Insurance Insights
from our Brokers

Protect Your Future with Fortis Risk Solutions

Plain-English answers to the insurance questions Melbourne business owners and families ask most: what a policy actually covers, how much cover is enough, what a certificate of currency proves, and where claims go wrong. Each article is written by the Fortis Risk Solutions broking team and checked against the regulator and government sources it cites. Cover types themselves are explained in the business and personal insurance ranges.

Statue of Lady Justice holding scales

What to do if your insurance claim is denied

Insurance claim denied? Get the reasons in writing, lodge an internal complaint, then go to AFCA. Time limits, documents and where a broker helps.

Construction workers on scaffolding at a building site

Damage to the job or others: contract works vs public liability

Contract works insurance pays to fix the job. Public liability pays when the job injures someone or damages their property. How builders split a claim.

Volunteers in blue shirts at a community event

Trading at markets as a sole trader: public liability explained

Public liability insurance for sole traders and market stalls: who asks for it, how organisers set the limit, products cover, one day or annual policies.

Fire behind the glass door of a closed shop, a business interruption claim scenario

Gross profit and extra costs: how a BI claim is calculated

How business interruption insurance is calculated: insurable gross profit, increased cost of working, a worked example with round numbers, and the records.

Two colleagues reviewing plans at a desk in a glass office

Mistake in your work or injury on site? PI vs public liability

Professional indemnity vs public liability: one covers a client's financial loss from your work, the other injury and damage. Which your contract wants.

Aerial view of a loaded container ship at sea, marine cargo insurance

How long can an insurer take to decide your claim?

The Code of Practice gives insurers four months to decide most claims, with updates at least every 20 business days. What to do when a claim stalls.

Wooden judge's gavel on a marble surface

Does professional indemnity insurance cover contractors?

A firm's professional indemnity policy protects the firm, not every contractor it hires. When consultants need their own policy and what to check first.

Container ship docking at a port with tugboats

Product liability vs public liability: what does each cover?

Public liability answers for what you do. Product liability answers for goods once they leave your hands. How the two split, and what each excludes.

Family walking hand in hand along a country road at sunset

What insurance does a commercial lease require you to hold?

Public liability at a set limit, your own fit out and stock, a certificate of currency each year. What a commercial lease can require, and who pays.

Family walking through a field at golden hour

Does home and contents insurance cover working from home?

An employee on a laptop is usually fine under a home and contents policy. A business run from home is not. Where the line sits and what to disclose.

Two men shaking hands at a reception desk

Who arranges contract works insurance: the builder or owner?

In most building contracts the builder arranges contract works insurance. Here is when the owner does it instead, and what to check before work starts.

Businesswoman working at a laptop by an office window

What is a certificate of currency and how do I get one?

A certificate of currency proves a policy was active on a given date. What it shows, who asks for one, how to get it, and the errors that get it rejected.

Two men in conversation in an office, a broker advice meeting

Underinsurance: how to set sums insured so a claim pays

Underinsurance shows up at claim time, not at renewal. How to set building, stock and business interruption sums insured so a claim is paid in full.

Colleagues laughing around a laptop in a shared office

Strata insurance vs contents insurance: what owners must hold

The owners corporation insures the building. Apartment owners still need contents insurance for the fit out inside the lot. Here is where the boundary sits.

Two colleagues planning at a whiteboard with a laptop, data breach response planning

Notifiable Data Breaches scheme: what small businesses must do

What the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires after a breach, which businesses it applies to, the assessment clock, and where cyber cover fits.

Businesswoman working at a desktop computer in a bright office

Management liability vs professional indemnity: which pays?

Professional indemnity answers client claims about your work. Management liability answers claims about how the company is run. How to tell them apart.

Man on the phone in a bright home office beside a laptop, working from home

Landlord insurance vs home insurance: which does a rental need?

An investment property needs landlord insurance, not a standard home policy. Here is what changes once a tenant moves in, and what a landlord policy adds.

Two colleagues talking in armchairs in a light-filled office

Is business insurance tax deductible in Australia?

Premiums for cover protecting business income and assets are generally deductible under ATO guidance. Where the line sits and what to ask your accountant.

Woman smiling while working on a laptop on a leather sofa

Insurance broker vs buying direct: what actually changes

Buying direct is quick and works for simple risks. A broker adds advice, wording comparison and claims help. An honest look at what changes for an owner.

Open-plan office with people working at long desks

How much public liability insurance do I need?

There is no legal minimum. What sets your public liability limit: the contracts you sign, the worst case on your worst site, and the trade you work in.

Two colleagues reviewing documents at a table in an industrial-style office

Does public liability insurance cover contractors?

Public liability rarely covers contractors the way owners assume. How subcontractor clauses work, what to collect from each trade, and where risk lands.

Handshake across a desk after signing paperwork, agreeing a policy or a claim

Business interruption: how long should the indemnity period be?

Twelve months is the default and often too short. How to set a business interruption indemnity period that covers the rebuild and the recovery after it.

EN中文

Explore

Drag