Insurance is complicated. Honestly I don’t blame you for being confused... There’s no consistency with coverage, with exclusions, the terminology used, even definitions of basic things like Storm can vary policy to policy. And something that’s often over looked is that these variations can be found between products of the same Insurer.

When you’re shopping around online it’s really easy to make a decision on price thinking that all insurance products are the same, but unfortunately that’s not the case.

You know that massive PDS (Product Disclosure Statement) that you’re supposed to acknowledge that you’ve read and understood before purchasing a financial product? That’s the rule book for how claims are paid, and the rules can vary in every way imaginable... meaning that the product you’re purchasing may not be appropriate for what you’re doing.

Now unless you’re actually in the industry, chances are you’re no insurance expert. When starting my business I got an accountant to set up my Xero software, I got a lawyer to draft my terms and conditions, and I got an insurance broker to put together an insurance package which would protect me from some of the risks I faced.

Because I’m collecting personal information from people on my website, I needed a Cyber Liability policy in case a hacker got into my system and stole people’s personal information. I advise people that they should use an insurance broker and have a Find a Broker service, so I needed a Professional Indemnity policy should anyone act on that advice, suffer harm, and sue me. Then there’s the Public Liability policy you always need regardless of what business you’re in, and my Commercial Motor Policy because my car was purchased under the business. I could have taken out General Property insurance to cover my newly purchased tablet and business use mobile phone, but I decided to wear that risk myself.

And guess what? Each one of those policies is with a different insurance company, that’s FOUR different insurers, which would normally be a pain in the butt.... but because I use a broker, my mate Nitin does all the hard work for me. He shopped around for the best deals on all four products, he gave me advice on which ones to go with (which means I can sue him if his advice is wrong, I can’t sue myself for being an idiot if I was doing it myself), and I was able to Premium Fund the policies so they’re all lumped in together with Centrepoint Alliance and I have one monthly payment deducted from my bank account, too easy.

Insurance, is a promise to pay if something happens which is covered by that ridiculously long Product Disclosure Statement, and because every policy is different, the chick in the call center may overlook something that’s actually covered – this is where Nitin becomes my knight in shining armour.

I pay Nitin an admin fee when I take up the policy, and that means that when I have a claim, he will – at no cost – swoop in and make sure I get every last cent I’m entitled to because it’s his job to sift through the massive PDS and pull out every last additional benefit and clause to make sure I’m covered the way he said I’d be.

And he loves doing it too. Insurance is one of the most rewarding industries you can ever work in because you get the privilege of helping people put their lives back together after a loss.

Insurance broker isn’t the most glamorous title, nor is it very widely respected by those who are unfamiliar with their awesomeness, but they truly are the superheroes of the insurance industry because they go in to bat for their clients day in, day out.

You can try and do all your insurance yourself, but they’ve got access to better products than we can get ourselves, they know the right people in the right places, and they’re in your corner if anything ever happened.

If you’ve had an experience with a broker or doing insurance yourself, we’d love to hear your stories.