Kāpiti based Kindred Accounting director Lisa-Jean Foote says running a business means wearing a lot of hats, and one that is easy to overlook is your own cover if you’re ever injured and can’t work.
“Most self-employed people and business owners are automatically on ACC CoverPlus, but that default setting doesn’t always reflect what your income looks like,” says Ms Foote.
“ACC CoverPlus pays out 80% of your average liable income if you can’t work due to injury. The catch is that ‘average’ is based on past earnings, which can lag behind if your business has grown, if your income fluctuates through the year, or if you’ve recently changed how you pay yourself.
“That’s where ACC CoverPlus Extra (CPX) comes in. Instead of relying on an average, CPX lets you agree on a set level of cover upfront, so you know exactly what you’d be paid if the worst happened, regardless of how your income has moved around.”
Ms Foote says it is also worth looking at ACC alongside your wider insurance position rather than in isolation. Income protection, key person cover, and general business insurance all sit around ACC and can fill gaps it was never designed to cover, things like a business needing to keep running without you, or protecting the people who depend on your income.
“If you’d like some help with your insurance, we work with a few trusted advisors and are always happy to make an introduction.”
For more see: kindredaccounting.co.nz