Table of Contents
Insurance
Franchise partners are required to keep an arrangement of insurance policies to adequately cover the business in case of a loss.
Taking out insurance coverage is not only good business sense; it is a requirement under the Franchise Agreement.
The minimum insurance policies required are outlined in your franchise agreement and include:
- Public Liability $20 million
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Vehicle insurance
- General Property and Tools of Trade Insurance
- Workers Compensation Insurance
Franchise partners can obtain their insurance from any provider; however, A2Z Services has an established relationship with MGA Insurance, (www.mga.com.au) who can offer franchise partners a competitive quote.
Public Liability Insurance
Public Liability insurance is designed for professionals who interact with customers or members of the public. It helps protect against claims of personal injury or property damage that a third party suffers (or claims to have suffered) as a result of your business operations.
In real terms, this means that if someone slips and falls on your business premises, or their property is damaged while you’re providing a service, they may take legal action against you or your business to recover their loss. Public liability insurance is designed to help protect your business depending on the policy you take out, covers incidents that occur in your workplace, as well as incidents at other locations.
Franchise partners are to be insured for Public liability to $20 million dollars.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Professional Indemnity Insurance can provide cover in the event of a breach of contract, or a mistake from professional services provided, such as a mistake made in the course of providing professional services or advice, or recommendations to a client. It can also cover against liability for breach of professional duty when providing a service for a fee. For example, if a client disputes work you have undertaken for them – perhaps it could be financial advice given by an accountant leading to the customer suffering financial loss – Professional Indemnity Insurance can cover the cost of defending the claim. It can also cover any compensation or damages awarded, up to the limit of your cover. Professional Indemnity commonly provides cover for professionals in various industries, including legal professionals, medical practitioners, engineers and consultants.
Commercial Vehicle Insurance
Commercial Vehicle Insurance provides cover for a wide range of vehicles including sedans, wagons, utes, 4WDs and goods-carrying vehicles up to 2, 5 and 10 tonnes, trailers, mobile and earth-moving equipment.
Comprehensive insurance covers damage or loss to your vehicle and damage it causes to other people’s property, when you are partly or fully at fault of an accident.
Fire and Theft covers for damage to another person’s vehicle or property, plus fire and theft protection for your vehicle up to $5,000.
Third Party Property Damage only cover for accidental loss or damage to other people’s property caused by an accident which is partly or fully your fault.
Franchise partners must have comprehensive insurance on their work vehicle.
General Property and Tools of Trade Insurance
This cover helps to protect against the loss, theft or damage of your tools and equipment. After your employees, your tools and equipment are most likely your most valuable asset and it’s recommended to minimise the risk of any event in which they’re lost, damaged or stolen having a negative impact on your business.
Workers Compensation Insurance
Workers Compensation Insurance is a compulsory statutory form in insurance for all employers in every state and territory in Australia and provides protection to workers if they suffer a work-related injury or disease.
State government regulates the workers compensation scheme in each state. Workplace incident/accidents are to be reported as soon as possible and can be reported 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Incident Notification Information Sheet
A notifiable incident is:
- the death of a person
- a serious injury of illness
- a dangerous incident arising out of the conduct of a business or undertaking at a workplace.
The workers compensation scheme may provide the injured employee with weekly benefits, medical and hospital expenses and rehabilitation services.
The government body for Workers Compensation in each state is listed below.
| WA | WorkCover WA | Ph: 1300 794 744 www.workcover.wa.gov.au |
| NSW | WorkCover NSW | Ph: 13 10 50 www.workcover.nsw.gov.au |
| QLD | WorkCover QLD | Ph: 1300 362 128 www.worksafe.qld.gov.au |
| SA | SafeWork SA | Ph: 1300 365 255 www.safework.sa.gov.au |
| VIC | WorkSafe Victoria | Ph: 1800 136 089 www.worksafe.vic.gov.au |
| NT | NT Worksafe | Ph: 1800 250 713 www.worksafe.nt.gov.au |
| TAS | WorkCover TAS | Ph: 1300 366 322 www.workcover.tas.gov.au |
| ACT | WorkSafe ACT | Ph: 02 6207 3000 www.worksafe.act.gov.au |
The various Workers Compensation claims systems rely on paper, not memory. Every time you contact or are contacted by your insurer or their agents, you should write down what was said – including phone calls, letters, emails, etc. Usually, your insurer will be the best source of advice. As soon as you become aware of a claim, you should discuss the claim with your insurer. There may be reports they require, or rehabilitation to be organised.
Forms and Registers
| Document Number | Document Name |
Amendment Record
Issue#: 1 Issue Date: 13/7/2022
| Rev# | Date | Section# | Para.# | Description of Change | Prepared By | Approved By |
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Disclaimer: This documentcontains material to assist in meeting environmental management, Work Health and Safety and Quality obligations under the International Standard ISO AS/NZS ISO 9001:2016,14001:2016 and other legislative bodies. This document contains material sourced from Safe Work Australia. Any such material remains subject to copyright © Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/copyright. Although every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this information at the time of publication, it is provided as guidance only and does not provide legal advice on meeting your obligations. This document and its contents are © A2Z services 2018 and or the originating source authors and no permission is given for its duplication or copying, in part or in its entirety, for use outside its original purposes as stated within the company.