Why a Tailored Policy Beats an Off-the-Shelf One
A packaged policy is designed for an average business. The trouble is that the average business does not exist, and the gaps between the template and your actual work are exactly where claims fail.
A package is built for an average that does not exist
Off-the-shelf business policies are built to suit the middle of a market: a typical office, a typical shopfront, a typical set of risks. They are convenient and often cheap, and for a genuinely ordinary business they can be perfectly adequate.
The problem is that most businesses are ordinary in some ways and unusual in others: a particular process, a high-value tool, work done at height or on client sites, a seasonal spike in stock. The template does not know about any of that.
What the off-the-shelf version tends to leave out
Common gaps include liability limits set too low for the contracts you sign, tools and equipment that are only covered at the premises and not on the job, specific activities that sit outside the standard occupation definition, and sub-limits that cap your biggest exposure at a fraction of its value.
Each is easy to miss when you are comparing a package on price, and expensive to discover at claim time.
How a broker tailors the cover
Tailoring is not just ticking more boxes. It can mean choosing the insurer whose wording best fits your trade, adding endorsements to extend or clarify cover, lifting a liability limit to meet a contract, and setting sums insured against what things actually cost.
Where a risk is unusual, a broker can take it to an underwriter directly and negotiate terms, something a self-service package simply cannot do.
The cost of a near-enough fit
A policy that is 90% right looks like a bargain until the 10% is exactly what you needed. The saving on the premium is small; the shortfall on a declined or reduced claim is not.
Tailored cover costs a little more thought up front, and usually pays for itself the first time something goes wrong.
Cover this article touches on
Get a quote
Tell us what you run and how it earns. It takes about a minute, and we come back to you with your options.
Start a quoteOr call 1300 080 323.
Any advice on this website is general advice only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on it, consider whether it is appropriate for you and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).