Now before we start, let me just say. You can take out all the insurance in the world, BUT you can’t absolve yourself of responsibility.
So let’s talk about what you should be covering in your business.
First up, public liability. This insurance covers you for financial risk of being found liable to a third party for death or injury, loss or damage of property or economic loss resulting from your negligence.
Do you need this if you’re an online store, yes. If the worst case scenario happens, you are the first person that legal action will be taken against.
It’s important to note that public liability insurance only covers claims made by people outside of your business, not those made by your own employees
And when it comes to people in your employment, you’ll need to have Workers compensation insurance.
This covers payment of wages wages while they’re not fit for work and medical expenses and rehabilitation to employees if they are injured at work or become sick due to their work.
Here in Australia, if you pay out more that $7500 in wages per year, then you are liable to have workers compensation for all employees.
Do you also offer services? If so, you’re going to need professional indemnity insurance. This covers you if your client suffers a loss – material, financial or physical – directly attributed to negligent acts, errors or omissions.
And if you make, or import products, you are deemed to be the manufacturer, so you’re going to need products liability insurance
In addition to public liability, professional indemnity, products liability and workers compensation, you also need to cover your stock and premises.
So investigate whether or not you need to include the following in your policy.
Contents/stock Business cover
Insuring your stock against events such as fire and flood will allow you some peace of min if you’re affected
Glass – now this may or may not be relevant, but I can tell you that shop windows run into the thousands to be replaced, so make sure you’re covered. If you’re in a shopping centre or strata building, you may find that the management company covers you for window breakage, so make sure to ask what is and isn’t covered by your building management.
Burglary And/or Theft:
There’s a difference between the two. Burglary is carried out by an unknown person. Theft is usually more expensive to cover, and will cover if an employees is caught stealing from you.
Business Interruption (loss of profits, consequential loss) is insurance that covers the loss of income that a business suffers after a disaster. This insurance will help you to pay the fixed costs that your company is obligated to pay, even though your business can’t operate.
At the end of the day, you NEED to have insurance. But don’t find yourself under-insured, and avoid paying for things you don’t need, in order to keep your premiums down.
I’ve always used a professional broker for my business insurance. They have the ability and experience to negotiate on your behalf, to get you the best deal. Plus, they can often arrange for premium funding, which will allow you to pay monthly, rather than the full amount up front.
So today’s task is to find out when your insurance is up for renewal, and schedule in a time to review what’s covered and what’s not.
Until next week,
Be profitable