19 Feb Why is business insurance important?
Business insurance is vital particularly in the areas of liability – don’t leave yourself vulnerable!
Business insurance is a considerable element of protection. It’s a security against the many risks of having a business.
Business is inherently risky.
Like your car insurance, for which you get insurance for property damage, damage to other people’s property, and personal injury liability, there are different risks to insure against when is comes to business insurance.
Types of business insurance
Insurable business risks include:
- Property damage, to cover your business assets (premises, stock, vehicles) from various risks like storms and other hazards;
- Business interruption, to cover you for loss of profits when your business must cease trading due to some incident (e.g. your shop having to close due to storm damage);
- Workers compensation, compulsory insurance to cover you for injuries sustained by your employees and contractors;
- Public liability insurance, to cover your business for damage to persons or property from accidents that may happen on your premises or arising from your business activities;
- Product liability insurance, to cover you for losses to persons or property that are caused by a product you sell or provide to another party (for example a faulty product that causes injury);
- Professional indemnity insurance, to cover you for negligence or mistakes whilst providing your professional services;
- Directors and officers insurance, key person insurance.
- Whilst the insurances that cover your property and the running of your business are important, the liability insurances are the ones that, while you hope you never need them, are the ones that should give you the most comfort.
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How does liability insurance work in practice and how does a claim usually run?
You may already have public liability insurance in place. Especially if you have a lease, or are contracted to provide services, and the contract includes and obligation on you to hold that insurance.
If an incident happens, for example a product you sell causes damage to a customer’s property, or someone is seriously injured on your premises, what will usually happen is that a claim will be made against you, in the form of a letter of demand [internal link to letter of demand in tailored docs] or even Court proceedings.
Your insurance policy may require that you notify your insurer after being aware that there’s the possibility of a claim. As soon as an accident happens, this is something you should know. Make sure you don’t prejudice your insurer’s position or your claim by failing to notify them as soon as possible. This may affect your coverage.
Once the insurance company is notified, they’ll determine whether your policy covers the loss, or if an exclusion applies.
Contact us today if you require any assistance with preparing or reviewing your Non Disclosure Agreement.
(c) Progressive Legal Pty Ltd – All legal rights reserved (2020)
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Ian Aldridge is the Founder and Principal Lawyer Director at Progressive Legal. He has over 15 years experience in advising businesses in Australia and the UK. After practising in commercial litigation for 12 years in major Australian and International Law Firms, he decided to set up a NewLaw law firm in Australia and assist growing Australian businesses. Since then, he has advised over 2,500 small businesses over the past 6 years alone in relation to Intellectual Property Law, Commercial, Dispute Resolution, Workplace and Privacy Law. He has strived to build a law firm that takes a different approach to providing legal services. A truly client-focused law firm, Ian has built Progressive Legal that strives to deliver on predictable costs, excellent communication and care for his clients. As a legal pioneer, Ian has truly changed the way legal services are being provided in Australia, by building Legal Shield™, a legal subscription to obtain tailored legal documents and advice in a front-loaded retainer package, a world-first. He has a double degree in Law (Hons) and Economics (with a marketing major). He was admitted to the Supreme Court of NSW in 2005.