A lot happened in 2022 – many countries re-emerged and reunited in a post-COVID19 world, global economies bounced back and the impacts of climate change continued to become more destructive, with extreme weather events experienced in Australia and around the globe.

All of these economic and environmental factors impacted many industries, including insurance.

Based on some of the industry trends we have seen and experienced this past 12 months, here is a list of some of the insurances we are recommending our clients consider.

1.Cyber insurance

In 2022 cyber security became a hot topic. Following the highly publicised cyber-attack on Optus in September 2022, there has been a major focus on the continual rise of cyber attacks and the potential costs involved for businesses.

Cyber insurance is becoming a necessity for businesses rather than a “nice-to-have” and we expect to see an ongoing rise in businesses taking out cyber insurance policies, and also making insurance claims against cyber attacks.

You can learn more about the benefits of cyber insurance for businesses in this recent article we wrote on the topic.  

Some insurers also offer personal cyber insurance cover to protect you and your family from cyber-attacks and threats at home. Contact our team today to find out more.

2. Cover for natural disasters

The effects of climate change are undeniable. After years of dealing with drought and devastating bushfires, this year Australia experienced a rare third consecutive La Niña weather pattern, which brought heavier and more frequent rainfall, causing flooding in communities across the east-coast.

These extreme weather events are having catastrophic impacts on the environment, and also on people’s personal assets and businesses.

Data released by the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) shows that the storms and floods that impacted South-East Queensland and New South Wales in February and March 2022 were estimated to be Australia’s costliest flood ever. The event is estimated to have cost $3.35 billion in insured losses from 197,000 claims across both states.

As global temperatures continue to rise and extreme weather becomes more likely, it is increasingly important for people to ensure their personal assets and businesses are protected against events such as floods and fires.

Here are a couple of articles we have written about identifying your flood and bush fire risk.

3. The right amount of home insurance

Over the last two years, an increased demand in construction, labour shortages, supply chain delays and rising inflation rates have had a significant impact on the price of building materials and construction costs in Australia.

A recent report from CoreLogic for Q3 2022 showed national residential construction costs increased at the record rate of 11% from September 2021 to September 2022. This means to rebuild a home in the current market could cost up to 11% more than it did 12 months ago!

For homebuyers, it is important they continue to review their current home insurance cover and ensure the sum of insurance adequately reflects the current cost to rebuild their property. If you underestimate the rebuild cost for your property and the sum insured falls short, you will be left to pay the difference between your claim-payout and the actual rebuild cost.

Here are more tips for reassessing your home insurance policy.

 4. Workers’ compensation cover for staff working from home

Working from home became the new-norm in many countries during the pandemic, and is something that has continued for many businesses. As employees value flexible working arrangements more and more, many businesses have put in place permanent working from home arrangements.

While your employees may not be working on your premises, as the employer, it is still your responsibility to provide a safe work environment. Therefore, if an employee sustains an injury in the course of their work while at home, it is your responsibility to ensure they are covered via your workers compensation insurance.

Employers can also implement safety measures to reduce the risk of workplace injuries outside of the office. Some of these might be:

• Explaining how to set up a desk properly (offering training and refresher courses) and advising employees on the type of equipment they should use and the best place for them to work
• Making their employees’ induction processes relevant to the home-based working environment where possible
• Creating a checklist or a set of instructions to help employees create safe environments for working away from the office
• Staying engaged with your employees to keep them informed about the tools, advice, information and resources they need in order to stay safe at work.

If you want to offer flexible working arrangements for your employees, but you want to make sure you would be covered if something happened, make sure you speak to your insurance broker or provider.

At Centrewest, our team of experienced workers’ compensation insurance brokers can step you through the process and ensure you get the right policy for your business. Contact us today.