As the Australian economy enters a tougher period, the pressure on businesses to cut costs increases. For insurance advice and consultations, call Emjay Insurance Brokers – we got you covered.
In these times it can be tempting, for SME business owners in particular, to seek to pay less for their insurance, or to cut back on some areas of coverage.
It’s not hard to see why. For most people, insurance of any sort is a grudge purchase. Insurance firms typically come across untrustworthy. The majority of insurance seekers pay their premiums, then forget all about it again until renewal time the next year. They haven’t had to make a claim, so their focus is on price alone, rather than what their insurance policy actually covers them for.
But insurance is like most other aspects of business and life: you get what you pay for. And that can really hit home in the event of a claim.
Every business is different and has its own unique risk profile as a result. And guess what? Insurance policies are all different, too. There can be huge variance in the coverage and exclusions across different policies in the market from different insurers. That makes choosing insurance on price alone a potentially dangerous game.
You might save a couple of hundred dollars on your premium, but if, in the event of a claim, you find the policy hasn’t covered your loss that small saving will soon appear absolutely insignificant. It could take a business years to recover from a major loss if it hasn’t been insured properly. It could even have its doors closed permanently.
Some areas business owners need to consider when it comes to insurance are:
- Loss of property
- Workplace injury (workers compensation)
- Public liability
- Professional indemnity
- Management liability
- Business interruption
- Underinsurance
- Cyber risks
- Environmental liability
You may be an expert in your own area of operations, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be an expert in understanding insurance policies and how they respond in the event of a loss. That’s why it pays to seek advice from an insurance broker.
No less a business visionary than Mark Bouris says that every business needs a broker to help advise them on their business risks; and to help them find the insurance they need at the best rates the market allows. That puts the emphasis on value and cover, not just price.
Emjay Insurance Brokers is the broker of choice for the SME Association of Australia. For nearly 30 years we have been providing businesses large and small with advice on their risk management and business insurance needs. You can view a video case study about how our advice on insurance helped make sure a client bounced back after a $26m loss due to a fire here.
Call us on 02 9796 0400 for advice on all your business insurance needs. We are always very happy to help.
