Tag: Hobart

One size does not fit all – why expert insurance advice when buying insurance matters.

September 28, 2017

Director Melissa Donaldson talks about why expertise and tailoring matters when it comes to buying insurance, comparing it to something at least 50% of the population can identify with: bra shopping.

“I hated looking for clothes, and found one labeled one-size-fits-all,” recalls Donaldson. “Trust me, it doesn’t! Ever bought a bra that pinches, bites or rides up? Wished you had gone and had one correctly fitted?? I have.”

Having the right insurance is no accident

“Much like finding clothes or a bra that fits correctly, you can tailor your insurance covers. Don’t be fooled by clever marketing that all insurances are the same – there’s a reason insurance brokers have to continuously maintain and grow their professional development and expertise – insurance can be complicated and the environment changes constantly (think about emerging risks like cyber and terrorist attacks).”

Buying insurance should be the same approach as other professional services

“Insurance policies are complex legal contracts. Think of an important document you’ve done, such as a will… Did you Google legal advice and complete your will online? Or did you speak to a lawyer for confirmation that everything is in order? (Gosh, I hope you did, even for my own peace of mind!) Insurance may be considered a ‘grudge purchase’ but give yourself the satisfaction of knowing you’ve not left it to chance. And should something happen and you need to make a claim, you’re not alone – you’ll be in good hands with your insurance broker by your side.”

Clearing the confusion about car insurance

August 31, 2017

Do you have the right car insurance in place?

As much of a grudge purchase as car insurance can be, not having your car insured properly could effectively bankrupt you.

Allsure Insurance Director Melissa Donaldson exclaimed “I don’t understand why you would be working so hard at building a business, yet leave a huge hole in your risk profile! I cannot comprehend it. A new Merc is super expensive, imagine if you wrote one off, and you didn’t have insurance. We are here to help!”

But what are the types of car insurance and how much does car insurance typically cost? See below for a high level explanation about some common car insurance lingo.

Third party

Third party insurance means in the case of an accident, the other party [person, property] is covered for the damage your vehicle caused. Many take this option if their car isn’t worth much… but keep in mind that you may save money on your on premium, however, you might be out of pocket on car repairs or a total loss. Sometimes it’s less than $200 per year for this cover.

Third party fire and theft

Third party fire and theft covers the above AS WELL as if your car if it catches fire, or if it is stolen. It doesn’t cover your car if it’s damaged in an accident. It could be less then $300 per year for this cover.

Comprehensive

Comprehensive car insurance covers all the above, as well as repairs to your vehicle if you are in an accident. You can also add features like a hire car and windscreen. It can be as little as $550 per year for this cover.

Compulsory third party (CTP)

Compulsory third party insurance is MANDATORY, and is designed to cover the cost of personal injury to another party, this is TAC. If they are injured in the car accident, it pays for their medical and rehabilitation.

Want to learn more car insurance lingo? Check out our blog ‘Car insurance – market value versus agreed value‘ by Taz (Thaddeus Treloar).

PS. We haven’t taken your person circumstance into account, just general advice. Yes we’re an insurance broker, with a small, local business, trying to save the world, one insurance policy at a time.

PSS. Prices will change depending on vehicles, state and drivers.

PSSS. Have questions? Talk to someone like us! Call (03) 5278 6808 to get answers or a free quote.

Allsure Insurance’s Hall of Claims

June 21, 2017

Allsure Insurance’s Director Melissa Donaldson has a broad range of insurance experience and expertise, including claims. Today she’s going to share some of the more acCLAIMed (sorry) stories from our business over the years.

Insurance claims – they’re like a train wreck (actually in some instances, they literally ARE a train wreck.) They can be terrible, but they can also be terribly interesting.

I can’t tell you how many times in the insurance business I’ve heard that all we do is make a promise on a page (or a PDF, in this digital age). People pay for that promise, actually hoping they never need to call in the promise. Actually all parties hope they never need to call it in, because that means that nothing terrible has happened. But things can and do happen, as we all know.

But we can also LEARN from stories, so we thought we would share some of ours. Check out six of the stories we still talk about, the nominees for our ‘Hall of Claims’.

The revolving door claim.

A long term client came into our office to insure her brand new car – she was super excited about her purchase. Our dad sorted her out with a full, comprehensive insurance policy. She happily paid her premium, signed her paperwork and left the office.

Ten minutes later… She walks back in. Dad asks “did you forget something?” To which she said “well no, I just crashed my car.”

He then got busy submitting her claim!

Let’s go fishing.

A funny story, well, we all had a giggle anyway. A dear, elderly client of ours was taken out on a bit of a fishing expedition.

It had been a while since he’d gone out on a boat, and the waters weren’t as calm as he had hoped, and unfortunately he was stricken with a decent case of sea sickness…

Whilst releasing the burley, his false teeth let go too!

Lucky for him he had accidental damage cover, and we were able to replace his false teeth.

The time his singing sounded best in the shower.

They make amazing things today! Like, how about a set of superhuman bionic hearing aids, that can be blue toothed to your phone?!

They, as you can imagine, are worth a pretty penny! In fact, at least $10,000 a pair.

They are made so well, you wouldn’t even know they were there…apparently not even when you went to shower.

Top insurance cover meant his hearing aids were replaced, and he can clearly hear his wife nagging him again. 🙂

The claim that never was – sometimes you are actually not insured.

We see it all. It was one of those instances, where you think to yourself, that was a bit strange.

He rushed in, in a little bit of a panic, requesting to insure his contents. He was adamant in needed to be done right away.

A little later we found out a house was burned to the ground not far away…yes you guessed it was that man who set the fire, and then thought he best insure his contents!

Needless to say, he wasn’t insured.

The claims cycle.

We have some very keen cyclists as our clients. Having spent many years supporting and helping with the Tour De Cure, has meant clients with lovely bicycles.

A lot will strap them on the roof on their car when they head out to a training circuit.

One day, our client was coming back after a ride with his wife. He momentarily forgot the bikes were securely strapped to the top of the car, he flicked up the door on his garage, and drove straight in!

He heard the crunch, remembered the bikes, panicked and reversed out, but, unaware the bikes had actually been flicked off, he proceeded to drive over them.

Lucky he had a policy that covered this.

Tie my trampoline down.

This is a classic! It bring together all aspects of your household policy.

It was extremely windy and raining, and the kids got a new trampoline for Christmas.

I know, I know…as you expected, the tramp took off, smashed into the side of the house, broke a window, and sent glass, rain and debris into the lounge room, damaging the couch, carpet and the curtains.

But it wasn’t done! It was picked up again by the wind…then rolled along the corrugated iron roof, not missing a single sheet. Doonkkkkk-doonnkkk-doonkkkk!

Flying off the roof, rolling along the top of their front fence, it sent splintered wood everywhere. Next item up for destruction, the neighbour’s car!

Luckily, it finally came to rest without further damage. Insurance cover was used on contents, home and liability.

Lessons learnt.

Learn from the stories in our ‘Hall of Claims’ and give us a call, we can make sure you have the right insurance cover. Remember, ‘having the right insurance is no accident’.

Why stop at a one stop shop?

June 15, 2017

Sometimes having all your eggs in one basket is a good idea!

We know when you’re busy running a business, it can be hard to keep track of all of your insurances (and what you SHOULD have insured). If you come to us to service your insurance needs, we can quickly assess if our have any ‘holes’ in your cover.

One stop shop for business insurance

Perhaps you need business interruption insurance, or professional indemnity, or even management and directors cover.

How about the tangibles? We can help you with detailed spreadsheets showing what you have insured, the value and type of cover. This can be then checked off against your accountant’s depreciation schedules, for instance. You’ll have far less chance of having items left off cover.

Get your insurances reviewed annually – efficiently!

Having your insurance reviewed annually will save you time as it’s dealt with once, not many times a year. Our team and our services will save you money and time, we see it over and over again.

Find cash flow a bit difficult at certain times of the year?

You can pay your premiums monthly and as one transaction, if using a premium funder. Your business is our business, we love seeing our clients grow and prosper.

Fancy a cuppa?

AND – don’t forget we have great coffee at Allsure. Only one way to find out, stop in for a chat about your insurance solution needs.

Allsure Insurance Director Melissa Donaldson featured in tourism insurance article

June 1, 2017

We’re pleased to note that our own Melissa Donaldson was featured in a recent NIBA Insurance Adviser national industry magazine for her tourism and hospitality insurance expertise. See below for a few excerpts of her quotes and comments from the article.

Making sure clients are fully insured against more possible outcomes

Melissa was the very first quote in the article, noting “We as brokers have increased opportunities to make sure clients are fully insured against more possible outcomes, as many clients only take the basics of cover.” She stressed that in regards to liability, “We’ve seen more and more liability claims, many are simple trip and falls.”

There’s more to tourism insurance than just liability insurance covers

But insurance can do more than protect your business from customers tripping or falling on your premises, Donaldson says, “Having the right insurance can also cover the ‘products’ clients make (such as wine) and things like product recalls.”

Asking the right questions is vital, according to Donaldson. She asks clients things like “Do you have the public on site? Do you attend trade shows, markets or festivals? Can you afford to replace your business assets in the event of an accident or extreme weather event?” These answer to these questions all factor into putting the right insurance solution together.

Cyber risk and tourism insurance?

With many travel and tourism operators doing business over the internet, the increase in cyber-related events is a genuine concern. Data breaches, system hacks and malware risks have the potential to put tourism companies either temporarily or permanently out of business.

Donaldson states: “More automation and technology bring increased risks, with more businesses selling online and having a web presence, nearly every business faces at least some level of cyber risk.”

To sum it up

“Putting together a good insurance solution, including things like key person insurance, good life policies, management liability, D&O insurance, natural disasters and business interruption insurance helps to position the business to financially survive.”

You can read the full article (PDF) here including Melissa Donaldson’s list of six things that brokers and clients need to know about arranging tourism insurance (also find it online here).