THE CHALLENGE

This privately-owned business was sitting on a ticking time bomb and didn’t realise it. At any moment, a business with over 40 years of entrepreneurship and old-fashioned hard work could potentially face a major emotional and financial disruption to their operation.  

While their business had grown significantly, a lack of guidance and advice meant the companies insurance program had been left behind. The years of “rolling cover” left policies obsolete and the company’s coverage became virtually worthless. As such, the ability to restore their business and resume operations after a major disruption was severely lacking.

Ominously and unbeknown to anyone, a severe hail storm with the potential to cause such a catastrophe was just weeks away.

THE INTERVENTION

This manufacturing business was fortunate. After years of being underinsured, an introduction to GSA kick started a processes that ultimately saved the business. Through a thorough review process that involved a risk review of the business and comparison with their existing cover, uninsured  and underinsured risks were identified. The business owners were shocked, and took immediate steps to partner with GSA to address the crucial changes in insurance cover. The commitment of time and call to action would soon prove crucial.

THE CATASTROPHE

Within days of finalising coverage, a severe hail storm hit and ripped the roof off one of their key locations. The resulting damage was obvious with water infiltrating the warehouse destroying stock and machinery. The next day, armed with their upgraded insurance policy, an assessor visited the site to confirm and was able to quickly determine the Insurers liability for the loss. Within two days, the business received an interim payment of $100,000 to ease any strain on cash flow, and ensure the business could immediately focus on preparing for recovery.

A business interruption specialist covered by the policy was then engaged  to calculate the cost of the disaster from every angle. The leadership team was devastated to hear that it would take five months to fully recover from the damage. But the relief of having dedicated Insurer resources and $800,000 in insurance payments to keep them going eased the pain to all involved. Within five months the business had fully recovered: no customers loss, no staff lost, no impact on the bottom line, and they had a trusted, proven insurance broking partnership in place.  

KEY TAKEAWAY

Good advice is invaluable. Insurance brokers have two primary responsibilities. First, they should assess and advise on risks, and provide potential solutions to deal with those risks.  Second, in the very unfortunate event of an accident or catastrophe, the broker should react swiftly and professionally.

As a business owner/leader, you should be able to trust their expertise and capability as ultimately it could be the difference between getting back to business as usual, or having no business to return to.

This article was written by GSA, for more information visit www.gsaib.com.au