Personal Insurance
Business Insurance
Industry
Small business insurance is for owners who want one policy that matches what the business owns and does, not a pile of covers bought over the years. A landlord will often set a public liability limit in the lease, and a lender may want the premises or equipment insured with its interest noted. Fortis Risk Solutions works out which sections you need, then compares pack wordings from several insurers. We check your sums insured against what it would cost to replace the fit-out and stock today, because an old figure can leave you short when you claim. Bring your lease and a rough turnover figure. Call 03 7046 3766 or send an enquiry.
What Business Insurance Covers
Small business insurance, usually written as a business pack, covers damage to property and assets, legal liability to third parties and loss of income for Australian businesses hit by unexpected events.
Most business insurance is built from sections you choose. Property and contents cover repairs and replacement. Lost income is picked up by business interruption insurance. Directors and officers are covered by management liability insurance. Together these sections keep a business financially stable when incidents occur. It sits within our business insurance range at Fortis Risk Solutions. Industry packages for restaurants, retail shops and warehouses start from the same sections.
Business Insurance: Cover Sections and Benefits
What Business Insurance does not cover
A business pack is built from the sections you select, so the first gap is usually a section nobody took up. Beyond that, business insurance wordings share a common set of exclusions:
- Wear and tear, rust, corrosion and gradual deterioration of buildings, stock and plant
- Faulty workmanship or design, and the cost of putting the defective work itself right
- Deliberate or fraudulent acts by you, a partner or a director
- Injury to your own workers, which sits with WorkCover rather than the liability section
- Ransomware, data loss and system outages, which need a separate cyber policy
- Loss of income after damage where no business interruption section was selected
- Premises left unoccupied beyond the period stated in the policy
FRS lists what you actually do, store and rely on, then reads each exclusion against that list, so the sections you hold match the business rather than a standard template.
How Business Insurance premiums are set
Business insurance is rated section by section and then packaged, so the price reflects both the size of the exposure and the quality of the risk behind it. The usual factors:
- Annual turnover and wages, which drive the liability and interruption sections
- Sums insured for buildings, contents, stock and plant, and whether they sit at replacement value
- Trade or occupation, since a workshop doing hot work is priced well above an office
- Building construction, sprinklers, alarms monitored back to base and the standard of locks
- Location, including flood mapping, bushfire exposure and local crime rates
- Claims history over recent years, including claims that were later withdrawn
- The excess you accept and the limits chosen for liability and interruption
Underwriters price what they can see. FRS presents the risk properly, with photos, protection details and a clear description of the trade, so a well run business is not rated as an average one.
How to claim on Business Insurance
Most disputes come from late notice or lost evidence, not from the wording. Tell us early, even when you are unsure the loss is worth claiming. The FRS process:
- Notify: Call FRS as soon as the damage or incident happens, and before you agree anything with a third party
- Make safe: Make the site safe and stop further loss, keeping damaged items where it is safe to do so
- Report: Report theft, break-in or malicious damage to police and note the report number
- Do not admit liability: Do not admit liability if someone is injured on your premises, refer them to us
- Send the evidence: Send FRS photos, invoices, quotes and any written demand, and we lodge and manage the claim with the insurer
- We lodge and manage: We push the assessment along, check the settlement against your business insurance wording and record the lesson for renewal
The notification steps and contact details sit on our make a claim page.
Business Insurance compared with Industrial Special Risks (ISR)
| Question | Business pack | Industrial Special Risks |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Named sections you select, such as property, theft, glass, money, liability and interruption | Broad physical loss or damage to declared property, with interruption written alongside |
| Who buys it | Shops, offices, cafes, trades and most small to medium businesses | Manufacturers, warehouses and groups holding larger asset values |
| Typical trigger | An insured event listed in the section, such as fire, storm or burglary | Any physical loss or damage at the site that is not excluded |
| Sits with | Cyber, motor and management liability policies | Marine cargo, construction and liability policies |
Most businesses start with a pack and move to an ISR policy as asset values grow, or when a lender or head contractor asks for a broader wording. FRS runs both quotes side by side when the numbers are close.
Business Insurance - Client Case Studies
Cases from the Fortis Risk Solutions broking team. Client names have been removed.
Client case: Break-in and Theft
The client situation: A two-dollar store was broken into overnight after thieves smashed the shopfront glass to gain entry. A quantity of merchandise was stolen, leaving the business with both a damaged storefront and lost inventory.
How the policy responded: The shop’s Business Insurance helped cover the replacement of the damaged glass under glass cover and the stolen stock under theft cover, allowing the retailer to secure the premises, replenish inventory and get back to normal trading.
How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: We set glass, theft and money limits together when the policy is placed, because a single break-in usually calls on all three.
Client case: Fire from a Neighbouring Property
The client situation: A café suffered smoke and water damage after a fire broke out in a neighbouring property. Although the fire did not start within the café, smoke and water affected its equipment, stock and premises.
How the policy responded: The Business Insurance policy responded to the property damage, including specialist cleaning and restoration, damaged stock, and replacement of a refrigerator and freezer that failed electrical testing.
The claim also highlighted the importance of having an adequate Contents sum insured. As the café’s insured value was lower than the assessed value of its property, an underinsurance adjustment was applied, reducing the amount payable under the claim.How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: We review contents sums insured at every renewal against what the fit-out and equipment would cost to replace today, which is how an underinsurance adjustment is avoided.
Client case: Bakery Oven Fire
The client situation: A fire started in a bakery’s commercial oven, damaging the oven, baking equipment, stock, shelving and internal fit-out. Smoke from the fire also travelled into the neighbouring shop, damaging its ceiling and merchandise.
How the policy responded: Property cover helped pay for the insured damage to the bakery’s equipment, contents, stock and fit-out.
Liability cover responded to the neighbouring business’s property damage claim where the bakery was found legally liable.
Business Interruption cover could also assist with the resulting loss of income while the bakery was unable to operate normally.How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: One fire can open three sections of a policy. We lodge them together and follow each one through with the insurer.
Client case: Burst Pipe Damages Stock
The client situation: A pipe burst overnight and water spread through the store, damaging boxes of stock stored at floor level, shelving and sections of the floor and walls.
How the policy responded: Property cover helped replace insured stock and contents damaged by the water.
Where the damage caused the shop to temporarily close or reduced its ability to trade, applicable Business Interruption cover could help with the resulting insured loss of income.How Fortis Risk Solutions helps: We ask how stock is stored and what the busiest season is, so the stock sum insured covers the shop when it is full.
Every policy is different and the outcome of a claim depends on its terms. As your broker, Fortis Risk Solutions compares insurers and policy wording before you buy, and lodges and manages the claim for you when something happens. Talk to us about your own cover.
Business Insurance FAQs
There is no standard answer. The right cover depends on your industry, size, contracts, assets and risk profile. Most businesses start with public liability insurance and a property section, then add business interruption. Professional indemnity and cyber insurance follow where you give advice or hold customer data. Larger operations with high-value assets move up to ISR insurance. We work out your risks first, then structure cover around them rather than ticking boxes.
An insurance broker works for you, not the insurer. We help you:
- Identify and explain risks in clear, straightforward language
- Compare insurers beyond price alone
- Negotiate terms and claims outcomes
- Act as your advocate when something goes wrong
That advice is what turns a policy into cover you can rely on at claim time.
Many businesses insure on outdated asset values, rough estimates or last year's figures. Underinsurance can cut a claim payout sharply, most often on property damage and business interruption claims. We review sums insured with you properly, including replacement cost, escalation and the interruption period you would actually need.
Growth in turnover, new locations, new services or overseas operations can all affect your cover. If insurers are not told, a claim may be reduced or declined. We check these changes with clients through the year, not only at renewal, so the policy keeps pace with the business.
Small business insurance usually comes as a business pack, and you choose the sections. The best fit covers what would actually hurt your business, which might be public liability for a tradie, or stock and business interruption for a shop. Check sums insured against current replacement values, since underinsurance is one of the most common problems at claim time. A broker can compare packs across insurers section by section.
Related reading
Related pages
Related industry pages: Farm Insurance, Service Station and Convenience Store Insurance, Retail and Consumer Insurance
Talk to a broker about Business Insurance
Call 03 7046 3766 on weekdays between 9:30am and 6pm, email admin@fortisrisksolutions.com.au, or send an enquiry and a broker from our Box Hill or Hawthorn office will come back to you about business insurance. Tell us what the business does and what the lease or contract asks for, and we take it from there.