clock sits at around 10 o’clock – some distance from midnight, but the frequency and severity of catastrophic weather events this year and the Bureau of Meteorology’s predictions for continued La Niña events throughout Spring and Summer means the industry will have little choice but to raise premiums by 8% – 12% through 2023.

The exact level of increase and how long premiums rise depends on factors including; industry sector, location, prior claims and the insured party’s approach to risk management. Crucially, you can still work with your insurance adviser to manage your premiums and mitigate increases.

AVOID THE PITFALLS OF UNDERESTIMATING YOUR PROPERTY VALUE

An exclusive IA network agreement now gives you affordable access to MCG Quantity Surveyors. They will provide you with a professional accurate valuation of both the existing property and its replacement costs at a flat rate of just $600 plus GST for assets under $10million in value.

MCG’s service includes a fully itemised report, comparing current property assets to corresponding insurance arrangements, highlighting where cover is lacking. It examines both actual value and projected construction costs, removing assumptions and guesswork that could prove costly to you in the event of a claim.

Accurate valuations of key assets are essential for the right insurance. It helps avoid the underinsurance trap that often arises from using certain online cost calculators or simply guessing values based on previous years.

Better risk management is the theme that comes out of this quarter. Frequently this comes down to the smaller things like knowing your businesses individual needs. Or helping provide you with more accurate information in the form of a professional property valuation. It also comes down to ensuring a fraudster can’t easily impersonate your business to your important network.

And remember, we’re here to help you too. If you have a question about anything in this newsletter, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Should you ever require assistance, rain, hail or shine, please call our 24/7 Emergency Claims Response Line on: 1300 831 094

Why You Need Cyber Protection Insurance

It’s not a question of IF but WHEN. Australian businesses are subject to ongoing cyber
strikes, with the most recent occurring in June 2020 to Government sites and shock horror
to XXXX’s beer supplies.

Cyber insurance typically provides cover for the following events:

  • Ransomeware/Phishing Attacks
  • Cyber Extortion
  • Denial of Service (DDOS)
  • Point-of-Sale Intrusions
  • Malicious Tampering (Malware)
  • Business Interruption and Continuity costs
  • Liability arising from extraction of private data

Claims Examples

  1. An employee opens a malicious email that released a trojan program/malware. Cyber criminals locked the system and requested a $15,000 ransom to release the data.
  2. The business website was hacked where Cyber Criminals obtained access to payment gateways where client payments were being siphoned to a third party bank account. Over $200,000 of customer funds were lost before the client became aware.

Insurance Advisernet works with a large range of Cyber Protection Insurers that are capable of protecting your needs. Most Insurers also have a 24/7 hotline so you can report a Cyber incident and obtain immediate assistance to SAVE YOUR BUSINESS.

For advice you can trust contact your local Insurance Advisernet Adviser for an obligation free review of your Cyber Protection insurance needs. Cyber Protection Coverage is affordable and easy to obtain. Why put your business at risk? Get a Cyber Protection quote today.

The information provided is to be regarded as general advice. Whilst we may have collected or hold risk information, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not taken into account when preparing this information. We recommend that you consider the suitability of this general advice, in respect of your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. You should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase a financial product. For advice you can trust contact your local Insurance Advisernet Adviser for an obligation free review of your Cyber Protection insurance needs. Cyber Protection Coverage is affordable and easy to obtain. Why put your business at risk? Get a Cyber Protection quote today.

What is your Business Continuity Plan?

Do you know how your business will continue operating if your warehouses are destroyed in a bushfire, your buildings are storm damaged or essential equipment delivery is delayed due to a border closure or lockdown? What about if your business is targeted with ransomware and you are locked out of the system?

Thankfully, major losses and disasters don’t happen very often, however if they do occur it’s important to have a plan and be prepared so your business can continue to operate. This is called a Business Continuity Plan.

So what is in a Business Continuity Plan, why is it important and how can it benefit you and your business?

What is a Business Continuity Plan?

Basically, a Business Continuity Plan is a document that sets out how your company will deal with incidents and helps your staff to understand what is expected of them in the event of an incident. It helps you manage the immediate crisis and to recover quickly from the disaster.

What are the key components of a Business Continuity Plan?

The plan should contain all the information essential to keep your business going or safely restart after a major problem or crisis has occurred. The size and complexity of your plan will depend on your business and the industry you operate in.

Your goal is to reinstate your operations as quickly and as safely as possible.

  1. executive summary & objectives;
  2. risk management plan with a business impact analysis;
  3. incident response plan, with the key incident response team members contact info;
  4. a flexible recovery plan; and a
  5. test, evaluate and update schedule.

Risk management plan

A risk assessment plan and business impact analysis identifies the risks for your specific business and the activities that are key to its survival. The plan analyses the likelihood of the risks happening and evaluates the consequences or impacts of the risk happening. It will also rank the risks in order of impact and identify ways of managing and reducing the risk. The impact analysis identifies the resources needed to support each activity and impact to the business if stopped.

Whilst you have specialist knowledge of your own business operations, it’s worthwhile calling on the expertise of your professional insurance adviser, as he/she will have knowledge and skills to identify risks in your industry and local area.

Incident response plan

Your incident response plan will contain important information to respond to an incident, including the response team contact details and how to establish an effective evacuation plan.

Recovery plan

Essentially, your recovery plan outlines the steps needed to get your business up and running. The steps depend on the type of incident that has occurred and may include temporary relocation, short term alternative suppliers or taking on short term leases of essential equipment or vehicles.

Why is a Business Continuity Plan important?

Without a Business Continuity Plan, there would be no clear plan to manage incidents that cause major disruption to your business. Instead of working to rebuild your business, you will have to focus on how to save your business. Business Interruption or Consequential Loss insurance may assist by transferring some of the financial risk, if the incident is from an insured event. Again, your professional insurance adviser can help you to arrange this type of insurance.

How can a Business Continuity Plan benefit your company?

To make your business more resilient to critical incidents, whether that’s the loss of a major supplier, severe storm damage, theft, or fire, you need to include business continuity planning into your business planning.

Protecting data, safeguarding your brand and retaining customers can all come down to how you manage a disaster that ultimately prevents you from trading. For assistance with your business continuity planning and to ensure that you have identified all your business risks, talk to an insurance professional today and find your local adviser.

Important Information

This communication including any web links or attachments is for information purposes only. It is not a recommendation or opinion, your personal or individual objectives, financial situation or needs have not been taken into account. This communication is not intended to constitute personal advice.

We strongly recommend that you consider the suitability of this information, in respect of your own personal objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. This document is also not a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or a policy wording, nor is it a summary of a particular product’s features or terms of any insurance product. If you are interested in discussing this information or acquiring an insurance product, you should contact your insurance adviser to obtain and carefully consider any relevant PDS or policy wording before deciding whether to purchase any insurance product.

HIGH HOPES: THE PROS & CONS OF
CHOOSING A HIGHER EXCESS

coins on a scale

With business premiums continuing to creep upwards, it’s only natural to look for ways to reduce your annual insurance bill. One option is to consider a higher excess. On paper, it makes sense as, in return for choosing a higher excess, you’ll be rewarded with lower premiums. However, our advice is to be wary as it could be a false economy.

While a higher excess will bring you some short-term savings, should you suffer a loss it can be a very different story. For starters, you’ll need to cover a larger portion of the costs. In the event of multiple claims in a short space of time, well, the hit to your cash flow (or personal savings) can be significant. It’s also important to remember some insurers have different types of excesses that apply in different situations. As always, it pays to understand your policy – well before you sign anything.

PROS

  • Reduced premiums
  • Suitable if you’re not worried about smaller losses
  • Ideal when you can put aside money to pay for the increase in excess

CONS

  • Smaller losses usually won’t be covered
  • More of your own funds are required to pay for under excess losses or at claim time
  • The cost of the excess can add up quickly if you suffer multiple losses

For further information or to discuss your policy and options, contact us today.

HOW ARE INSURANCE PREMIUMS CALCULATED?

Cartoon scales

Have you ever wondered how your insurance premiums are set each year? It can be a useful thing to know, as the better you understand the many factors that influence your premiums, the more you can do to keep them under control where possible.

The basics

Every insurer has its own processes. But, generally speaking, they all use mathematical calculations, statistics and a variety of policy-specific variables to determine the premiums they charge their clients. Unsurprisingly, in most instances the higher the risk – or, more accurately, the higher they deem the likelihood of a claim – the higher the premium will be.

Beyond this, insurers also take into account a long list of other factors. This includes things like the type of insurance you’re purchasing, the value of what you’re insuring, as well as their own business costs and margins, which can vary significantly from insurer to insurer, and year to year. The final amount you pay will also include state and territory stamp duties and levies, together with GST.

Rising claims, rising premiums.

Some of the things that influence your premiums have very little to do with you or your business. For example, as part of providing ongoing security for their clients, insurance companies often have to adjust their premiums in response to the increasing cost of claims payouts across their portfolio. There can be many reasons for this. One of the biggest in recent years is the rise in both the number and cost of extreme weather events. If your insurer experiences a large-scale number of claims – following a major storm or flooding event, for example – they may need to raise their premiums to restore the necessary balance between their pool of available funds to pay claims, and the risks. Like we said at the start, it’s all about the maths.

Inflationary creep.

The other major external factor influencing insurance premiums in Australia (and the world) right now is inflation. As prices for materials and labour continue to rise across many industries, the costs of claims are rising with it. This can be something of a double whammy for business owners, as not only can inflation drive up your premiums, it can also lead to you being unknowingly underinsured if rising repair and replacement costs exceed the sum you have insured in your policy. Together will reduce your coverage in an attempt to save money (something we strongly advise against!) it can leave a potentially dangerous gap and is something to watch very closely in the months ahead.

What can you do to keep premiums down?

As discussed, there are many things you can’t influence. But one of the best things you can do (beyond simply being aware of changes to your premiums), is take proactive steps to reduce your business risks, especially in areas where your premiums are highest, or likely to rise fastest. From your people and property, to equipment and assets, effective risk mitigation strategies can often lead to very real savings.

Some of the factors that can influence your premium:

  • Type and level of cover selected
  • Optional benefits provided under your policy
  • Receiving (or losing) insurer discounts for loyalty/bundling
  • Previous claims and incident history
  • Inflation (locally and globally)
  • Large-scale claims events
  • Whether you pay your premiums annually, monthly or by instalments
  • Government taxes, duties and levies
  • Your excess.

UNDERINSURED and OVEREXPOSED

Person walking with umbrella

Whenever a major loss event happens in Australia – hailstorms, cyclones and bushfires are amongst the most common examples – it’s only a matter of time before heart-wrenching stories emerge of the devastation experienced by uninsured households and businesses. But arguably even worse are the stories of those who thought they were adequately protected, but weren’t. In other words, those who were underinsured.

What is Underinsurance?

When an individual or business has inadequate insurance to cover their legal liabilities or the full cost of loss or damage to their assets.

The numbers are alarming.

Australia has long been considered one of the most underinsured nations in the developed world. A study conducted by one of the country’s largest insurers, QBE, in 2019 suggested as many as 62% of all Australian SMEs were likely to have inadequate insurance. The same study also found 87% of small business owners felt a major business liability claim had the potential to put them out of business, or at the very least cause them to lose significant revenue or dry up their cash flow. A separate report from the Insurance Council of Australia found that 26% of SMEs are operating with no form of general insurance – including a whopping 40% of sole traders.

Source: QBE SMEs and Insurance Report 2019 (Pg 10)

Why are so many underinsured?

There will always be some businesses that actively choose not to have insurance. However the data shows there’s also a significant portion of underinsured businesses who have made no such choice and don’t even realise it. Typically, we find these tend to be businesses that choose to ‘go it alone’ and aren’t partnering with an insurance adviser. Perhaps they’re not fully aware of the risks they actually face? Maybe they’ve underestimated their sums insured should a loss event occur, such as repair or replacement costs for buildings, vehicles, stock and other assets that have appreciated considerably in value? Have they accurately factored in the bottom-line impact if their business operations were interrupted for weeks, or possibly even months, on end?

Each year, these exact scenarios place existential pressure on unsuspecting Australian businesses, right at the time when they can least afford it. It’s why we work tirelessly each year to ensure you’re not one of them.

Always know your cover

They say ‘ignorance is bliss’. But when it comes to being underinsured, it’s to be avoided at all costs. Knowledge is everything. Our very strong advice is to take the time to review your risks at regular intervals, understand the details of your cover, and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure you are – and remain – one of the 38% of Australian businesses who are adequately protected.

After all, you can never be over-prepared when it comes to underinsurance.

Ask an expert

Accurately estimating replacement values for business contents and equipment is complex – yet critically important. You may find it useful to engage an independent assessor to ensure you’re covered for the correct amounts. We are here to support you and ensure you have all the tools and knowledge at your fingertips.

Did you know?

In 2020, $US268 billion of economic losses were reported globally. But only US$97 billion of these were covered by insurance, leaving a staggering protection gap of US$171 billion, or 64%.​​​​​​​

SOURCE: Aon Weather Climate & Catastrophe Insight Report 2020.

Head Above Water: Why Every Australian Business Needs to Know its Flood Risk

Australia may be affectionately known as ‘the sunburnt country’. But flooding remains an annual reality in virtually every state and territory. As we’ve seen recently in, floods continue to be one of the most devastating insurance events experienced by both home and business owners. If you don’t know your current flood risk, the time to do something about it is…immediately.

From the early 1800s the vast majority of Australia’s largest cities and towns were established on floodplains, directly adjacent to major river systems. As our population has grown, so has the number of businesses at the mercy of our creeks and rivers.

Without the right type of insurance in place, recovering from a major flooding event could be financially crippling.

Know the Risk

Basic geography (not to mention history) tells us some regions are far more flood prone than others. But as many business owners have learned the hard way over the years, the risk isn’t always as clear as you might think.

To assess the flood risk in your area, do some digging. Check for flood maps, council reports, SES data and speak with locals who’ve been in the area for many years. Collectively you’ll be able to get a far better sense of what may or may not happen in the future. But be careful. With weather events becoming more extreme and less predictable, the fact your area hasn’t flooded before is no guarantee for the future.

Know the Facts

When it comes to floods, there are plenty of misconceptions floating around (excuse the pun). There are also different types of flooding events that could directly affect your ability to make
a successful insurance claim. Some things to remember include:

  • Flooding can happen at any time of year, even in the middle of a drought
  • Just because you’re in a hilly area doesn’t mean you won’t experience flooding
  • Even if your property isn’t flooded, you could still become isolated by floodwaters
  • Rising creeks and rivers are a common cause of flooding, but so are things like blocked drains during periods of heavy or sustained rain – and that can happen anywhere
  • When creeks and rivers burst their banks, flood waters can impact properties many kilometres away
  • Flood damage caused by rising waters is often treated very differently by insurers to damage
  • caused by rainfall and storms.

What Should You Do in a Flood?

Preparation, including having the right type of insurance, is vital to protect your business. But if you ever find yourself in the middle of a flood, what should you do? The first thing is…don’t panic.
Listen to your local authorities and heed all safety warnings. Other preparation tips from the
Bureau of Meteorology include:

  • Prepare basic supplies including a first aid kit, torch, battery-operated portable radio, spare batteries/chargers and gloves
  • Move valuable items to a high place, remaining aware of the load bearing limits of upper floors
  • and ceilings
  • Protect valuable machinery and equipment that can’t be relocated with waterproof covers or
  • sandbags
  • Relocate dangerous chemicals and/or place them in waterproof containers to avoid contaminating flood waters
  • Tie down loose items like timber, drums, gas bottles and tools to prevent them from being swept away
  • Close off your main gas valve
  • Remove all electrical fuses and if you have a circuit breaker panel board, switch each circuit breaker to the OFF position.

Flooding can be a hugely disruptive, highly expensive and deceptively complex insurance risk.
To better understand your flood exposure or discuss the suitability of your current policies, please don’t hesitate to call us.

Management Liability

If you have a small to medium sized private company, you could be protected by a policy that covers claims from a wide range of management liabilities, such as; directors and officers liability, company reimbursement, company liability and employment practice liability.

Directors of Australian companies are liable for compensation, fines and costs of claims filed against them. For this reason directors need to ensure they transfer their personal liability to the company and get covered by adequate Directors and Officers (D&O) Insurance. Directors and Officers Insurance protects directors and senior staff from any claims made against them or their actions in their position.

Insurance Advisernet can organise a Management Liability quote for you with the following features:

  • Directors & Officers Liability
  • Corporate Legal Liability (Entity Cover)
  • Employment Practice Liability
  • Employee Dishonesty
  • Statutory Liability
  • Kidnap & Extortion
  • Fidelity

Due to high media publicity and campaigns made public by things such as social media, there has
been a rise in class actions as well as the impression that these actions are seemingly acceptable.

The exorbitant cost for company’s to defend such claims is a drain on the economy and diverts
attention from businesses’ main income generating activities.

To find out more, contact our friendly team to discuss your options.

Disclaimer

Q&A – 5 ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR INSURANCE ADVISER

As your dedicated insurance specialist, we’re here to answer all of your questions – big or small. However, over the years we’ve found certain questions really hold the key to helping our clients unlock maximum value from their relationship with us.

If you haven’t asked us these for a while – or perhaps ever – now is the time!

  1. How can I customise my business insurance to ensure I’m only paying for the things I want and need?
  2. Would it be smarter – and possibly cheaper – to combine all my insurance needs under one policy?
  3. What things am I not covered for by my current policies?
  4. What steps can I take to prevent my premiums from going up year after year?
  5. How do I find the right balance between insurance and risk management strategies for my business?

To learn the answers to this and more, contact us today.