You’ve made the important decision to start your own small business. Congratulations! You’ve made the exciting step of becoming your own boss and being in charge of the important decisions for your business. The early months of starting a business can be a blur with so many things to organise from getting your business registered, IT systems hooked up and advertising organised to hiring staff members, organising wages and balancing the books.
In the midst of the activity, don’t forget about insurance for your small business. Although it’s tempting to put this on the backburner until other things are sorted out, this can leave you very vulnerable to financial risk.
When do I take out my business insurance?
The short answer is: right now. Don’t leave it too late to get insurance in place and find yourself in a situation where your fledgling business has to shoulder the cost if something goes wrong.
The main form of insurance you need to put into place immediately is public liability insurance. Public liability insurance will protect your financially if damage to property or injury to a person occurs as a result of your actions at work. When a simple incident such as a client tripping and falling in your office turns into an expensive claim, you’ll be glad to be covered with liability insurance.
As your business expands, there are also other forms of insurance that you will need to put in place. As you begin taking on employees, it’s compulsory that you have worker’s compensation insurance in place. If you move into business premises, property insurance, business interruption cover, glass cover and other relevant policies should be considered. Even if you work from home, money cover and general property insurance will be relevant to you.
The most important thing to remember is not to underinsure and to make sure all areas of risk are covered as your business expands. You also need to review your level of cover on a regular basis as your insurance needs will likely increase over time.
Who can help me?
Starting your own business can be overwhelming enough without having to plough through numerous Product Disclosure Statements while you try to sort insurance. Instead, get on the phone to your insurance broker and they will be able to guide you through the process.
They have the industry knowledge to help identify areas of risk within your business and will then speak with a number of insurers to find you the best business insurance package at the best price. They will also be able to help you along the way with any questions you may have or if you need to add on to your existing insurance as you expand and take on new projects. To make it easy, most insurers provide a business insurance package which includes all relevant policies for business owners.
For insurance for your small business, contact one of our experienced and friendly brokers at Contractor Cover on 1300 GETCOVER today.
