As the owners of Australia’s more than 2.5 million small businesses can attest, running your own business can be hard work.1 With so much to juggle, it can be difficult to keep on top of business admin tasks, such as reviewing and updating your business insurance policy, as your business grows and evolves.
There are many types of businesses, all with their own individual needs. But whether you’re hiring new staff, your revenue is increasing or you’re offering new services and products, it might be worth re-evaluating your insurance options to help make sure your cover is keeping up with your circumstances.
“The insurance you decide your business might require depends on many factors,” says Mervyn Hartley, Youi Head of Product – Small Business.
“The types of activities it carries out, staff, turnover and how much protection you think you need all might play a part.”
Hartley adds that the types of business insurance available can also vary from insurer to insurer.
“At Youi, we specialise in covering small businesses with a turnover of less than $1 million. That means we help a lot of sole traders, tradies and small retail enterprises, for example.”
What are the types of business insurance available?
Some types of business insurance are required by law for certain types of businesses.2 These include:
- Workers’ compensation insurance if you have employees
- Third party personal injury insurance if you own a vehicle, commonly known as CTP, which is often part of your registration fee (you may also like to consider insuring your car for business use)
- Public liability insurance, which covers you for third party death or injury, is compulsory for certain types of companies.2
Public and Product Liability insurance is automatically included as part of Youi’s Small Business Insurance offering, explains Hartley.
“This helps give you protection for compensation that you’re legally liable to pay to a third party in respect of personal injury, property damage or advertising liability, in connection with your business. You also have some cover for the associated legal and defence costs.”3
Once you understand the insurance requirements of your business and find the right cover to suit you, it might be a good idea to check in and ensure your policy remains up to date – it also might be a requirement of your policy that you keep your insurer informed of certain changes to your business.
So, when might be the best time to revise your business insurance cover? Below are eight example circumstances that may indicate your policy could use an update or you may need to inform your insurer of changes:
1. Renewal time
When the renewal date for your business insurance policy rolls around, you should take this opportunity to read over your PDS, the policy wording and other insurance documents to check in on whether your cover still sufficiently meets your needs.
“In addition to checking your business details and activities are correctly captured, you may also want to check that the amount of legal liability cover is adequate for your business,” Hartley suggests.
“There may be optional covers to consider as well. For example, Youi’s Small Business Insurance gives you the option to cover things such as glass, money, stock in trade, tools and machinery. You may want to review your insured values for these.”4
2. Expanding business offerings
It’s a satisfying feeling when your hard work pays off and your business grows, but this can also be an opportune time to check your insurance cover. Whether you’re offering new services or expanding existing product lines, you should consider if you need to notify your insurer and whether your business insurance covers these new activities and offerings – for instance, to adequately protect you in the event of physical stock being stolen or damaged.
3. Changes to business revenue
While it’s not uncommon for businesses to go through peaks and troughs when it comes to revenue, business owners who are experiencing sustained growth should check that their business insurance policy covers this evolution or requires them to inform their insurer.
4. Changes in staffing numbers
While 60% of Australian businesses don’t employ any staff, the number of employees you have – whether they’re shareholders, directors, partners, executives, officers, workers or apprentices – can have an effect on your business insurance.5
If you’ve recently taken on more staff or you’re in the process of downsizing your business, it might be worth recalculating your employee numbers and, if required, advising your insurer.
5. Relocating or opening new locations
Moving can be overwhelming at the best of times, but if your business is operating at a new location or if you’ve added a new branch to your company, you should generally let your insurer know.
A change of scenery can also provide a good opportunity to re-evaluate what machinery and equipment you have on premises, and to review the cover for that too (if you’ve already included it in your policy, or want to in the future).
6. Gaining new clients or vendors
Establishing contracts with new clients or vendors can be a positive sign that your small business is expanding, but there are certain instances in which you might be contractually obligated to carry a certain type or level of insurance cover.2 It could help to review the clauses of your new contracts in detail and check that your business insurance meets the requirements of the agreement.
7. Purchasing new equipment
From purchasing new work vehicles to upgrading equipment or even changes in the value of existing inventory and supplies, it can be helpful to check that you’re satisfied with how your business equipment is accounted for in your policy.
Company cars, however, might need to be insured under a separate car insurance policy.
“While at Youi there are options to cover certain types of machinery and vehicles under your business insurance, your regular work vehicle would be something we could cover with one of our car insurance policies,” explains Hartley.6 “Consider speaking with our friendly team who can help with both.”
8. If you can get a better deal elsewhere
When it comes to finding the right cover for you, there are plenty of business insurance options out there for different types of businesses. Do your research and find the policy that’s best suited to you and your business.
One question to ask yourself might be whether you could be getting better value with another provider. Although reviewing your policy may seem like hard work, it might be worth it if you can save some money.
While cost may be one factor to consider, another is whether you have the right cover for your unique business needs.
“Our Small Business Insurance and our small business specialists can offer a helping hand if a claimable event happens, in what is often a complex situation that could even threaten the financial viability of the business you have worked so hard to build,” says Hartley.
Whether you’ve recently followed your dream and opened a small business, expanded your existing one, or just want to revisit your cover – Youi is here to help. You might like to contact us or start a quote online to see if we have an option that suits your business’s needs.
1 Source: Australian Government – Number of small businesses in Australia, 17 October 2023
2 Source: Australian Government – Business insurance, 2023
3 Limits and additional fees may apply. For full details, see our Small Business Insurance PDS
4 Some exclusions, limits and additional fees apply. For full details, see our Small Business Insurance PDS
5 Source: Australian Banking Association – Small Business, 17 October 2023
6 Some exclusions, limits and additional fees apply. For full details, see our Car Insurance PDS
