Insurance for the Hospitality Industry – What you need to know

With the bushfire season rapidly approaching in Australia, it almost seems that 2020 is moving from one disaster to another. This means that it’s time to review your preparations for the bushfire season to ensure that you reduce your business’s risks as much as possible. It’s a given that you can’t get out of the path of a fire if it’s heading your way, but there are steps you can take to mitigate your risks.
How much you can reduce the risks to your buildings will depend on whether you are the owner or tenant of the premises. If the latter, then it’s a good idea to discuss as many of the following steps as relevant with the lessor.
This is the plan that will come into effect immediately if you are notified that a bushfire is headed in your direction. To ensure that everyone exits the buildings quickly and safely, here are a few tips:
This involves planning how you will continue to trade if your buildings, supplies, equipment and machinery are all a total loss in a bushfire. For example, an online store can take the place of your physical building, but where would you store all your supplies? Where would you set up your temporary factory, offices and warehouse? What if your suppliers are also affected by the bushfires? Another point is to make sure that all your business data is safely stored on the cloud, so that it’s available when you restart trading.
Insurance isn’t something you can simply set and forget, because this will likely result in your business being under-insured. One big reason for businesses being under insured are the lower premiums, but it can also be due to a lack of attention or apathy.
It can also be due to genuinely undervaluing your assets, which is why we recommend that you have your business premises and assets revalued every year. These valuations should include the costs of demolition and rebuilding, new fences, external gates, machinery, vehicles, and so on. Also consider Business Interruption Insurance, because this will allow you to keep paying your employees and all your bills while you start rebuilding from the bushfires.
To decide what type of insurance policies are suitable for your business, talk to an insurance specialist today. Contact Gail Findlay.
This article originally appeared on Insurance Advisernet News and has been published here with permission.
Advisr does not provide advice and does not hold a financial service license (AFSL). All information above has been provided by Gail Findlay.
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