Gallagher releases business insurance and risk market report for H1 2022

Businesses across Australia have been facing challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in 2020. This year, with the persistence of the pandemic, regulatory changes, the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, and other factors, Gallagher has delved into the current market to help business clients protect their businesses.

In Gallagher's “Business Insurance & Risk Market Update H1 2022” report, the global brokerage's experts provided insight and considerations on key insurance market issues and trends in Australia and globally, particularly:

• Placement and market update: Why local insurers cover more risks as the hard market stabilises and good risk management is rewarded;
• Claims: How the east coast storms in February and March have magnified supply chain delays and driven further claims inflation;
• Cyber Risks: How the risk environment has escalated and why clients need to improve IT security to access insurance;
• Directors' and officers' liability (D&O): New capacity eases price increases but holds potential pitfalls for those unguided by expert advice;
• Financial institution sector: Why insurers demand more detail on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) actions and the impacts of regulatory changes;
• Disability sector: Why concerns about the Royal Commission, along with risk management failing to keep pace with rapid industry growth, make insurance hard to find; and
• Regional Australia: Where construction times and costs have blown out, affecting claims resolutions' speed and driving a need for higher sums insured.

Read more: Gallagher warns of cyberattacks amid Russia-Ukraine conflict

Gallagher managing director placement Mark Oatway said not all insurance is created equal, with the current market seeing marked variations in terms and conditions, cover price, and insurance capacity quality.

Therefore, he urges business clients to engage with insurers and brokerages and consider “how much risk [they] may retain versus transfer, and setting appropriate limits, deductibles, and sub-limits commensurate with their exposure.”

“Having clients involved in their insurance discussion gives insurers a greater understanding of the risk they're assuming; it provides an insight into a client's culture around both risk management and the corporation itself. Clients can tell the ‘story’ of their business better than anyone else,” Oatway said. “Results can be enhanced by clients dedicating the necessary time to aligning insurance requirements with the complexity of their business and the industry in which they operate.”