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Is the Insurance you are buying right for you?

  • Adroit Insurance and Risk
  • December 6, 2019

So, you’ve just bought or renewed your insurance policy and by doing so, you have peace of mind that in the very unfortunate event of a loss, you will be fully covered. Right? Well, maybe. Before you settle in for the next 12 months consider this:

Do you understand the policy, the conditions, the additional benefits, and more importantly, the exclusions?

In respect of the ‘additional’ or ‘automatic’ benefits, check these to make sure any sub‑limits written into the policy wording or product disclosure statement (PDS) are adequate. But concern yourself more with what I call ‘the fine print‘. The conditions and exclusions. One of our clients once said, “I don’t care about what’s covered, I want to know what’s not covered”.

So, are you across the fine print of your insurance contracts? How confident are you that the the policy will respond if you ever need to make a claim?

Often, we receive enquiries from individuals and businesses that are moving away from their insurance provider because of a poor experience. Sometimes it’s a service issue or they think they are paying more premium than they ought to. But most of the time, they are unhappy about a claim outcome. Either the claim has been declined in full or claim settlement is less than what they expected. 

When we assist them with a review, it often becomes apparent that the reason their claim was declined or reduced is because they weren’t insured correctly, mainly because they didn’t understand the fine print – the conditions and exclusions.

Here are three no brainers to avoid falling into the same trap:

Partner with an insurance risk adviser:

Find yourself a good insurance risk adviser, a risk adviser. Allow time for them to get to know your business so that they can advise you properly. Ask loads of questions.

Read and understand your insurance documents:

The invoice, coverage summary and the policy wording/PDS. Do this within the cooling off period so that you can back out of the contract if you need to.

Understand the exclusions:

You know your business better than anyone else. There may be some conditions or exclusions noted within the coverage summary that apply specifically do your industry. Read and understand these. Are they a concern?

Unfortunately, for many of us, the first thing we do when we receive our insurance renewal is scan the document for the price – the premium. We look for the premium, pay the premium on time and expect full coverage. And unless we’ve experienced a loss first hand and go on to appreciate the value of full coverage, we resent forking out hundreds of dollars year in year out.

So… are you across the fine print?

Tricia Eyers

Account Manager | Adroit Insurance and Risk

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