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How do you know what to insure?

Paul Martin • May 16, 2015

It's a bit of a Murphy's Law principle that businesses often don't really come to grips with their risk management plan (or the lack of one) till some random accident takes out a key manager or lead hand and it hits everyone what it will mean for the business.

No one can plan for everything but every business should have a sound grasp of the kinds of risks that might hit them hard. And every business should put strategies in place to minimise risk and deal with it, if the unthinkable happens.

Business InsuranceWhen you are thinking about insurable risk for your business, emotion can sometimes derail the process unless you put a framework in place to assist in the decision making process. You also need to assess whether you can manage risk through your own resources first.   

There is no one rule to apply to insurance risk as everyone's situation is different. However, start by brainstorming up every conceivable risk. Then divide your list into two columns:

  • What are the potentially catastrophic events that may affect your business?  What are the events that could result in financial loss, cause you to substantially change your lifestyle or force you to close down your business? These are ideal risks you should think about insuring for.
  • What are the risks that might potentially cause you to suffer losses but which you could manage out of your own resources such as cash assets? Generally, you may not need to insure against these risks.

Whenever they start to work through their insurance plan, most people tend to think about things rather than people - the buildings, the vehicles, plant and equipment. You also need to factor in the impact if key people were suddenly not there to make everything run smoothly.

Do a double take and consider whether you've really taken human capital risk into account. What would be the effect if you couldn't work for six months, for example? Who are the other key people in your business? What would be the impact if they couldn't work for six months or if they couldn't return to work at all?

Often people make the mistake of over or under insuring in the wrong area and find there are gaps in their risk management plan. For professional advice in structuring your risk management plan connect with your local insurance consultant. If you're not quite sure where to start,  contact us first to help break it down.

How the new Government and coalition agreements might affect owners of residential rental properties

By Paul Martin • 04 Dec, 2023
There were some key takeouts of interest to many of our clients from the recently signed coalition agreements between National, ACT and New Zealand First and the formation of the new Government. In particular there are a number of policies which will likely benefit landlord clients who own residential rentals. I have summarised some of these below. 1. Return of Interest deductibility for residential rental properties Interest deductibility for residential rental property owners will return. It will be phased back in over three tax years: • 2023/24 tax year: 60% of interest cost will be deductible. • 2024/25 tax year: 80% of interest cost will be deductible. • 2025/26 tax year: 100% of interest cost will be deductible. 2. Reduction in bright-line period National signalled in their pre-election campaign that the bright-line period for residential rental property sales would reduce from 10-years to 2-years. While the exact implementation of this policy is not yet known, it is good news on the horizon for residential property investors. 3. Reinstatement of 90-day no-cause termination notices The new government will reinstate 90-day no-cause tenancy termination notices. This will avoid many unnecessary disputes in the Tenancy Tribunal and gives landlords more confidence in letting to possibly “marginal tenants". Many landlords have avoided what they considered to be risky tenants because eviction for anti-social behaviour was so difficult. With this reinstatement, landlords might be more inclined to give a marginal tenant a chance because they know that if the tenant misbehaves, they won’t be stuck with them. If you would like more information on how these changes might affect your personal circumstances, please feel free to contact us to discuss further.

How does provisional tax work, especially in an economic downturn?

By Paul Martin • 18 Jul, 2023
If you had to pay tax of more than $5,000 in your last income tax return, you may have to pay provisional tax for the following year. Provisional tax is like making progress payments on next year's income tax.

How to handle inflation as a sole trader

By Paul Martin • 18 Jul, 2023
Sole traders have had an especially difficult few years as inflation surges. We have got three tips to help lighten the load for your sole trader business. 
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