6 critical questions to ask your insurance broker
Did you know?
Last year, Canadian business and homeowners suffered the fourth worst year since 1983 in financial losses due to severe weather damage.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, severe weather events in 2020, including hail, wind (hurricanes, tornadoes), earthquakes, floods and wildfires, caused $2.4 billion in insured damage to taxpayers and insurers.
Alberta remains the country’s hardest hit province, with the Fort McMurray flooding and Calgary hailstorms the biggest severe weather events of the year. Due to increased natural catastrophes and severe weather events and losses they cause, insurance rates and policy terms are becoming more onerous than ever. It’s important to protect your business with the right insurance coverage and to ensure you understand your insurance policy.
2 Things Your Business Should Know
- The overwhelming majority of Canadian owner-managed businesses (of all sizes) are extremely ill-prepared for recovering from a big loss and interruption of their business, whether caused by severe weather or other Developing a sufficient Business Continuity Plan will help your business prepare for these events, reduce your risks and resume operations quicker when something happens.
- If your business suffers a high loss, the repair/restoration and resumption of your normal business operations will likely take much longer than you think, and cost much more than you expect – especially during the COVID-19 Lumber costs, for example, have spiked more than three times in the past 12 months.
Protect Your Business & Know Your Policy: 6 Critical Questions to Ask Your Insurance Broker
Almost all property insurance policies cover all risks of direct physical damage, except for the list of causes of loss (for example war/insurrection) or types of property, that are specifically excluded in your policy. Talk to your broker about which coverage options and selection process will work best for your company.
Here are 6 questions to ask your broker that can help you understand your policy:
- What types of large losses does my business face which I’m not covered for?
- Can I purchase coverage for those kinds of losses?
- If I can’t purchase coverage for certain types of losses, what can I do to minimize my risk?
- If you owned my business, what coverage would you buy to protect me against severe weather and other events that cause major losses?
- What sort of Business Continuity Plan do I need and how can you help me with it?
- What can I do about potential loss of income/long delays in getting my business back up and running in case something happens?
These questions will help you to decide which business insurance will be right for you & for rest we’re always there.
