Author: team dotsure.co.za

The Not-So-Average Risk of Underinsurance

Small businesses often operate with tight budgets and limited resources, making effective risk management critical. One aspect of risk management that is frequently misunderstood is the concept of averaging in your business insurance. Averaging can significantly influence the level of risk a small business faces, especially during a claim.

Impact on Small Businesses

• Financial Strain:

Small businesses often lack the financial buffer to absorb unexpected costs. If averaging applies to a claim, the reduced payout can create a significant financial strain. The business may struggle to replace essential equipment, leading to operational disruptions.

• Operational Risks:

Underinsured assets can lead to prolonged downtime. For instance, if a critical piece of machinery is damaged and the insurance payout is insufficient to replace it, production halts. This not only affects revenue but can also damage the business’s reputation and customer relationships.

• Cash Flow Issues:

Small businesses typically have less cash flow flexibility compared to larger corporations. Averaging reduces the claim amount, forcing the business to cover the shortfall, which can strain cash flow and limit the ability to invest in growth opportunities.

Mitigating the Risk of Averaging

The most effective strategy to mitigate the risks associated with averaging is to ensure accurate insurance valuations. Regularly review and update the insured values of your assets to reflect their current replacement costs. This proactive approach helps to ensure that, in the event of a claim, the payout is sufficient to cover the actual loss.

SMEs Versus Larger Businesses

While the principles of averaging apply equally to SMEs and larger businesses, the impact can be more pronounced for small businesses due to their limited financial resources. Larger businesses might have more diversified income streams and reserves to cushion the blow of reduced insurance payouts, but SMEs often operate on tighter margins and cannot afford significant gaps in coverage.

Averaging is a critical factor in business insurance that small businesses must understand and address. Effective risk management through proper insurance coverage is essential for maintaining business continuity and achieving long-term success.

Understanding Averaging in Business Insurance

Averaging is an important concept in business insurance that can significantly impact on how much you receive when you file a claim. Simply put, averaging occurs when the insured value of an item is less than its actual replacement value. This underinsurance can lead to reduced payouts, leaving businesses at a financial disadvantage during claims.

How Averaging Works

Consider this scenario: You insure a piece of equipment for R100,000, but its replacement value is R200,000. In this case, you’ve insured the item for only 50% of its actual value. If you need to make a claim, averaging will come into play. Instead of receiving the full insured amount, you would only get 50% of the claim amount. So, if you make a claim for R100,000, you will only receive R50,000.

Strategies to Avoid Averaging

The best way to avoid the pitfalls of averaging is to insure your items for their correct replacement values. This means evaluating the cost to replace the item with a new one of similar specifications, even if the original item was purchased second-hand. For instance, if you bought a second-hand laptop in 2002, you should insure it for the cost of buying a new laptop in 2024 with similar specifications.

Impact on Businesses

Averaging can be particularly detrimental for businesses. If your claim states that averaging has been applied, you will receive less than what you insured the item for, potentially leaving a significant financial gap. While lower premiums might seem attractive, the reduced payouts at claims stage can be financially crippling, especially for small businesses that might not have the reserves to cover these shortfalls.

Ensuring that your insurance coverage reflects the true replacement value of your assets is crucial to avoid financial strain in the event of a claim.