What is General Property Insurance?
General Property Insurance is a policy designed to provide cover for mobile business assets against the risk of loss or damage, including theft. Unlike traditional Property Insurance, such as Business Package policies, a General Property Insurance policy will cover the insured’s assets wherever they may travel within Australia, instead of just at one fixed address.
Coverage can be tailored to the policyholder’s needs, whether that may be blanket coverage for low value assets, covering unspecified items such as handheld tools of your trade, or specified item coverage for higher value assets, which would cover specialised items such as surveying equipment.
Who should consider General Property Insurance?
Any business that relies on mobile assets for the effective operation of their business. In today’s “work from anywhere” environment, almost all businesses will have an element of risk in respect of loss or damage to mobile assets. For example:
- Tradespeople – tools of trade
- Construction or maintenance contractors – light machinery & diagnostic equipment
- Engineers & surveyors – surveying & GPS equipment
- Medical & health professionals – mobile medical equipment
- Businesses with custom & bespoke assets
- Photographers
- Musicians
- Sport clubs
What does General Property Insurance cover?
Cover is primarily provided for repair or replacement costs to mobile assets that are either owned, or hired in by the policyholder, due to:
- Accidental damage – physical damage occurring as a result of a sudden, unforeseen and unexpected event.
- Accidental loss – the accidental or inadvertent misplacing or mislaying of insured equipment.
- Theft – loss or damage resulting from theft, attempted theft or robbery.
Additional coverage benefits can be included as optional extenmsions, such as:
- Increased cost of working – additional expenditure incurred following insured damage, such as hiring in of a replacement item.
- Worldwide coverage.
- Equipment hired out – includes equipment hired out or on loan to third parties subject to a written loan agreement being in place.
Most policies will have an “unspecified item limit”, which offers coverage for items up to a certain value without the need to specify them on the policy schedule. For any items over that value, they will need to be specified, with an individual description, ID or serial number, and individual value listed in order to be covered.
What doesn’t General Property Insurance cover?
Common exclusions include:
- Wear & tear and gradual deterioration.
- Loss or damage caused by inappropriate storage.
- Accidental damage to the equipment in the open air whilst not in personal possession including as a result of weather conditions.
- Consequential loss including loss of revenue or profit, loss of use, lack of performance, loss of contract, loss due to delay, fines or penalties, hire costs for replacement equipment and any other additional costs.
- Unexplained inventory shortage including shortage in supply and/or delivery of materials or disappearance resulting from clerical or accounting errors.
- Remotely piloted aircraft or equipment attached to a remotely piloted aircraft whilst in use including take-off and landing.
- Theft from an unlocked vehicle.
- Short circuit or other electronic faults, disturbance or failure unless a fire breaks out, then loss from fire will generally be covered.
- Replacement of batteries or worn out parts.
- Loss or damage to electronic data stored on the lost equipment or loss or damage caused to electronic data as a result of malware or other media failure.
General Property Insurance claims Examples:
Some claims examples include
Accidental Damage
A Surveyor on a mine site has set up a total station to obtain measurements. A colleague is reversing their vehicle and does not see the tripod, backing over the equipment and causing irreparable damage.
The policy holder will be entitled to the cost of replacing the equipment and potentially, the cost of a temporary system to continue business operations whilst the claim is processed and the replacement item is shipped.
Theft
A tradesperson has a toolbox affixed to their ute. Whilst the toolbox is locked, a determined thief manages to break into the toolbox overnight and steal the tradesperson’s collection of tools, including drill set, chainsaw, angle grinder and various hand tools.
As all items stolen were under the unspecified item limit on the policy and the total value of tools stolen was under the selected sum insured, the insurer settles the claim and pays out the full replacement value of the tools.
Accidental Loss
A drone operator visits a construction site to carry out a fly-over inspection. Once complete, they pack the drone and camera into the pelican case and head to a nearby café for a coffee with the site supervisor.
On returning to their car, the drone operator realises they have left the pelican case at the café, but by the time they have walked back, the case is gone.
As the policyholder has insured the drone for its full replacement value, including the attached cameras and case, the insurer settles the claim and the drone operator receives their replacement equipment.
However, the loss of any images captured by the drone including any damages incurred by the customer for the policyholder’s inability to perform under the contract, any lost earnings, or any time spent to carry out a new fly-over inspection will not be covered by the policy.
Information required to obtain quotations:
- Occupation description.
- Schedule of insured equipment – item descriptions, replacement values, ID numbers.
- 5 year claims history (if previously insured) .
- Hire agreements – for equipment that is hired in or out.
- Details of where items are used.
For further information on General Property Insurance and your business needs, please contact a Bellrock Advisor.
