The vast majority of companies in New Zealand employ people to provide and sell products and services.

The common cliché is that your employees are your greatest asset. It is your employees who “front” your company to the public; they are the day-to-day visible contacts to your customers.

Should an employee be permanently or substantially injured or die due to an accident then there is a potential loss to the business – those relationships built up by the employee can be affected, the employee may need to be replaced and therefore costs are incurred in training and in potentially recovering those relationships.

One should also remember the even more unseen costs that can occur: the potential fines under Health & Safety in Employment Act and reputation in the public eye both following OSH actions and in support of the injured employee and/or his family.

Apex can provide tailor-made solutions that will cover the costs of payroll and furthermore provide lump-sum payments. As an insurance policy would be in the name of the company rather than the individual employee the payment would be made to the policy owner (the company) to distribute as seen fit. As examples there could be payments made to train replacement staff, payments to the injured employee’s family, and potentially even some reserve kept for paying fines that may be incurred due to the injury. Remember that it is illegal to insure for fines so this reserve or distribution would be to the company’s own call.

No business should be without this cover. This is a way to ensure continuity of the business in the event of an injury and further is great for reputation or perception. Apex can provide cover for all of your insurance needs, whether Property, Liability, Marine, Accident & Health, Trade Credit and beyond.

We tailor-make to your requirements dependant on your business needs.

Claims Examples

• A sales manager was driving home from work when he was in an accident that resulted in loss of use of his legs and was no longer able to carry out the same position in the company. ACC covered the employee’s medical costs, rehabilitation costs and part of his wages. Insurance proceeds were paid to the company who used these to find and train a replacement, to make a payment as a goodwill gesture to the employee and also to make modifications to allow easy access to the company’s own building and the employee’s home for those in wheelchairs.

• An employee was killed when he fell from height on a building site. The proceeds of the Personal Accident insurance policy were used to make a payout to the employee’s family and also partially reserved for potential court outcomes following an investigation into Workplace Safety.

To discuss further or for any queries please contact Mark Robb.