Your business evolves constantly – your insurance should too. Learn how a regular insurance review protects your bottom line and ensures you're not overpaying or underinsured.
An annual insurance review is a comprehensive assessment of your business insurance coverage conducted once per year. It ensures your policies still match your business needs, covers any new risks, and identifies opportunities to optimise your coverage or premiums.
Many New Zealand businesses set their insurance policies and forget about them until renewal time. This approach can leave you vulnerable to gaps in coverage or paying for insurance you no longer need.
With New Zealand's unique risk profile – including earthquake zones, flood-prone areas, and remote business locations – regular reviews ensure your coverage accounts for local conditions and any changes to your business operations.
While an annual review is recommended, certain business changes should trigger an immediate review.
Your policy renewal date is the perfect time for a comprehensive review. Compare your current coverage with market options and ensure your sums insured are accurate.
Expanding operations, hiring employees, purchasing new equipment, or moving premises all require insurance updates to maintain proper coverage.
Following any insurance claim, review your policy to understand what was covered and whether additional coverage is needed to prevent future gaps.
When signing new client contracts, they often specify minimum insurance requirements. Review your coverage to ensure you meet these requirements.
Regulatory changes, new safety standards, or emerging risks in your industry may require updated coverage or new policy types.
After major weather events like floods, earthquakes, or storms, review your coverage to ensure it adequately protects against future natural disasters common in your area.
Use this checklist to ensure your insurance review is comprehensive.
Being prepared makes your insurance review faster and more effective.
Collect current policy documents, asset registers, and any recent valuations.
Document any business changes since your last review – new equipment, staff, premises.
Note any claims made in the past year and their outcomes.
Review client contracts for insurance requirements you need to meet.
These are the most frequent problems our brokers discover during insurance reviews.
Sums insured haven't kept pace with inflation or business growth. Many businesses are underinsured by 20-40%, leaving them exposed if a claim is made.
Paying for overlapping coverage across multiple policies. This is common with personal and business motor vehicle insurance.
Policy exclusions that were once relevant may no longer apply, or new activities may create gaps in coverage that weren't previously there.
Business address, trading name, or ownership changes not updated can void coverage or cause claim denials.
New contracts or business activities may require types of insurance you didn't need before, such as cyber liability or professional indemnity.
Businesses often pay for coverage on equipment they've sold, premises they've vacated, or services they no longer provide.
A Christchurch manufacturing business hadn't reviewed their insurance in five years. During a review, we discovered:
By addressing these issues, the business saved $4,800 per year in premiums while improving their coverage by over $500,000.
Get a comprehensive insurance review from our experienced brokers. We'll ensure you have the right coverage at the best price.
No obligation. We compare options from multiple insurers to find the best fit for your business.