text: As Australia shakes off another shivering winter and embraces the warmth of spring and summer, hospitality business owners are licking their lips in anticipation of another peak hospitality season.
  Will your current business insurance cover you for the increased risks you will face during the silly season? How long has it been since you reviewed your business insurance? These are key business questions to weigh up as you move into the busy festive season.
  Optimise your business insurance for the festive season
  BizCover’s Head of Product, Channels and Risk, Jane Mason, cautions business owners about taking a ‘set and forget’ approach to business insurance, especially when approaching the busiest time of the year.
  “Hospitality small business owners are often so busy working in their business that they sometimes don’t carve out the time to work on their business,” explains Mason.
  “In doing so, they may put off business-critical decisions, such as reviewing their business insurance when their business circumstances change.”
  “This decision may come back to haunt you if you need to make an insurance claim and you are found to be underinsured.”
  Three reasons for reviewing your business insurance for peak season
  There are many reasons why you may want to review your cover and be ready for the peak season. To make things easy, here are three you may want to consider:
  - More customers: During the Christmas and New Year’s period, hospitality businesses can get extremely busy. With the rise in foot traffic comes increased risk. As your staff run off their feet taking orders, the possibility of accidents happening to customers can increase.
  For example, your staff may be so busy that they put off cleaning that spilled drink that is now a slip hazard for customers. Or your kitchen staff may miss a key instruction for a customer who has allergies. - Business interruption: The last thing youwant to see during the busiest (and most profitable) time of the year is business interruption. Consider the drama you may experience during the peak trading period if your business was unable to operate if it was targeted by burglars, or your business premises were damaged by a storm, or you lost power due to a power outage.
  - Equipment breakdown: From hi-tech barista machines to commercial ovens to food processors to deep fryers, hospitality businesses rely on an arsenal of cutting edge kitchen equipment and machinery. With these essential machines working overtime during peak season, there can be a greater risk of them breaking down.
  As you plan for the upcoming months, now may be a great time to review your business insurance before business heats up in the peak season. If you don’t, it may mean that you could be exposed to costly risks that you could have avoided.
  Make business insurance easy with BizCover
  BizCover makes it lightning quick, cost-effective, and super easy to compare business insurance quotes online and in and minutes from some of Australia’s leading insurers online.
  To review or renew your business insurance, visit Bizcover.com.au
  *This information is general only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. It should not be relied upon as advice. As with any insurance, cover will be subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in the policy wording. © 2023 BizCover Pty Limited, all rights reserved. ABN 68 127 707 975; AFSL 501769.