Since the pandemic, there have been lots of challenges for businesses to overcome, with increasing costs the latest. Planning ahead cannot alleviate all challenges, but can at least give you time to better prepare to deal with them.
3 months into 2022, and we’re already seeing some themes in the insurance world that show no sign of going away, that have the potential to impact on your next renewal.
Key themes:
1. Review your risks
Reviewing your business risk profile with your broker or insurer annually is always a good idea, and it will be even more important in the coming years. It allows you to understand how your business has changed over the last 12 months, how those changes have impacted your risk profile and what you can do to mitigate some of those risks.
Gap analysis
You may find it beneficial to do a gap analysis to ensure you’re not paying for cover that you don’t need and that any new cover that you do require is tailored to your business needs. This will help you identify where these gaps exist so that you can make any changes and notify your insurer in good time.
We’d recommend engaging with a broker to make this process a little easier on you.
2. Shop around
With premiums rising and terms becoming stricter, it’s possible that your current insurer isn’t offering you the best deal out there anymore. If this is the case, it’s time to find a new provider who can find you the right cover at the right price.
The most important thing to prioritise when shopping around is the quality of cover. Ultimately, that’s what you’re paying for at the end of the day so making sure that it’s tailored to your needs is crucial.
In our experience, the best deals are usually a phone call away or sometimes discussed in-person over a cup of tea or coffee!
3. Engage with your provider early
Don’t wait until your insurance provider gets in touch with you. Some providers are better than others at giving adequate notice and some brokers will work to get you a good deal before even reaching out to you.
But don’t just assume that your insurer will be working on getting good terms. Apply some pressure and ask for timelines at least a month before your policy is due.
Be sure to notify your provider of any changes as soon as possible.
4. Review your policy
It’s important to remember that policies sometimes need to change as your business does. Each year, premiums fluctuate depending on your risk level and claim history. If you’ve made a claim recently, your premium is more likely to increase.
So it pays to review your business insurance policy regularly with your broker or insurer to understand what factors may be influencing your premium and see if there are ways for you to reduce it.
If you would like any help reviewing your existing insurance policy we can offer you a free review of your existing insurance policy. Our review aims to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your insurance.
5. Share your current renewal price
Many businesses are hesitant to provide their new insurance provider with a target premium due to fears that it might work against them. From an insurers point of view, the current renewal premium is a quick way of gauging whether or not they will be able to be competitive. So in a hard market, where insurance underwriters are seeing a lot of presentations and only have so much capacity (both in terms of time and financially), sharing as much information as you can about your existing renewal is going to benefit you. Presentations to insurers without a target premium run the risk of not being prioritised.
6. Use an insurance broker
Insurance brokers work with lots of different insurers, meaning that they can shop around on your behalf to find the best policy for your business. If a policy is priced too high and one insurer is unwilling to negotiate, the broker can seek out other options.
While there are many benefits to using an insurance broker, in the current market, they are even more valuable. By using a broker you could save hours of time, as well as money and stress.
A word of caution here though, if you’re engaging with multiple brokers this can have a negative impact. The reason being is that if an insurer starts to see the same presentation, they may view the risk less favourably. So we’d always recommend being open with your broker.
Next steps
When it comes to business insurance the risks are diverse. As such you need a policy that is tailored to your specific risks. And in an industry with lots of jargon and small print, it can be difficult to do this yourself.
This is where using an insurance broker can be a no brainer. The insurance sector has seen a period of considerable change in recent years. The result has been a period of consolidation meaning that an independent broker is even more difficult to come by.
Insurance is often a grudge purchase, but if you choose the right broker it doesn’t have to be. Any good broker should take the time to explain the cover in a way you understand, so you know exactly what’s covered and how it benefits you.
