Sometimes they’re big; sometimes they’re small. But, as Capricorn Risk Services’ New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Sales Manager Rob Sedkey warns, even small accidents can have big repercussions.

“Scan tools are a big one,” Rob said. “They’re expensive pieces of equipment but then someone leaves it on a car roof and drives off for a road test, and bang, it flies off and smashes. We’ve had members even drive into toolboxes and some of them can be quite costly. A lot of the time these accidents are due to distractions.”

“We see those kinds of situations a lot. There’s the general dropping of things, accidental breaking of things, and running into things. That’s why having a range of different cover, including accidental damage protection may have a range of benefits for your business. It can have a real impact on a business.”

Making sure you have a range of cover including general liability, accidental damage, general property, and engineering protection (which protects against loss or damage to machinery and electronic equipment due to the breakdown of such equipment) can protect yourself, your staff, and your customers.

“We had one claim where the Member’s gone to line up the car with the hoist to get it in position, put their foot on the accelerator, and ended up launching it into a toolbox,” Rob said.

“That was a $12,000 claim in damage to the car, the toolbox, and a lot of inconvenience.”

Rob urged Members to think carefully about the value of their assets and what impact it would have on their business if the item was taken out of action— especially if it’s a piece of equipment that is used every day.

“If you’re a tyre shop, for example, you might have a couple of tyre balancers and tyre changers,” Rob said. “Those are expensive pieces of equipment. If one of those is accidentally damaged, it could cost you a lot. But it could also cost you a lot more in business interruption.”

“Or if you’re a smash repairer and something accidentally happens to your spray booth and the electronics are completely gone, they’ve malfunctioned — imagine the cost of that unforeseen breakdown.”

Rob said the pain of having a vital piece of equipment offline was bad enough at the best of times but was made even worse if the equipment was still under finance.

“Then you haven’t even paid it off yet and it’s broken,” he said. “So, if you haven’t got the right level, or have no level, of protection for the different elements which make up your business, imagine how you’d feel. You’d be absolutely ropeable.

“Yet it happens all the time.”

Accidents happen in myriad and sometimes unlikely ways. They’re unplanned and they’re unfortunate. But you can make dealing with the fallout of an oopsie-daisy moment much easier by ensuring you have the correct coverage for your business.

Capricorn Risk Services can help your business navigate the different protection policies , so you have peace of mind, no matter the ‘oopsie-daisy’ moments. Contact your Risk Account Manager today for more information.

AU: Products sold through Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd (ABN 93 111 632 789) are: (i) discretionary risk protection products issued by Capricorn Mutual Ltd; and (ii) general insurance products issued by a range of insurers and brokered through Capricorn Insurance Services Pty Ltd. Before deciding to acquire any product you should consider the Product Disclosure Statement available from Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd to see if the product is appropriate for you. Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 460893) of Capricorn Mutual Ltd (AFSL 230038) and Capricorn Insurance Services Pty Ltd (AFSL 435197).

NZ: Products sold through Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd (NZBN 9429041139813) include discretionary risk protection and general insurance products. Discretionary risk protection is issued out of Australia by Capricorn Mutual Ltd. Before deciding to acquire discretionary risk protection you should consider the Product Disclosure Statement to see if it is appropriate for you. This can be obtained from Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd by phoning 0800 555 303 via email info@capricornrisk.com or by visiting website capricornrisk.com. General insurance products are issued by a range of insurers and are available through Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd as a member broker of PSC Connect NZ Limited. Capricorn Risk Services Pty Ltd is a registered financial services provider (390446) and a corporate Authorised Representative (No. 460893) of Capricorn Mutual Ltd (AFSL 230038).