Private companies encounter unique risks, especially when it comes to those responsible to management. Not all coverage is the same, so it’s important to speak with an expert to discuss your particular needs.
The common claims listed below have been included for your understanding of the risks, but there’s plenty more, so be sure to contact an advisor for advice.
Industry Trends in 2020
- An increase in “Bad News” claims against the company for losses in share value and investment. Bad News claims are triggered when a company announces bad news, like a cyber attack, environmental damage or fraud, investors lose out.
- Unfair dismissal is the most common claim made.
- Claims of crime within businesses are low in occurrence but reach high amounts financially.
Adversely, Employment Practices Liability and Tax Audit, are high in occurrence but with low claim amounts.
Examples of common claims:
Unfair Dismissal. A company is required to make several employees redundant. One of these employees is a woman who is 3 months pregnant at the time, and she claims unfair dismissal based on discriminatory motives.
Employee Theft. An employee at a cafe is in charge of depositing assets to the bank at the close of the working day. This employee has been altering the depositing slips to reflect a lower figure and pocketing the rest. By the time the employee is found guilty of this act, the funds are unable to be recovered, leading to a shareholder making a claim accusing the manager of employee mismanagement.
Employment Practices. An employee in a small corporate office is bullied by his/her coworkers for losing an important account. Management is not aware of the bullying but have not conducted any workplace mental health seminars explaining the procedures put in place to prevent bullying. The employee makes a claim against management for failing to provide a safe working environment.
Theft of trade secrets. The director of a small marketing firm moves to a competing firm. The director teaches his new employees a specific way of coding HTML to produce an identical website layout used at his old marketing firm for their clients. The director’s old marketing firm claim theft of confidential trade secrets against the director.
Failure to comply with OH&S. An agricultural equipment hire company does not attach safety labels to certain power tools. When a customer injures him/herself whilst operating the equipment purchased from their store, they claim failure to comply with OH&S.
What you can do
Advice from an expert broker is always the best starting point. They can look at the key issues of your business, use their experience to identify the risks, and build you coverage around that.
Allsafe Insurance Brokers acts as your broker, with access to the largest insurance broker network in Australia, meaning you get expert, customised policies you simply can’t get through an online provider.
Get in touch with one of our experts to learn more about protecting your business, and your managers, today.
