If you’re looking for ways to reduce risks to your business, here are three trending risks where you should consider insurance cover to get your business insurance on track for the year ahead.
Cyber Risks
Over the last two years, almost half (43 per cent) of Australian organisations who responded to a survey conducted by PwC, said they had suffered a cyber attack. However PwC believes the actual figure is “probably much higher”.
PwC adds businesses still aren’t doing enough to guard themselves against cyber threats.
The survey also showed, almost half (48 per cent) of businesses had not completed a cyber vulnerability assessment, while over one-third (36 per cent) didn’t have a cyber security plan in operation.
The Rise of the Remote Worker
Technology has changed the way employees work. It’s no longer a nine-to-five world out there, with cloud computing technology enabling workers to access their emails and company files from anywhere in the world.
As such, employees are increasingly demanding more flexible hours and their employer’s permission to work from home.
According to a global study by the International Workplace Group, 70 per cent of employees are working at least one day a week somewhere other than the office. More than half (53 per cent) work remotely for half the week or more.
This brings with it a whole set of Workplace Health and Safety risks, due to your duty of care as an employer to ensure employees are working in a safe environment.
In instances like this, it is crucial to have the most suitable Professional Indemnity Insurance, Management Liability Insurance and Workers’ Compensation Insurance to help ensure you are covered in the event of an accident or legal action.
However, if you decide to go the other route and harness the power of the “gig economy” by outsourcing to freelancers and contractors, that introduces a whole set of “grey area” risks on whether they can be deemed an employee of yours.
As such, this could open your business up to a potential lawsuit from the contractor around salaries, superannuation and working conditions down the track.
Technology Trends
Technology is a fluid beast to tame in the business world, and the pace of change is only accelerating.
Once solely the domain of large corporations, tech solutions that rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning solutions are increasingly being taken up by small businesses.
Some are trialling new products to get the jump on their competitors, others are doing it on the fly because their rivals are, while others are using it to cut down costs and have chatbots act on their business’s behalf.
Whatever your business’ reasons, you need to make sure you correctly implement the technology and have the right Business Insurance, to help you cover off your risks.
Source: Business Insurance for Women
