Peril Season is coming. Are you (insurance) ready?

Every year, it’s the same story. The weather warms up, the ground dries out, and forecasts begin warning of a busy bushfire and storm season. In insurance, we call the period from October to April Peril Season.

With a Super El Niño forecast for the months ahead, Australia is expected to face an increased risk of peril-related events, including bushfires, severe storms, damaging winds, hail, floods and, in northern regions, cyclones.

Sure, you clean the gutters at home, but for most SMEs, the real risk isn’t the weather itself. It’s discovering, at claim time, that your insurance cover doesn’t accurately reflect the assets and exposures of your business.

We strongly encourage you to prepare for the season ahead, including reviewing and updating your insurance policies where necessary. Having the right cover in place can help ensure your business is adequately protected and receives the appropriate support and assistance should an event occur.

Why early spring is the time to check

Nobody discovers a gap in their policy on a quiet Tuesday in August. They discover it after the storm has torn through the roof, when the claim is lodged and the payout doesn’t stack up. By then it’s too late to fix.

Bushfire and storm exposures are not new, and are not limited to specific locations. Sydney, northern New South Wales, South East and North Queensland all see severe storms every summer, and WA now gets tornado-like events every couple of years. Whether or not you’ve personally been hit, you know it’s coming. That makes right now the best time for a check-up.

Read: How the Right Insurance Can Help Your Business Grow

The most common gaps we see

1. Your business or risk has changed, but your policy hasn’t. You renewed in February, then extended the workshop in May. You’ve bought new equipment, sold an asset, or moved premises. If nobody has told your insurer or broker, your policy may be covering a business that no longer exists.

2. Business interruption is missing or misjudged. Everyone can see their building and their stock. Fewer people picture what happens if they can’t trade. If a fire destroyed your premises tomorrow, could you cover your revenue for the year or two it takes to get back up and running? Could you cover the cost of a temporary location, replace goods, or meet contracts you can’t deliver on? Business interruption cover generally comes in three forms: covering salaries, covering gross profit, or covering full turnover. The cheapest option is often chosen because of the premium, and it can leave you short when it matters. A business with no cash flow and no ability to trade for 12 months is in serious trouble. Ask which type you have, and whether it’s right for you.

3. Your sum insured has quietly fallen behind. Say you set your building cover at $500,000 five years ago, and it has crept up to $530,000 through annual indexation. Meanwhile, building costs have often climbed much faster. So far in 2026, construction costs are up around 6.5% on average. If you haven’t revisited the number, the gap between what you’re insured for and what it would actually cost to rebuild keeps widening.

4. You’re underinsured, and it’s more than a shortfall. Consider a business with a warehouse insured for $1 million. Over the years it’s been extended and its value has grown, and the real replacement cost is now closer to $3 million. Insured to save a little on premium, the owner lodges a claim and the underinsurance clause kicks in. The best case is being left out of pocket. The worst case is a payout far below what’s needed to rebuild. A rebuild also costs more than bricks and mortar. It includes clearing the site, getting new plans drawn and approved, and finding somewhere to operate in the meantime.

5. Vehicles, plant and equipment are out of date. If you run commercial motor vehicles, machinery or other plant, check that values and details are current. Assets bought, sold or upgraded over the past year should be reflected on your policy.

Don’t forget the risks outside your four walls

Your business might sit in a low-risk area and still be exposed to the season.

Picture a tyre retailer who buys from a distributor, who in turn sources from a warehouse. If a fire or storm knocks out that warehouse, the distributor has no stock, you have nothing to sell, and your customers go elsewhere. Your premises haven’t been touched, but your ability to trade has.

This is what contingent business interruption is designed for. On certain policies, cover can extend to losses caused by a supplier’s disruption. Many owners only think about direct damage to their own property. It’s worth asking whether you’re also protected against what happens to the businesses you rely on. If you depend on a manufacturer or supplier in a storm-prone area, this could matter as much as your own property cover.

What to look at

For most small and medium businesses, a review comes back to a few core areas:

• Commercial property: are your buildings, stock and contents insured for what it would truly cost to replace them today?
• Business package or business interruption cover: is it the right type, and is it for the right amount and period?
• Liability: does your cover reflect how you operate now, including contractual obligations if you can’t deliver?
• Motor, plant and equipment: are values and assets current?
• Contingent (supply chain) cover: would a supplier’s disruption leave you exposed?

A quick self-check

• When did I last review my sums insured?
• Have I renovated, extended, relocated, bought or sold anything since my last renewal?
• Do I know which type of business interruption cover I hold, and for how long?
• Would my policy respond if my main supplier couldn’t operate?
• Could I get back to trading if the worst happened?

If you can’t answer these confidently, that’s your sign to review.

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Not sure what you’re exposed to? Let’s find out.

Peril Season is on its way. A brief conversation now can prove very valuable indeed. BridgePoint Group Risk Advisory team can help you:

• Review your current policies and check they still match your business
• Update your sums insured using independent building valuation and surveyor tools
• Identify gaps, from underinsurance to business interruption and supply chain risk

Call Mark Cameron on 1300 656 141 or email to book a no-obligation review before the season starts.

^{General information only. It doesn’t take your personal circumstances into account. Speak to us about what’s right for your business.}