Insurance for Small Businesses with Bushfire Risks

Protect your small business from the financial impact of bushfires with coverage designed for high-risk environments.

What are the key risks posed by bushfires?

Research1 shows that bushfire risks are rising across Australia, especially in
coastal WA, central Queensland and in large parts of NSW, Victoria and the
ACT. Bushfires can spread with little warning and can be unpredictable, with
the potential to cause damage due to smoke or water as well as the fire itself.
Even businesses outside of the fire zones can feel the impact of bushfires, with
supply chain disruption affecting their ability to access goods and demand
surge increasing the difficulty of accessing some services.

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Who should consider insurance?

While you can’t control the weather, insurance can help to protect small
businesses across Australia from the risks bushfires pose to both their
premises and trading. Contrary to popular belief, bushfires are not just a threat
facing rural businesses. Thanks to the urban sprawl of our cities, outer
metropolitan suburbs are meeting the bush and increasing the risk to more
businesses Australia-wide.

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Did you know?

5.47b

The likelihood of a claim that could be covered by a management liability policy has tripled in the last five years, with 50% of notifications resulting in a claim. (Chubb 2016 Private Company Risk Survey)

Two-thirds

The most common claims are for employment practices like bullying, harassment and wrongful dismissal. (Chubb 2016 Private Company Risk Survey)

！

Major claims by amount relate to crime – including employee fraud. (Chubb 2016 Private Company Risk Survey)

What insurance should you take out – and what can it cover?

Insurance can protect you and your employees onsite, on the way to work and at work.

Helps safeguard your business premises and contents against:
• damage caused by fire, storm or accidental damage
• equipment or machinery breakdown
• employee dishonesty
• glass damage
• legal issues, such as with public and products liability
• tax audits
• theft, and theft or loss of money
• business interruption, which provides cover for financial loss as a result of an
interruption to your business caused by an insured event.

Takes care of your valuable business vehicles with cover to help:
• replace or repair a vehicle damaged by fire
• help if you or your staff damage another person’s vehicle
• repair your vehicle after an accident or replace it if it’s written off
• replace a lost or stolen vehicle
• safeguard you against legal liability.

Can cover the cost of your employees’ wages, rehabilitation and medication if they
become sick or injured through their work.

Covers costs that your business would incur if you need to defend and settle claims from outside parties alleging wrongful conduct, as well as investigation into the affairs of the company.

Covers costs that your business would incur if you need to defend and settle claims from outside parties alleging wrongful conduct, as well as investigation into the affairs of the company.

Limits, excesses and
exclusions

Policy exclusions, the excesses you need to pay and limits of liability can vary greatly depending on your insurer and the requirements of your business.

 

Case Study

Brian runs a water fun park in a popular tourist town in coastal Victoria. While recent bushfires didn’t damage his property, his business was impacted by a prevention of access order as Victoria Police shut the main highway, which provided the only way into his business. As a consequence, visitors couldn’t get to the water park and Brian had to close, suffering a loss of revenue. Because the interruption was due to the official road closure, rather than tourists simply staying away, he was able to make a business interruption claim to cover his losses. 1 Bushfire Risk: changing trends across Australia, IAG, 2020.