News
How well are you protecting the creative, intangible assets of your business? They’re the pandora’s box of inventions, designs, names and images, symbols, literary and artistic works that commerce uses for financial benefit. IP insurance demystified According to IP Australia, legally protecting the intellectual property (IP) of your business means covering: Copyright Patents Trademarks Industrial designs, such as circuit layouts or new plant varieties Trade secrets. It’s all about intellectual property, which forms part of the goodwill and lifeblood of your business. In fact, you can use IP to expand your business and brand, such as through franchising, or licensing, making it more alluring for would-be investors.
Having officially commenced rollout in February 2021, 7.4 million vaccinations have been administered to Australians (as of June 29, 2021). The government originally aimed to have the entire country vaccinated by October. However, we’re tracking behind that goal with a 7 day rolling average of 112 thousand doses. That means it will take 11 more months to administer 45 million doses. When you receive your vaccine is dependent on factors including age, health and occupation. You can use this interactive tool to determine which phase of the vaccine rollout you fall into.
Wounds, lacerations, fractures, traumatic joint injuries, hearing loss, musculoskeletal disorders, mental health issues, and lung conditions, are just some of the health risks that tradies face. According to Safe Work Australia, tradespeople make up 30% of the workforce, but account for 58% of serious workplace injury claims.
The insurance market is a ‘hard’ or sellers’ market right now. So, what does that mean, and what’s the likely impact on your business. Think of the insurance cycle as a clock. At the top, the 12 mark, where we’re heading, is the hard market, when insurance premiums get pricey. At 3 o’clock, you’ll see insurers chasing market share; 6 pm it’s a buyers’ market with cheaper premiums; then, at 9 pm, insurers start to weed out the riskier activities and industries. Each cycle is unique but typically lasts between two and 10 years. Australia was pulling out of a five-to-seven-year soft cycle even before the pandemic hit.
As a responsible and committed business, we believe that it is important to keep our valued clients informed about the insurance market, especially where events are likely to have a significant impact on overall insurance costs. Like any industry, insurance is subject to periods of expansion and contraction, usually driven by external influences both globally and nationally. Those influences can take many forms, including financial uncertainty, natural disasters and other major events.