You’ve spend a lot of time building up your business or at least, lost a lot of sleep getting it started. Yet as much as you would like to admit that you’re on top of everything you have this sneaking suspicion that you may have forgotten something – maybe your car keys or mobile phone but possibly to get adequate insurance..

Of course, there’s probably a mountain of stuff you still need to get through or simply, there’s better things that you prefer to do in your spare time than think about insurance. Yet amazingly, sometimes even the most personal of events can have dire consequences for your business.

An old friend of ours – Simon had one such tale for us when we bumped into him at a boat show recently and we thought we’d share this one with you. Simon runs an established business consultancy and employs five staff in Sydney’s inner west. Simon spends most of his time meeting existing and prospective clients whilst his support staff provides core expertise within accounting, business planning and HR management.

Once a month, Simon likes to splash out on lunch with his clients with some equally expensive tastes for wine. So when one of his clients suggested a new wine bar in Sydney he just couldn’t resist – that is, until he got there. Much to his dismay, this particular wine bar had a particular preference for seafood. You see, Simon suffers from anaphylaxis: a severe allergic reaction that can potentially be life threatening. Simon is particularly allergic to prawns and mussels but equally to the fear of not going with the flow. So he stuck to the old faithful salt and pepper squid.

This is where he went wrong – as it happens, the squid used the same type of batter as the prawns and therefore had been prepared in the same area as the prawns. As Simon tells us, if you start feeling a tingling in your throat, abdominal pain or redness then you’d better get some help straight away. Simon hurriedly excused himself and rushed out of the restaurant in search of the nearest medical clinic. In his hurry, Simon’s foot got caught between a drain pipe and the footpath as he was crossing the road – leading to a tear of one of his knee ligaments!

Limping to his car he checked into a hospital who gave him the all clear on the salt and pepper squid reaction but an appointment for knee surgery and about 5 weeks of recovery time. Luckily, Simon had a rare form of insurance in place that covered him for accidents and illnesses during non-working hours – Personal Accident Insurance. Rare because you don’t really hear about it on TV or in the papers.

So what does it cover? Generally, it provides you with a range of benefits in the event of temporary or permanent disablement as a result of an accident or illness. These benefits are dependent upon the type of injury (or death) for example:

- quadriplegia

- loss of eyes or eyesight

- loss of use or loss of limbs

- temporary disablement by sickness

Benefits can be paid in either lump sums or ‘average weekly benefits’ depending on your insurance company’s terms and conditions. Some policies can even cover you for business expenses as a result of temporary disablement therefore potentially lessening the impact on your business financials.

With an estimated cost generally less than $300 for ‘less risky’ occupations, it’s a small price to pay knowing that your business (and potentially livelihood) will benefit. Of course, don’t forget to seek professional assistance if you’re unsure of your needs.