Are you an SME? Optimise your insurance coverage using an insurance broker or adviser’s expertise.

The Great Insurance Squeeze

Insurance premiums have increased 16.2% over the past year. More extreme weather events, hikes to building material costs, and ebbs and flows in supply chain issues have contributed. You might feel like you have limited options: accept high premiums, underinsure your business, or go uninsured altogether.

But there’s another way.

The Role of an Insurance Broker or Adviser

An insurance broker or adviser works for you and your business interests to advise on your overall insurance needs. They’re qualified and regulated. Typically, an insurance broker or adviser has at least a CIV qualification in insurance broking and may have to comply with the Insurance Brokers Code of Practice. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission regulates insurance brokers or advisers, saying they must provide their services efficiently, honestly, and fairly.

Typically, brokers or advisers can:

• Assist the client manage their risk through insurance cover
• Provide risk management services
• Be a claims advocate when making a claim.

This is what the work of an insurance broker or adviser looks like for you:

• Conducts a risk/needs analysis then recommends coverage
• Offers risk management strategies to potentially lower premiums
• Helps you decide on your premium monthly or annually
• Provides prompt and responsive service
• Helps with claim forms, adjusters, and communication with insurers, and
• Negotiates the best possible claim settlement to help you maximise your entitlements.

Insurance brokers or advisers receive remuneration either as a commission payment from insurers or a fee paid by the client or a combination of both. We will advise you in our Terms of Engagement the remuneration we will earn. However, brokers or advisers can save your business money by avoiding costly gaps in cover or under-insurance.

How Brokers or Advisers Help Secure You the Best Cover:

Insurance brokers or advisers make sure they understand your business, risk profile and needs before recommending any policies. Brokers or advisers have expertise in varied industries and sectors so they can cover the range of risks possible.

Interpreting Policy Wording:

An everyday term can have a different meaning in an insurance context. You might think your business is ‘always covered’ because you pay insurance premiums, but all policies have conditions and exclusions. As your broker or adviser, we help you make sense of policy details, so you have the protection you need.

Negotiating Claims Settlement:

Dealing directly with insurers can also be a time-hungry and bumpy process. A broker or adviser is your claims advocate, and knows the right questions to ask to identify the best clauses to support you. We streamline the process so you can get back to running your business.

Competitive premiums

Having a broker or adviser to help you makes for a more time-efficient process of finding the best policy and premium. We can also negotiate on your behalf for a discount if you’re bundling policies together.

If you would like to know more about getting the most out of your insurance roker please CLICK HERE, or contact us for more information.