All businesses require insurance. Unfortunately, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all coverage. Before you pick a business insurance coverage, you should assess your needs and what is legally necessary to run your firm.
What type of insurance do SMEs need?
There are more than two million SMEs in Australia, and each one is different. While the risks faced by these businesses are different, many share several characteristics such as:
Operating in a competitive environment
Being reliant on a relatively small number of employees
Having considerable levels of technology and capital
What Type of Insurance Protects Your Business Assets?
Your property or business premises, stock and products, computers, machinery or equipment are all examples of your critical business assets.
Ensure to consider your physical assets when looking up insurance policies so you can be protected when unforeseen events arise. This may help you understand the type of insurance explicitly required for your assets.
Insurance For Your Revenue
Protecting your cash flow is an essential consideration for any business owner. The majority of SMEs rely heavily on their daily income to pay employees, supply bills, run their business and make a profit.
Business interruption insurance covers continuous expenditures regardless of whether the business is closed or significantly impacted. Rent, mortgage payments, and fixed electricity, gas, and water prices are among these expenses. It also includes any additional expenditures needed to mitigate the consequences of the closure or downturn, as well as any net profit or loss.
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance provides cover for claims made against you or your business. Loss or injury to a third party caused by your company's activities or operations or its employees or agents' actions may expose your business to a claim.
Public liability insurance covers you for most legal claims made by a third party in relation to your business activities.
Employers' Liability Insurance
Employers' liability insurance covers the cost of personal injury or death to an employee that results from your business operations. Employers' liability insurance also covers you for damages caused to employees due to faulty equipment, faulty premises or defective work methods.
Cyber Security Insurance
Cyber security insurance is designed to offer financial protection against the cost of managing cyber-attacks and cyber-related crime. Cyber security insurance policies are relatively new, but they're growing in importance as the threat of cybercrime increases.
Third-Party Personal Injury Insurance
Third-party personal injury insurance covers you and your business against claims made by third parties who have suffered injury or loss to property at your premises. Third-party insurance will protect you against claims made by your customers, as well as others who have suffered an injury on your premises.
Worker's Compensation Insurance
Workers' compensation insurance (also known as employers' liability insurance) is a legal requirement in some states.
It is typically essential to have worker's compensation insurance to protect you and your business if an employee is injured at work. Worker's compensation insurance is compulsory in most Australian states.
Product Liability Insurance
Product liability insurance covers you if you manufacture or supply a faulty or dangerous product to a customer. Product liability insurance protects your business from the cost of damages or compensation awarded by a court.
Product liability insurance is not legally required, but it is good to get it, mainly if you produce or sell products or services that could be hazardous to the customer.
Commercial Motor insurance
Commercial motor insurance provides cover for liability you may have if one of your vehicles is involved in an accident. It also protects you against claims made by customers, suppliers, leasees and employees, who have suffered an injury on your business premises or a vehicle owned or driven by your business.
Conclusion
Now you have a pretty good idea about the risks your business is exposed to and what insurance is required to protect your business and your assets, it's time to get a policy.
Remember, you may be required to have some insurance covered by the law. The easiest way to get value quotes is to compare small business insurance premiums online.
Find the best insurance policies for your small business assets with the help of New Wave Insurance! Our team of Gold Coast insurance specialists does the heavy lifting for you when it comes to finding the right insurance, negotiating on your behalf to find the best value policies. Book a free 15-minute insurance consultation with us now!