Cover for a growing business

Listen to the insurance jeremiahs and they will tell you one thing: growth is a double-edged sword and a growing business tied to an insurance policy not adjusted for that growth is a dangerous combination.Even the simple act of moving has its risk implications. If you've moved into larger premises to accommodate new staff, you should review the lease agreement and your current policy, says GIO's senior leader, commercial portfolio, Leigh Smith.

If you are starting to use subcontractors as part of your business, there is a risk you may be liable for injuries to them in the course of their work for you."Workers compensation insurance may not cover this exposure, so it's important to check with your insurer that you have public liability coverage for this potentially very costly risk.,

Smith says of equal importance is checking that each subcontractor has their own insurance in place for injuries or damage they may cause.The point of all this is if it's worth insuring a simple move, what other insurances might need to be added?Unless a business is extremely simple, it will almost invariably need the advice of a broker. This means that whatever policies he or she nominates, a back-end commission will be charged.

What do you get in return? The broker's role is to assess future risk and possible exposures and cover them with an array of insurances from a number of providers.We bring a perspective to the purchasing decision and analyse possible exposures, says Cameron Douglas, manager of client services at insurance brokers Marsh Australia. It's not just about purchasing the insurance but understanding a company's risk profile, and every small business will have a different one.

Most insurers in the SME market offer "business pack" insurance, which packages up the key covers. The pack might offer anywhere from five to 15 options. These tend to be the basics: fire, money loss, burglary and public liability.Douglas says that generally for cover of $5 million, insurance premiums would be equivalent to about 0.15 per cent of that sum assured. From that a broker would usually take anything from 15 to 22 per cent as his commission.

In restricting the hosts to 124 for nine in reply to their total of 135 for seven,Buy Silicone IPAD Case at wholesale prices from leading Chinese wholesalers, the tourists took the series 2-0 and moved up to second in the international rankings behind Sri Lanka.West Indies, the world T20 champions, dropped to fourth in what was yet another setback following hard on the heels of the 3-1 loss to the Pakistanis in the preceding one-day international series.

"It was a tough tour and credit must be given to everyone associated with the squad for the success that we have enjoyed here,Custom Winbo silicone bracelets and Silicone Wristbands," said a delighted Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez, who also played a key role with the ball in dismissing the dangerous but out-of-form Chris Gayle cheaply for the second time in two days."When we saw the pitch, we knew, with our four spinners, that any total of 135-140 would have given us a chance, and so it worked out."

An unbeaten 46 by man of the match Umar Akmal and 44 from opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad paced Pakistan to a total that was always going to be challenging on a slow, turning surface ideally suited to the sub-continental team.Spinners Sunil Narine and Samuel Badree shared five wickets for the West Indies in what would prove to be an ominous precursor of the task the home side had to face in the quest to get a share of the honours.Of course, circumstances drastically change premiums. Insuring a plastics factory C with the very real risk of fire C may cost as much as 0.75 per cent of the sum assured, while a less risky business in a suburban office block may only require premiums equivalent to 0.08 per cent. A comprehensive SME insurance policy should end up costing no more than $5000 to $6000, Douglas says.Leigh Smith at GIO adds in other noteworthy insurances, such as those covering new equipment and building insurance to match the total replacement cost of equipment and contents if lost in a single event. Increases in stock and changes in revenue also need to be considered, as well as the effect of staff increases.

Your insurance should cover the cost of replacing all your stock if it was to be completely lost," Smith says. "Fortunately, many policies offer an option for seasonal increases to account for business trends, but you should check this is available and appropriate for you.

A spokesman for QBE mentions general covers such as motor vehicle, personal accident, employee dishonesty, professional liability, theft, money, glass, machinery breakdown and tax audit insurance, as well as some of the more occupation-specific covers such as marine transit.The two big policies that brokers tend to stress are business interruption cover and trade credit insurance.Many tend to think of business interruption as a catastrophic event such as a fire or flood, but this is not always the case.

An example is a food poisoning event in a restaurant which results in the reduction of customers for an extended period of time, says QBE.Trade credit insurance is designed to protect the lifeblood of business C its cash flow. It is of particular importance when you consider that, on a typical balance sheet, uninsured debtors represent an average of 40 per cent of a business's current assets, QBE says.

Douglas at Marsh asserts that in the building industry in particular suppliers regularly go out of business, which creates a domino effect across the sector.

This kind of insurance is either very hard to get or extremely expensive, he says. The more a builder worries, the more he will want to insure and the higher the premiums become.

Two other insurances that are gaining traction among small businesses are key personnel insurance to cover valuable personnel loss and cyber-crime insurance, which covers malicious attack by third parties as well as the loss of conOur top picks for the Winbo Iphone Headset and gear,fidential information from databases.
Read the full products at http://www.winbogifts.com/products/ear-cap.html.