EOFY Equipment Purchases: Are Your New Assets Actually Insured?

EOFY has a way of prompting new purchases

A new ute. A replacement laptop. A bit of machinery that has been on the wish list for months. Tools, stock, kitchen equipment, medical devices, racking, signage, fit-out upgrades, maybe even that piece of gear someone has been insisting will “pay for itself” since February.

Sometimes it is strategic. Sometimes it is tax planning. Sometimes it is simply because the old one finally gave up at the worst possible moment, which, naturally, is how business equipment likes to behave.

The step that is easy to miss

Either way, there is one small step that is easy to miss.

Telling your insurer.

It sounds obvious, but it is one of those everyday gaps that can slip through without anyone doing anything particularly wrong. A business buys new equipment, the invoice goes to the accountant, the asset is added somewhere in the bookkeeping system and everyone moves on. The insurance schedule, meanwhile, stays exactly as it was.

That can become a problem.

Your policy only knows what it has been told

Your insurance policy only knows what it has been told. If your business has purchased new tools, vehicles, machinery, stock, computers or fit-out improvements, your existing sums insured may no longer reflect what the business actually owns. In some cases, specific items may need to be listed. In others, the overall contents, machinery, stock or portable equipment limits may need to be reviewed.

This is especially important for trades, construction businesses, manufacturers, medical and allied health practices, retailers, hospitality venues and professional services businesses with valuable equipment. But really, it can apply to almost anyone. Even a small office can quietly accumulate thousands of dollars in laptops, monitors, phones and specialist gear without much fuss.

Where the asset is used matters

There is also the question of where the equipment is used.

Some assets stay at one location. Others move between job sites, vehicles, homes, warehouses and client premises. A tool locked in a van overnight may not be treated the same way as equipment kept inside a workshop. A laptop used by a staff member at home may not fall neatly into the assumptions made when the policy was first arranged. These details matter, sometimes more than people expect.

Financed equipment and replacement costs

Financed equipment is another one to watch. If an asset is leased or under finance, there may be insurance requirements written into the finance agreement. Those requirements are not always front of mind when everyone is focused on getting the equipment delivered and into use. But if something happens, the paperwork suddenly matters a lot.

And then there is underinsurance.

Replacement costs have changed across many categories. Vehicles, machinery, building materials, electronics and specialised parts can all cost more than they did a few years ago. So even if the item is technically insured, the limit may not be enough to replace it properly. That is not a fun discovery at claim time.

A simple EOFY asset check

EOFY is a good moment to slow down and do a quick asset check. What has the business bought this year? What has been sold, replaced or upgraded? What is sitting in vehicles, on job sites or in storage? Has stock increased? Has the fit-out changed? Has anything been financed? Are the current sums insured still realistic?

It does not need to be complicated. A simple review can often pick up gaps before they become expensive.

Keep your cover in step with the business

Insurance works best when it keeps pace with the business. Not the business as it looked three years ago. Not the version sitting in last year’s renewal documents. The business as it actually is today, with the extra equipment, the new contracts, the upgraded tools and the things everyone has been too busy to mention.

Before the financial year closes, it is worth checking.

Because buying the asset is only half the job.

Making sure it is properly protected is the part people tend to remember later.