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18
Dec

2025 Planning: Insurance Essentials for Your Business

With 2025 almost upon us, now’s the time to assess whether your business is set for the year ahead. As expected, this article will focus on ensuring your business insurance coverage aligns with your needs.

Changes in risks, business growth, and external factors could mean your insurance requirements look different from those in 2024. As your broker or adviser, we’re here to review your policies, identify any gaps, and ensure your business is properly protected for what lies ahead.

Here’s some groundwork to get you in the right mindset for your policy package review.

Start with an Annual Insurance Review

A yearly review of your insurance policies is essential to ensure they match the current needs of your business precisely. Your business might have experienced changes such as:

  • New operations
  • New product lines or services
  • Regulatory and legal changes
  • Changes in employee headcount or roles
  • Increased focus on employee wellbeing and health
  • Supply chain adjustments, such as new suppliers, vendors, or shifts in logistics
  • New technology and equipment
  • Environmental or climate factors
  • Cybersecurity or data handling practices
  • Partnerships and contractual obligations, and
  • Shifting consumer or client preferences.

As a result, there’s a risk your coverage might fall short if it’s not promptly updated. Industry reports show that Australian SMEs this year are adopting a more cautious risk appetite due to economic uncertainties, regulatory changes, and evolving market dynamics.

We can guide you in assessing these developments to address any coverage gaps. This annual check-in prepares your SME for both planned and unexpected changes, setting you up for a more secure year ahead.

Adjust Coverage for Business Growth

If your business has grown over the past year, it’s essential to increase insurance coverage including sum insureds. Adding new employees, expanding operations, or investing in new equipment all warrant a fresh look at your policies.

As your business scales up, so do the risks. This means property, liability, and business interruption insurance may need adjustments to reflect your expanded scope of operations.

Cybersecurity and Digital Transformation 

With digital transformation continuing to reshape business processes, cyber insurance has become essential for most businesses. Ransomware attacks, data breaches, and other cyber threats have become too common, and the financial and reputational damage they bring can be devastating.

The Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia and the Cyber Wardens Program found that about half of small businesses report a medium or high risk of a cyber security threat. But, about four in 10 have low confidence in their preparedness for such incidents and are uncertain about recovery strategies. The Australian Cyber Security Centre says a cyber incident is reported once every six minutes on average.

If your business has expanded its digital footprint, such as through new software, digital payment systems, or cloud storage, take this as a prompt to review your cybersecurity coverage.

Updating your cyber insurance ensures your business is protected against modern threats and can help cover costs, including:

  • Data breach response and system repair
  • Cyber extortion and ransomware
  • Third-party liability
  • Social engineering fraud (when fraudulent communications trick your employee(s), and you suffer financial losses)
  • Legal and regulatory expenses
  • Crisis management and public relations.

We can customise a cyber policy to match the unique circumstances and digital risks of your business.

Natural Disasters and Climate Change

The changing climate is affecting the frequency and severity of natural disasters, and your business must consider the impact of these risks. Whether you’re in an area prone to floods, bushfires, or extreme weather events, consider revisiting your property and business continuity insurance.

New weather-related risks might not have been a concern in the past, but now they could be a significant factor for your operations. Since the 2019–2020 Black Summer bushfires, 11 insurance catastrophes have been declared in Australia, with insurers having to process almost 788,000 claims.

Talk to us about modifying your coverage to better reflect the changing climate conditions in your area.

Consider Industry Specific Risks

Certain industries have specific insurance needs. Aligning your coverage accordingly strengthens your SME’s resilience. For instance, retail businesses may need increased product liability insurance, while manufacturers might require more robust coverage for equipment breakdowns.

We can work with you to identify any industry-specific risks and ensure your policies address these. Tailored insurance solutions offer peace of mind, knowing you’re prepared for challenges unique to your sector.

Protecting Against Emerging Technology Risks

If your business uses emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) or the Internet of Things (IoT), you may need to update your insurance to account for these new tools. Technology is a double-edged sword, offering efficiencies while introducing new risks.

Technology-related coverages, such as errors and omissions (E&O) or technology liability insurance, aim to protect against malfunctions or failures that could disrupt your operations.

Why not start the new year with a comprehensive review of your business insurance? Let us, as your broker or adviser, guide you to ensure your insurance policies reflect where your business is headed—so you can focus on growth without worrying about gaps in your coverage.

 

Article Supplied by OneAffiniti

Photo by Pranithan Chorruangsak on Unsplash