New rating system launched Following the ‘Black Saturday’ and ‘Blue Mountains’ bushfires in recent years, the Australian Government in conjunction with local councils and fire services, has amended the requirements set out in Australian Standard 3959 – Construction of Buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas. A Bushfire Attack...
An Expensive Oversight A small chocolatier based outside of Adelaide, Chocolate @ No. 5, has been forced to redesign its logo after multinational fashion giant Chanel claimed a trademark infringement of its perfume, Chanel No. 5. Chanel disputed the use of ‘No. 5’ in the chocolatier’s logo...
For decades, the employment section of the newspaper was traditionally the way job seekers got connected with employers…but that doesn’t work anymore! Job seekers, especially young ones, just don’t bother looking there. The job-hunting space has been taken over by web-based employment agencies such as Seek...
There's no quick fix The Brisbane hailstorm event of late November 2014 led to more than 102,300 claims worth $1.08billion. The storm caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and vehicles as it ripped through the city at rush hour. The event may have slipped from front-of-mind position...
What is it? Where is it? In the simplest terms, ‘cloud computing’ means storing and accessing data and programs over the Internet instead of on and from your computer's hard drive. ‘The cloud’ is just a metaphor for the Internet. There is no real, puffy white...
Probably due to the harsh reality of the current economic climate, it is estimated that 1 in 6 small businesses have no insurance of any kind. Of businesses that are insured, half of these are insured for only 60 to 85% of Replacement Value. And...
How is it funded? As a result of the Lindt café hostage siege in Sydney that ended in tragic circumstances, the Federal Government has now determined the actions of the gunman was a terrorist act. This declaration was a key point for the insurance industry as the...
Not always a good move Most insurers will allow you to increase your excess to reduce your premium. Why? Because when you increase your excess it shifts some risk from the insurer back to you. It represents a saving for insurers, as they no longer have...
Smartphones sell like hotcakes these days and you may have been one of the expectant iFans that awaited the new iPhone model like a nervous father in a maternity ward. But after the hype has calmed down and you’ve finally got your bundle of joy...
The Council of Queensland Insurance Brokers (CQIB) recently conducted a review of direct insurers Home and Contents PDS documents. With over 150 insurers issuing PDS documents it was not possible to review them all, nor forensically analyse the ones that were reviewed in great detail....
