Zurich has lavished praise on its broker community by unveiling that clients who work through a broker turn out far better off when it comes to making a claim.

This was especially the case for many claimants in the wake of the Queensland floods, with those clients who spent the time with a broker more likely to be sufficiently covered for damages from the catastrophe.

“We only have one distribution channel and we stick by our broker distribution channel as we have found that in claims situations customers who got the right advice are the best placed,” Daniel Fogarty, executive general manager, corporate, at Zurich said on a panel at the Australian Insurance Summit in Sydney this week.

“If you look at the claims situation in Queensland after the floods, clients who did get advice through a broker, particularity in the commercial space, were much better off.”

Fogarty said the company found by speaking to various politicians in the wake of the floods, many did not even understand the vital role that brokers play, which remains an issue for the industry as a whole.

“Another challenge is that clearly not everyone got great advice in Brisbane,” said Fogarty. “But those who did work with the brokers were certainly in better shape.

“For example, I had a very disgruntled customer who were an engineering company and had their premises under water. Luckily their broker had provided advice which had led them having more comprehensive cover than many other businesses in the area.

“That guy is back in business again now because they got the right advice up front from a broker,” added Fogarty.

Source: Insurance Business Online

Victoria’s fire services levy (FSL) on insurance premiums is rising again, with reports the State Government has abandoned a transition period under which the FSL would be dropped in favour of a property-based levy.

insuranceNEWS.com.au understands the Victorian Government intends to instruct insurers to charge a full year’s levy on annual premiums prior to July next year, when the levy will switch to collection based on property ownership.

Under this arrangement, insurers will have to collect around $600 million.

It means an insured whose premium falls due any time after July this year will pay a full year’s levy via their insurance for the year, and then pay via a calculation on property after July next year.

The industry was expecting a transition period starting this year, when insurance premiums would fall and property-based charges rise.

Last week QBE advised brokers that the levy for fire, industrial special risks and consequential loss would rise to 95% from 85% for Victorian country clients and to 54% from 44% for Victorian metro clients, effective immediately.

The levy has already risen 30% in country areas this financial year to contribute $416 million for new equipment and other improvements to the Country Fire Authority.

Victoria already imposes the world’s highest levels of taxes on insurance premiums. The record rates of the FSL are made worse by cumulatively adding GST and then stamp duty to the total.

NSW clients’ premiums, which are also affected by an FSL levy, will be unchanged this year at 36%, while Tasmanians will pay a levy of 28%, which is also unchanged.

Insurers are not commenting while negotiations with the Victorian Government continue, and insuranceNEWS.com.au was also unable to obtain a response from the Government, which delivers its budget tomorrow.

It has previously said there will be a transition period from July this year to allow insurers to phase out the levy.

The Insurance Council of Australia says it is awaiting the tabling of the legislation that abolishes statutory insurance contributions to the fire services.

“In the interim, discussions are ongoing with the Victorian authorities on transition arrangements,” a spokesman said.

Long time FSL abolition campaigner Allan Manning, the MD of major loss manager LMI, says there should be a one-year changeover period when insurance premiums fall and property rates rise, to ensure a smooth transition.

He says other states which switched FSL collection from premiums to local government rates implemented transition procedures that were much fairer to consumers.

Under the Victorian arrangement insureds who renew shortly before July 2013 will pay “the full whack” of FSL on their premiums.

Source: insurancenews.com.au

Did you know that this is how the FSL was charged?

What are your thoughts about the continual rise in taxes on our Insurance?

Dear Mr Angus,

Please see below email today from QBE Insurance stating that the Fire Services Levy is yet again being increased in Victoria. 

This tax was to be abolished.  Could you please advise when this is to take place?  I know it was delayed twelve months from 2012 to 2013.  Is this still on track?

I find it absurd and appalling that the Victorian State Government continue to charge such an exhorbitant tax yet other states have been able to manage their taxes without having a Fire Services Levy at all.

As you would know, this tax only taxes those persons who CHOOSE to insure.  Thus anyone who doesn’t insure, or underinsures, doesn’t contribute to the tax.  How is this fair?  The tax should be levied on all property owners, regardless of whether they insure or not.  Why does the insurance industry have to be a tax collector when quite clearly a better and fairer system is available?

And now the country folk have to pay nearly 100% in fire levies??  What a disgrace that is.  For a $100 commercial business in country Victoria, a client will end up paying $135 in taxes on top of the initial $100. 

I understand the need for funding for the fire brigades.  I do not begrudge them at all.  But it is high time the government enacted a fairer system that applies to all property owners, not just the ones that are responsible and insure their properties. 

That brings me to another tax bugbear of mine.  The way these taxes are calculated is a rip off.  All of these taxes are added together, so you pay initially a Fire Services Levy on the premium.  Add them together and then charge GST.  Sub total and then charge Victorian Stamp Duty.  So you pay a tax on a tax on a tax.   That’s a nice little earner for the Government.  Charge a tax and then tax that tax twice more.  Incredible!

Bear also in mind that when the GST was imposed, Jeffrey Kennett advised as Premier that the Victorian Stamp Duty would be abolished by 2006.  Funny that it is still there.

This just needs to stop and a fairer system implemented.

I would be interested to hear the Government’s current position on this matter.

Kind Regards,

Glenn Stevens

About $65 million worth of claims have now been lodged, the Insurance Council of Australia said yesterday.

The figure is likely to continue rising, the council says.

The floods were declared a “catastrophe” last week, meaning companies have put measures in place to process claims quickly.

If you have sustained any damage due to the floods or heavy rainfall and you need to make a claim, please contact us on (03) 9808 9222 as soon as possible so we are able to assist you.

For more information on this article please visit The Herald Sun

We have introduced a special offer to all business owners in the south eastern suburbs to get a free Business Insurance Health Check. We want to ensure that in an event of a claim, an inferior policy doesn’t ruin your business.

We are certain that there are many business owners out there that have insufficient insurance coverage and therefore a claim would be detrimental to their business.

Do you know if you have the right insurance cover for your business? Do you know what you are and are not covered for? These are the questions that can be answered when making an appointment with one of our brokers.

For more information on the free Business Insurance Health Check, Click Here.

With major insurance premium rate increases in the last few months now is a perfect time to get a

FREE BUSINESS INSURANCE HEALTH CHECK.*

How does it work?

We come to you and discuss what covers you should have to fully padlock your business and your livelihood.

At no cost to you we will recommend policy coverage that’s tailored to your requirements.

For more information, please check out our Special Offers  or send us an Enquiry.

Country towns worst hit by the latest crisis were also likely to be hit with council rate increases to cover huge rebuilding costs, AMP Capital’s Dr Shane Oliver said.

Dr Oliver said higher home and contents costs were inevitable.

But Deloitte partner Elaine Collins did not envision further rises, given increases already factored in. RACV said the impact on future premiums was unclear, and Suncorp said it was not yet a major claims event.

A Deloitte report released this month forecast a 20 per cent rise over two years.

The Insurance Council of Australia said several thousand claims had already been received nationwide.

Fore more information on this story please visit The Herald Sun

We encourage you who need to make a claim, to contact Bricher in our business hours or CGU’s 24-hour claims service line as soon as possible on 1800 252 461.

If you are contacting CGU direct please have the following information on hand:

• Policy Number
• Insured Name
• Risk Address
• Date/Time of Loss
• Cause of Loss
• Loss/Damage Description

To help CGU assess claims, we encourage you to

If you have any questions in relation to a possible claim or your current insurance policy please contact us at Bricher on (03) 9808 9222 to assist you with lodging your claim.

A report by global accountancy group PricewaterhouseCoopers also found Australian businesses rank cybercrime as the second most common form of “economic crime”.

Globally, cybercrimes are ranked as the fourth most common form of economic crime.

“Cybercrime is the biggest growing threat to business and no longer just the domain of the serious hacker,” PwC partner Malcolm Shackell said.

Mr Shackell said the “low cost, high rewards and anonymity” of cybercrime ensured it had broad appeal to would-be criminals.

He said there were large cultural hurdles to clear before organisations solved their security problems.

“One of the stumbling blocks to businesses being better prepared is that cybercrime is perceived as just an IT issue,” he said.

The survey also found that almost half of businesses nationwide had been affected by some sort of economic crime – which includes everything from shoplifting and identity fraud to money laundering.

Of those affected, 16 per cent suffered losses of more than $5 million.

The main form of economic crime, affecting 86 per cent, was employee expense fraud or invoice fraud. Cybercrime accounted for a third of all economic crimes.

“Volatile and uncertain economic conditions globally have increased both the incentive and the opportunity to commit economic crime,” Mr Shackell said.

The report was based on PwC’s Global Economic Crime Survey, which is carried out every two years.

Do you have Crime Insurance?

Are you concerned that your business may be affected by this?

Are you aware that there is an insurance product on the market that can help you with these sort of issues?

Please have a look at our Management Liability information to see how you can protect both your business and assets if you find yourself facing a claim.

If you have any questions about this product or any of our other products please contact us on
(03) 9808 9222 or send us through an email.

Source: Herald Sun

Here is some brief information about insurance cover on floods.

What is the definition of Flood? 

Flood is the covering of normally dry land by water escaping or released from the normal confines of a watercourse or lake, whether or not it is altered or modified. Flood also includes water escaping from the confines of any reservoir, channel, canal or dam.

I have insurance, am i automatically covered for flood?

No. Not all policies cover floods.  It will depend on which insurance company you are insured with. Contact Us and we can let you know of your policy coverage.

What type of flooding can I be insured against?

Flooding can be divided into three categories:

1) Flash flooding/stormwater/rainwater runoff caused by high intensity, but short duration storms producing localised flooding.

The majority of insurance policies cover this type of inundation risk.

2) Riverine/Inland Flooding/Flooding caused by river, creek or artificial catchments like dams overflowing their banks due to long duration rainfall.

Many insurance policies do not cover this type of flooding.

3) Actions of sea/sea level rise/storm surge. This normally refers to inundation caused by the movement of sea water and can include king or high tides.

There is very little cover available for this risk.

If you have any questions or have incurred damage due to the storms that have crossed Victoria, please give us a call on (03) 9808 9222.