What insurance could help give the cover I need for my small business?

Suitable insurances for small businesses

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance, also known as General & Products Liability, helps to protect your business against legal claims resulting from injuries to a third party, or damage to their property, for covered events.

RACV Public Liability Insurance covers:

• Legal costs - the legal costs earned for the defence or settlement of a liability claim.
• Damage to someone else's property - the costs of physical loss, destruction, or damage to someone else’s property because of your business operation.
• Injury to someone else - the costs of injuries to someone else, as well as first aid expenses, for injuries caused by your business operations.
• Loss or damage of goods in your care - for example, if you’re looking after a client’s bag and it is accidentally lost or stolen.
• Staff negligence - for example, if your employee doesn't clean up a spill in your shop and a customer falls and injures themselves.

Public liability insurance can be essential to small business insurance. You can then add on your choice of optional extra covers, to help protect your type of small business.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

If you give professional advice, you need professional indemnity insurance to help protect you if a client makes a claim against you for financial loss.

RACV Professional Indemnity Insurance covers:

• Breach of duty - for example, if you fail to submit a client’s paperwork in time.
• Breach of privacy or confidentiality – for example, if you accidentally share a client’s personal information without permission.
• Intellectual property infringement – for example, if you unintentionally breach copyright by giving protected designs to a client without permission.
• Defamation - for example, if someone claims that your social media post damaged their reputation.
• Lost or damaged documents – for example, if you lost a client’s financial documents after they’d given them to you to look after.
• Reputation repair - the cost of a public relations consultant to help repair your reputation after a claim against you.
• Claims investigation costs - the legal costs and expenses of investigating, defending and settling claims made against you (up to the amount of cover you have).

You can also add on public liability insurance for protection against claims of negligence, for incidents such as a customer falling on a broken step and injuring themselves while visiting your office.

Tradies - additional cover

Tradies like carpenters, electricians, plumbers and painters can consider trades-specific business insurance to help protect their tools and work vehicles.

Tradies can consider adding these extras to their small business insurance cover:

• Portable property - loss, damage or burglary for insured property (for example, tools) stored at a worksite or that you take on the road with you. If you're also an apprentice or tradie and don't have your own business or an ABN but use your own tools and want protection for them, then you can also take out standalone portable property insurance.
• Commercial motor vehicles - the motor vehicles you use to operate your business, including vans, utes and trailers.
• Tax investigation - the cost of professional fees resulting from an audit or investigation which relates to you paying a tax.
• Employee dishonesty - loss of money or goods caused by employee fraud or dishonesty.
• Theft and money - if a person breaks into your business premises and steals your stock, contents, equipment, or money.
• Business interruption - your business expenses if your gross income is interrupted by damage caused by a covered event.

Retail and market stalls - additional cover

Retail businesses may like to add these extras to their business insurance policy:

• Property damage - loss or damage to your business tools, equipment, contents and stock at the premises, or a building in the event of a fire, storm or other covered events.
• Glass - breakage to shop-front windows, glass shelving, sign writing and display cabinets. 
• Theft and money - if a person breaks into your business premises (or rental property) and steals your stock, contents, equipment, or money.
• Machinery - breakdown of certain machinery you need to run your business, like cash registers, EFTPOS machines or air conditioners.
• Business interruption - business expenses if your gross income is interrupted by damage caused by a covered event.
• Employee dishonesty - loss of money or goods caused by employee fraud or dishonesty. 
• Commercial motor vehicles - the motor vehicles you use to operate your business, including vans, utes and trailers.
• Tax investigation - the cost of professional fees resulting from an audit or investigation which relates to you paying a tax.
• Portable property - your business tools and equipment (e.g. laptops or mobile phones) against accidental fire or theft, anywhere in Australia.

Hospitality - additional cover

Hospitality businesses may benefit from these insurance policy add-ons:

• Property damage - loss or damage to your business tools, equipment, contents and stock at the premises, or a building in the event of a fire, storm or other covered events.
• Portable property - your business tools and equipment (for example, laptops or mobile phones) against accidental fire or theft, anywhere in Australia.
• Theft and money - if a person breaks into your business premises (or rental property) and steals your stock, contents, equipment, or money.
• Business interruption - your business expenses if your gross income is interrupted by damage caused by a covered event.
• Employee dishonesty - loss of money or goods caused by employee fraud or dishonesty.
• Commercial motor vehicles - the motor vehicles you use to operate your business, including vans, utes and trailers.
• Glass - breakage to shop-front windows, glass shelving, sign writing and display cabinets.
• Machinery - breakdown of certain machinery you need to run your business, like cash registers, cool rooms or air conditioners.
• Tax investigation - the cost of professional fees resulting from an audit or investigation which relates to you paying a tax.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professionals - additional cover

On top of public liability insurance, ICT professionals may wish to add on:

• Professional indemnity insurance
• Computer and electronic equipment - breakdown of office equipment such as computers, printers, fax machines and phone equipment.

It’s important to note that the following circumstances are not covered by RACV Business Insurance:

• Known circumstances - claims or circumstances you know about before your policy starts.
• Intentional damage - intentional damage you cause to a third party.
• Contractual obligations - costs or expenses caused by you complying with contractual obligations you’ve chosen to enter into with a client.
• Bankruptcy - claims made against you because your business went bankrupt or is unable to pay debts owed.

Domestic service and repairs - additional cover

Domestic or repair workers may find the following insurance add-ons useful:

• Property damage - loss or damage to your business tools, equipment, contents and stock at the premises, or a building in the event of a fire, storm or other covered events.
• Machinery - breakdown of certain machinery you need to run your business, like vacuum cleaners, ovens or air conditioners.
• Glass - breakage to shop front windows, glass shelving, sign writing and display cabinets.
• Theft and money - if a person breaks into your business premises and steals your stock, contents, equipment, or money.
• Business interruption - business expenses if your gross income is interrupted by damage caused by a covered event.
• Employee dishonesty - loss of money or goods caused by employee fraud or dishonesty.
• Tax investigation - the cost of professional fees resulting from an audit or investigation which relates to you paying a tax.
• Portable property - your business tools and equipment (e.g. laptops or mobile phones) against accidental fire or theft, anywhere in Australia.
• Commercial motor vehicles - the motor vehicles you use to operate your business, including vans, utes and trailers.

Commercial property owners - additional cover

Relevant add-ons for commercial property owners to consider include:

• Property damage - loss or damage to your business tools, equipment, contents and stock at the premises, or a building in the event of a fire, storm or other covered events.
• Glass - breakage to shop-front windows, glass shelving, sign writing and display cabinets.
• Theft and money - if a person breaks into your business premises (or rental property) and steals your stock, contents, equipment, or money.
• Machinery - breakdown of certain machinery you need to run your business, like cash registers, cool rooms or air conditioners.
• Business interruption - business expenses if your gross income is interrupted by damage caused by a covered event.
• Tax investigation - the cost of professional fees resulting from an audit or investigation which relates to you paying a tax.
• Employee dishonesty - loss of money or goods caused by employee fraud or dishonesty.

Farm Insurance

RACV Farm Insurance covers:

• Home building - your home building and built-in fittings.
• Home contents - domestic assets and equipment in your home, such as clothing, office equipment or furnishings.
• Farm property - farm buildings, contents, machinery, fencing and hay in the event of a fire or defined event, like storm damage.
• Farm liability - accidental property damage or personal injury caused by your farm operations.
• Farm vehicle - farm vehicles including cars, tractors, trucks, utes, motorcycles, quad bikes, trailers and forklifts.
• Machinery breakdown - breakdown of machinery you need to run your farm.

You can also add on cover for:

• Farm property in transit - your equipment, produce and supplies against fire, collision, overturning or theft while they are in transit.
• Portable and electronic equipment - breakdown of office equipment, such as computers, printers and phones, anywhere in Australia.
• Additional working costs - additional expenses to maintain normal farm operations following a defined event (e.g. a bushfire), so you can keep your farm operating while critical equipment is replaced or property restored.
• Tax audit expenses - professional fees resulting from a tax office audit or investigation.

^{The information provided is general advice only and does not take into account your personal circumstances. Before making any decisions, please consider your own circumstances and the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determinations. For copies, visit racv.com.au. As a referrer, RACV Insurance Services Pty Ltd AFS Licence No. 230039 receives commission for each policy sold or renewed. Product(s) issued by Insurance Australia Ltd, ABN 11 000 016 722, AFS Licence No. 227681.}