Do I need Business Insurance?
From accountants to tradies, hairdressers and personal trainers, no matter what kind of business you run, there is always some element of risk for a potential claim to occur. Even if you take all the care in the world to ensure you follow procedures and create a safe working environment, accidents and unwanted incidents can still occur.
While different types of businesses will be faced with various exposures to risks there are still some general things that the impact of a claim can have upon your business. Some of these impacts include^.
• Your finances- this is a pretty obvious one, and a big kind of risk you need to think about when not having an insurance policy in place. The scale of the financial impact can range from a large Public Liability claim for an injury suffered by a third party client at your business premises (when not covered by the ACC) to damage to your business premises caused by an insurable event like a fire for example.
If you don’t have the adequate type of business insurances in place, you could risk putting your personal finances in jeopardy in order to pay any related claim expenses like compensation or legal fees. This is something no small business owner wants to experience.
Your reputation – Your small business’ reputation is something that you have put a lot of effort into growing and make happen. This is something that money can’t buy, and the way your customers and industry peers perceive your business is important.
If a claim were to occur and you didn’t have the right businesses insurances in place, your reputation could be destroyed in the blink of an eye. People talk, and word of mouth could have quickly unravel all that hard-work you’ve put into your business over time.
The time away from your business – attending potential court hearings and discussing your claim with legal teams, can take away precious time from your business. Not being able to be there could cause a major disruption to the operation of your business, causing down time and loss of potential income.
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Why do Tradesmen need Business Insurance
As a tradie there’s many moving parts that help you to get the job done. We’ve rounded up some of the typical types of business insurances that tradies need to think about when protecting their business and how business insurance can help your business.
- Public Liability insurance: Provides protection against claims from third parties for accidental personal injury or damage to their property
- Portable Equipment cover*: Keeps your tools protected from theft or damage
- Business insurance may be a requirement of your contract
- it can help to provide financial protection in the event you are faced with a claim
Why do home based businesses need Business Insurance?
Even if you are running a home-based business there are still various types of business insurances you may need to consider to help protect your business. These are some examples of when business insurance can help:
Stock and contents – a common misconception is that your personal contents insurance policy will extend to provide cover for your business contents. This is often not the case, and it is worth checking with your existing policy.
Business contents insurance is there to protect A Business Insurance policy covers physical loss or damage to your insured contents as a result of insured perils. Contents also includes, but is not limited to, cover for; Glass, Transit (of insured property within NZ), Money, Equipment Breakdown, Refrigerated Goods, Theft, Employee Effects, Seasonal Stock Increases.
Public Liability insurance – if you have customers and clients visiting your premises, the last thing you want is to be faced a claim if they were to injure themselves on your business premises (when not covered by the ACC). This is where Public Liability insurance can provide protection.
Why do retailers need Business Insurance?
The retail industry is broad and covers many different types of businesses from cafes to gift shops, beauty salons and pet groomers. While your retail business will have its own unique business insurance needs, we’ve highlighted some of the typical reasons why a retail business needs to consider business insurance.
- Dealing with the public means there is always a risk of things not going to plan. Accidents like a customers tripping over a box of stock and injuring themselves can happen so easily. There’s also the real risk of causing damage to your customers property like accidentally spilling food or drink on their personal items, or if you are visiting their home, causing accidental damage to their home.
- Cyber crimes can pose a threat to things like your customer data and financial terminals, this is why it is important to think about Cyber Liability insurance*
- If you own your business premises, then you may want to look at protecting one of your biggest business assets with Building insurance*
Is Business Insurance a requirement?
For some types of businesses, certain types of business insurance might be a requirement. These are some examples:
- Professional Indemnity insurance* may be a requirement to join certain professional memberships and industry bodies. Always check what the minimum amount of cover that is required.
- If you work on a site as a tradie or engineer for example, it is commonly required that you have a certain level of Public Liability insurance* in place well before you even start on site.
- If you are leasing your business premises, your landlord may require you to have certain types of cover in place like Public Liability insurance* or sometimes Glass Cover* if you are renting a shopfront for example.
- If you have a market stall in a public place, you may be required to take out your own Public Liability insurance