The April 2015 superstorm and severe weather conditions changed the future course for many NSW business owners. More than 12 months on and still we’re reading about people living in tents, the harsh realities of lost business income, and anxious waiting times for claims to be settled. What appears to be simple on the surface is surprisingly complex when you dig deeper. In many cases, however, some up front preparations could have changed the outcome.

 

Being closely linked with our local community we are always concerned to hear of business owners and local residents who are impacted in this way. Take a moment to look around your premises. Check the gutters for leaves and debris, deal with blocked drainage and manage any long overdue repairs and modifications that could be made now that will make a difference later. It’s a worthwhile investment.

 

Take photos of any improvements and/or remedial work on your business premises, including storing receipts and keeping a detailed record of any maintenance related expenditure. Why? Having this type of information readily to hand demonstrates your commitment to keep your business operating over and above an acceptable baseline. It may also help to streamline claims processing and resolution.

 

Also consider what would happen if an unexpected event pressed ‘stop’ on your business. A worrying statistic is that less than 50% of Australian businesses have any form of business income protection. Without this in place you’re vulnerable to any unexpected bumps in the road which you could otherwise have survived with insurance protection in place. Cyberattacks are also increasingly on the rise, with 93% of attacks compromising a business within minutes. $15 million of the recently announced National Cyber Security budget has been assigned to providing small business grants to test their cyber security which will hopefully go some way to helping businesses tackle this issue head on.

 

A broker is more than just a purveyor of all things ‘insurance’. They are a business partner, trusted advisor and the first person to call when the unexpected happens. Being in a position of trust with local business owners is something a good broker takes very seriously.

When a claim is made you experience the first real test of what sits behind your insurance policy. As a strong claims advocate, we have many case study examples of where we have been able to go significantly beyond where a traditional insurance provider can.