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What are common mistakes when buying insurance directly?

Posted on February 14, 2023 | by | Posted in Uncategorized

Throughout our time in the industry, we have witnessed many a catastrophe caused by small mistakes when purchasing insurance directly. When buying directly, it is far too easy to miss finite details. If you have spent any amount of time browsing the internet for the best insurance policies, you will know how confusing it can be. If you’re not equipped with the knowledge, it is a far safer bet to go with a broker. We have compiled a list of common mistakes people make when buying insurance, so hopefully, you won’t get caught out in the future. Remember, if you look after your business, it will undoubtedly look after you. 

Five costly mistakes when buying insurance directly

1. Being underinsured – Businesses far and wide enjoy saving money, but there are some corners you shouldn’t cut in the insurance game. If you book insurance directly, it can save time and money to go basic. Seeing as over 70% of Australian companies are underinsured, we have heard many horror stories. Making sure any potential damage is covered will mean avoiding any nasty payments from your own wallet. A good broker will be able to make sure your business is protected.

2. Not having the right cover – With the vast selection of insurance policies out there, how do you know which one is right for your business? If you don’t have the right policy, there are a few factors that could cost you a lot of money or even ruin your business. First of all, you will be wasting money on the wrong insurance, and then, if something goes wrong, the payout could be unmanageable. Also, certain businesses are required by law to have the right insurance; this is a mistake you can’t risk making. 

3. Unnecessary add-ons – We would like to say sometimes, but in reality, it can be most of the time. As confusing as it can be to read the intricate details of an insurance policy, it can be just as confusing when information is too vague. On countless occasions, we have spoken with clients who have doubled up on cover for no particular reason. For example, if you look at the key points of cover on an insurance policy website and don’t do any digging. It can appear that you aren’t insured in a particular area when actually, you are. This can force people to upgrade to a more premium policy or buy extra add-ons they don’t need.

4. Not providing enough detail – Anyone who has bought insurance directly and done it correctly will know the painstaking detail you need to provide. One incredible thing about brokers is that they will know every minuscule detail you need to provide to make sure your business is 100% protected. If you forget to give some information that might not seem important now, it adds a risk that your insurance provider won’t pay out when you need it most.

5. Not opting for comprehensive cover – If your particular industry sets a requirement for basic cover, that doesn’t mean you don’t need more. Not buying comprehensive can put your business at risk if basic insurance doesn’t cover it. You must ensure that every aspect of your business is covered for accidents and damage. For instance, you might need public liability, cyber liability, and machinery breakdown cover. However, instead of buying three different policies, a broker can build a bundle that covers every area of your business.  

Saving money is excellent, but as you can see, most mistakes people make when buying insurance happen when trying to dodge costs. This doesn’t mean you must splash out on the most expensive policy. The critical thing is paying attention to detail and knowing exactly what you need. The insurance world is tricky, and if you don’t know the ins and outs, we highly recommend seeking advice from someone who does. 

The next step to take

If you own a business in Australia and are worried about making any of these costly mistakes when buying insurance directly, there is absolutely no need to worry. Instead, you can take the weight off by consulting an experienced insurance broker who knows their stuff. Matrix Insurance Group is one of the leading brokers in Australia. We provide a multitude of insurance types, including many specialist areas too. With a catalogue of insurance providers and our expertise, it is now simple to find the right policy for you. 

Matrix Insurance Group is passionate about making the entire process a positive experience. We promise to provide a dynamic, professional, and reliable insurance brokerage based on genuine personal service. Though based in Perth, we service clients all over Australia and have received endless positive testimonials. So get in touch with Matrix Insurance Group today and chat with a professional and reliable insurance broker in Perth.

The Key to Having Complete Confidence in Your Small Business Insurance

Posted on October 28, 2022 | by | Posted in Uncategorized

As a small business owner, you are aware that you need to take risks from time to time in order to stay afloat. However, when it comes to safeguarding your business from the unexpected, having insurance that is not particularly customised to your firm’s needs is of little use. Using your insurance to protect your assets and work-life balance demonstrates that you have the business’s best interests at heart. This involves having confidence in your small business’s insurance coverage. Please take a good look at your current coverage and ensure that it provides the necessary protections for your enterprise, specific business demands, and employees.

In this article, we will be taking a look at the key factors to having complete confidence in your small business insurance so you can avoid any unexpected legal problems or altercations.

What exactly is small business insurance?

Small business insurance is a safety net that safeguards your enterprise from calamity and unforeseen events. A small business insurance coverage protects its assets, property, and income. When acquiring company insurance, it is essential to get the appropriate quantity. It provides insurance coverage for a variety of risks that may have a detrimental impact on numerous parts of your business, including sales, operations, and even brand value. For example, professional liability insurance can protect your organisation against the detrimental effects of work-related mistakes.

It will assist you in compensating dissatisfied customers, allowing you to regain their trust in your organisation. A small business insurance coverage can also protect your company from unfavourable events such as theft, fire, natural disasters, workplace risks, and harm caused by human error. It might provide much-needed financial assistance if your firm cannot operate due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances.

Why should small businesses get insurance?

Insurance is essential for all organisations, not just small enterprises, due to its protection. Trying to do business in today’s environment entails tremendous risk, and your company requires protection against this risk to prevent bankruptcy. Some hazards, such as fire or theft damage, are outside of your control. Insurance protects against these risks, allowing your firm to continue operations even if the unexpected occurs.

Ensure that your organisation is neither over- nor underinsured. List all of your company’s assets, including real estate, equipment, and inventory, to determine the amount of property insurance you need. You can purchase property insurance based on either the property’s confirmed value or its replacement value. Insurance coverage is also industry- and needs-specific, so you can choose the exact policy that meets your business’s requirements.

How to be confident you have the right insurance for your small business

1. Speak to an Expert Broker

As experts in business insurance, brokers can help you find the policies that best correspond to your company’s needs. An independent insurance agent understands the needs of your business since they also operate a business. Contacting a local insurance expert is a great way to assess the vital policies that your business needs. They are licensed persons or organisations who operate as mediators between insurers and business owners in insurance policy contract negotiations.

Brokers are frequently seen as trustworthy professionals who can provide businesses with strategic risk management. In addition, they can assist business owners in niche industries with specialised insurance demands that may not be covered in their current package. They know where to look and what to look for, resulting in insurance policies that could save your business from any unexpected legal problems in the future.

2. Review all of your Organisation’s Services

 You’d be surprised by the number of business owners that fail to consider all of their services when looking for insurance. For instance, a restaurant that utilises mobile kitchens. Although they may only use their food trucks for a portion of the year, the trucks and equipment must be insured. Insurance that solely includes coverage for their restaurant may not extend to their food trucks. Restaurants and food trucks require specialised coverages that must be included in their insurance policies.

Therefore, take the time to examine your services or consult an expert. Nobody wants to make a claim only to discover that a portion of their business’s services was not covered. Discuss the matter with an independent agent. In some instances, the agent will be able to include your company’s services in the same policy.

3. Remember to get Liability Coverage for your business

Liability coverage is essential for any business. Injuries and deceptive advertising are two instances in which your company will be thankful for liability insurance. Given the diversity of these circumstances and legal actions, it is difficult to assign a price. Again, we advise that you address potential liability issues with your independent agent. Typically, contractors’ responsibility limits are stipulated in their contracts. Always remember that any business can be sued.

Individuals may assert that your company ruined their experience as a customer due to, for instance, a faulty product, a mistake by the service crew, or a disregard for the customers’ belongings. Alternatively, someone may claim that you created a toxic atmosphere or spoke to them in a rude manner. Your liability insurance covers damages for which you are found accountable, as well as attorneys’ fees and other legal defence expenditures, up to the policy limits. It also covers medical expenses for anyone that got hurt within your business.

Bottom Line

Choosing the appropriate insurance policy for your business can protect you from a variety of unforeseen situations, such as a lawsuit, office fire, equipment theft, or the need for emergency surgery. All of these threats can, unfortunately, stop an enterprise in its tracks. In actuality, the cost of insurance is negligible when compared to the danger of financial exposure. Remember that every business is unique, including yours. Make a list of all your company insurance needs, calculate the worth of everything you’re insuring, and then decide if your existing coverage is adequate – don’t simply go with the cheapest choice.

If you are in search of a knowledgeable business insurance broker in Perth, then Matrix Insurance is the team you have been looking for! Our primary business focus is arranging and consulting business insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises. Since we have access to more than 120 different underwriters and insurers, we can find the best coverage at a low price. We are passionate about insurance and dedicated to making the entire insurance procedure a pleasant experience for all the parties involved.

How Do You Claim Motor Trade Insurance ?

Posted on July 25, 2022 | by | Posted in Uncategorized

Unpredictable incidents or accidents will require you to file a claim under your motor trade insurance. Essentially, an insurance claim is a formal request for reimbursement from your insurance company for losses covered by your insurance policy.

Claims service is crucial for ensuring that the insured receive what is justly deemed necessary to restore normalcy. In this article, we will go into detail on how to submit a claim for your motor trade insurance.

#1 Provide your personal information

Of course, you must first confirm that everyone in your vehicle and in the other affected vehicles is okay before doing anything further. Immediately call for an ambulance and the police if anyone is hurt. Additionally, the police should be notified if the vehicles involved in the collision are blocking the roadway.

After this, it is recommended that you review the details included under your personal information. Below is a list of all the information your insurance provider may need from you: 

1. Your name, address and contact details
2. Your policy number
3. Driving license copy
4. Time, date, and location of the accident
5. Your car make, colour and model

#2 Gather their party information

If another driver is involved, you should also gather information like:

1. Name, address, and contact number of the driver
2. Driving licence and vehicle registration number
3. Make, colour and model of the car
4. Insurance company and policy number

Additionally, you should inform your insurance company of the accident’s date and time. If there are any witnesses, get their names, addresses, and phone numbers. Also, make sure to take note of the name and number of any police officers who attend. 

#3 Gather evidence

Gathering evidence quickly can help protect your legal rights, especially if you get involved in a car accident. Take close-up and far-away photos to show the impact of the accident. It would also be best if you can gather evidence on how the car accident happened, how fast the drivers were going, and who was at fault.

Witness accounts and CCTV footage also matter, so make sure you find anything you can that will help you file a claim. 

#4 Proceed to make a claim

Overall, there are different rules and regulations when filing a claim. Therefore, it is best if you first examine the claims procedure on the website of your insurer. 

When filing the claim, you must include your and the third party’s personal information, photographs of the damaged property, receipts for repairs, and copies of police statements.

#5 Communicate with your insurance provider 

Get into contact with your insurer so that they can walk you through the necessary steps to complete your claim. Your insurer will be the one to communicate with the other party’s insurance company to resolve the claim.

Following filing a claim, the insurer must contact you within ten business days. If it can be demonstrated that the accident was not your company’s fault, your insurance company may be able to recover the excess from the other driver’s insurance. 

Final thoughts

Owning and operating a vehicle involves more than just sitting behind the wheel. You are responsible for being extremely cautious of your surroundings to avoid being involved in an accident. 

Matrix Insurance can provide a motor trade insurance plan that provides specially-tailored insurance coverage for the Motor Trades industry and allows you to adapt the coverage to your business’s exact needs. Get in touch, and we will present you with the best motor trade insurance package. 

Top 8 Ways Business Insurance Can Significantly Help Your Business

Posted on February 15, 2022 | by | Posted in Uncategorized

Before you consider starting a business, it’s important to understand what business insurance is. While not all types of companies are compelled to obtain one, you should have at least the fundamental insight into this concept. This article will discuss several ways that business insurance can help your business. 

1. Businesses with employees are required by law to provide specific forms of insurance.

There is a required and suggested insurance for all types of businesses. Moreover, many small business owners begin with a Business Owner’s Policy (BOP). This coverage combines commercial property and commercial liability insurance into a single commercial insurance policy. 

The Australian government requires all businesses to offer workers’ compensation to their employees. Workers’ compensation is considered social insurance since it is based on a social contract between management and labour. Furthermore, this insurance protects firms from the true cost of medical expenditures and lost pay incurred by an employee due to a workplace injury or illness.

However, workers’ compensation is not the only coverage you need for a business. Depending on your product or service and the size of your business, other types of insurance available include general liability insurance, commercial property insurance, and product liability insurance.

2. Business insurance mitigates financial risks.

The danger of losing money on an investment or business endeavour is referred to as financial risk. Insurance aids with loss control. This entails risk identification and the voluntary or mandatory activities that a policyholder should take to mitigate risk. Loss controls save insurance companies money by limiting the frequency and severity of covered losses. 

Furthermore, insurance works by essentially transferring the risk to the insurance provider. Your business will be required to pay an insurance premium for a specified amount of time. And in the event that you meet unforeseeable circumstances such as property damage, the insurance will pay a portion of the damage to keep you from suffering a greater loss. 

3. Insurance coverage for your business enables you to care for your staff.

Managing a business has some risks, such as an employee being injured on the job. Your employees are your most precious asset, and it pays to safeguard them during moments of emergency. There are various insurance options offered for this purpose, including workers’ compensation and group health insurance.

As previously stated, the government will compel you to obtain workers’ compensation. You may, however, also consider disability coverage. Disability insurance provides income protection if a business owner or employee is unable to work due to an illness or accident sustained while on the job.

4. Business insurance demonstrates reliability to prospective clients and customers.

More clients will want to work with you if they are assured that you have insurance to protect your assets and employees. Furthermore, having business insurance also demonstrates credibility. When you demonstrate proof of insurance to your clients or customers, you provide them with peace of mind. 

5. Business insurance protects your property.

Business property insurance can protect your buildings, their contents, and revenue loss. Specifically, this coverage is referred to as commercial property insurance. The amount of commercial property insurance you will pay is mainly determined by the worth of all of your business assets, including your building. However, other criteria like construction materials, location, and occupancy can also be considered. Furthermore, commercial property insurance can cover assets inside the building like inventory, important documents, furniture, and computers. 

6. Your insurance will cover unprecedented events.

Moving on, commercial property insurance safeguards the physical assets of your business against fire, explosions, theft, and vandalism. Therefore, this is important because it is almost impossible to predict the future, and having a safety net during those times is critical to keep your business running. Commercial insurance is also key to helping you get back on track after natural disasters.

7. Some contracts require business insurance.

The insurance coverage your contract will require will depend on the type of business you are running. For example, a loan agreement will almost certainly include a requirement for insurance if you are looking to fund real estate, equipment, or operations.  

Meanwhile, product liability insurance is for manufacturing, retail, and wholesale businesses. This safeguards against financial loss resulting from accident or bodily harm caused by a defective product. While product liability insurance is not required by law, companies will require it before working with you. 

8. Insurance for your business enables you to plan for the future.

Overall, insurance removes some of the uncertainty, allowing business owners to focus their efforts on growing their enterprises rather than developing methods to deal with improbable situations. We have already established that business insurance will help safeguard your property and products. 

Besides that, business insurance can help protect your organisation against malpractice and negligence in the provision of services to your clients. General liability insurance is another coverage you can acquire for your business that will help you add a safety net for unforeseen future events. This will safeguard your business from claims for bodily injury, property damage, medical bills, libel, slander, and settlement bonds.

Do you need business insurance? 

The Matrix Insurance Group is the premier insurance broker in Western Australia, providing insurance solutions to small and medium-sized businesses throughout the state and throughout Australia. As a business owner, you should consider business interruption, general property, machinery breakdown, and customers vehicles coverages. If required, we can arrange coverage for workers’ compensation and motor fleet insurance, allowing you to maintain all of your insurances under one roof.

Motor Trade Insurance: A Comprehensive Guide

Posted on January 19, 2022 | by | Posted in Uncategorized

Motor trade insurance protects businesses against liability when they work on and drive their customers’ vehicles as well as their own. This will safeguard you against any unexpected expenditures associated with property damage and any unpredicted events that may occur. 

While many people can benefit from motor trade insurance, others remain confused. In this article, we are going into detail about motor trade insurance and how it works. 

What is motor trade insurance? 

When you have motor trade insurance, you can insure vehicles that you have purchased with the intention of reselling them to others, as well as vehicles that belong to clients. Even if you are not required to drive your clients’ automobiles, you will need some type of motor trade insurance coverage to protect you against unintentional damage or other dangers that may come from your job duties. 

Who needs motor trade insurance? 

In general, everyone involved in the purchase and sale of automobiles and the maintaining, repairing, restoring, or transportation of vehicles requires motor trade insurance. Moreover, even if you just sell a few automobiles per year to earn a profit, you must have a traders’ insurance coverage to keep your business operating legally. This is due to the fact that operating a motor trade business necessitates the insurance of the automobiles in your possession. 

What is the importance of motor trade insurance? 

Automobile trade insurance, as previously stated, protects you against unintentional damage or other dangers that may occur. Thus, if you cause injury to another person’s property or injure a third party while on your premises or at events that you attend as part of your business activities, you will be covered under the policy’s personal liability insurance coverage.

Furthermore, this type of insurance is less expensive than other company insurance since automotive tradespeople can purchase a considerably simpler policy and cover fewer risks.

What does motor trade insurance cover? 

Motor trade insurance is a broad term that encompasses all operations carried out by individuals or firms engaged in the trade. To be more specific, these insurance policies often cover three key areas: 

Liability Motor Trade Insurance

In general, a trade insurance policy will typically cover your public liability, employers’ liability, equipment, inventory, and other items. A liability motor trade insurance coverage is created specifically for motor traders who will be hosting members of the general public in their establishment.

Road Risk Only Motor Trade Insurance

Having a road risk insurance policy permits motor traders to drive any vehicle in their possession or control to conduct motor trade activity. Furthermore, when a motor trader has a large number of customers’ vehicles, as well as stock vehicles, under their care, this coverage is essential. This is further subdivided into three categories: 

1. Third-Party Fire and Theft: If you are engaged in an accident, this insurance will compensate you for any damage you inflict to a third party or their property, as well as for any damage to your vehicle if it is damaged by fire or stolen. Overall, a third party only motor trade insurance policy provides the most fundamental level of protection, protecting a motor trader against third-party injury, property damage, and death caused by any vehicle associated with his business.
2. Third-Party Only: This covers damages incurred to the motor trader as a result of fire, accidents, or theft of cars utilised in the trade, in addition to the third party coverage described above.
3. Comprehensive: A comprehensive automobile insurance policy protects the insured against both personal injury and third-party liability. Personal injury liability insurance protects you and your family members against bodily harm and property damage caused by others for whom you or your family members are legally liable. Third-party liability insurance, on the other hand, protects the first party against a legal obligation to a third party involved in the transaction.

Combined Motor Trade Insurance

It is possible to obtain a combined motor trade insurance policy if you operate your business from a specific business location rather than your home. It is also possible to acquire a combined motor trade insurance policy if you run your business from your home. Every motor trader will require an insurance policy for motor traders, regardless of whether they repair vehicles, sell automobiles, or clean vehicles. They merely need to select the policy that best meets their company’s needs and, as a result, lets them perform their operations with the least amount of risk. 

How can I acquire motor trade insurance? 

Insurance for those involved in the motor trade is custom-tailored insurance coverage specifically created for individuals and enterprises engaged in the motor trade. Therefore, to be qualified for motor trader insurance, you must prove that you are involved in the automotive trade industry. 

How long will motor trade insurance last? 

Motor trader insurance is often renewed on a yearly basis, similar to private automobile coverage. However, some larger enterprises can profit from lower rates by taking out combined trade insurance for longer. 

Get a quote from the Matrix Insurance Group!

Matrix Insurance Brokers Perth is a leading insurance broker in Western Australia, providing insurance solutions to small to medium-sized businesses across the state and beyond Australia. We genuinely care about our clients and pride ourselves on providing a customised service founded on trust and respect.

Whether you own a car dealership, a smash repair shop, a motorbike dealership, a panel beater, a spray painter, a car wrecker, or a scrapyard, your Matrix’s motor trade insurance package can be customised to your specific needs.