If you’ve just purchased your dream car or if you’re thinking about making a significant investment in a luxury vehicle that will look good and keep your family safe –it’s also important to consider how you can keep your car safe! 

Buying insurance for a luxury vehicle can be very different to buying insurance for a standard car.  A luxury vehicle can be anything from a prestige car (everything from Alfa Romeo to Lotus to Rolls Royce and Mercedes) to an exotic car (for example, a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maybach and Aston Martin) or a classic, vintage or custom built car.  Here are a few things to consider:

Do I have the right type of car insurance?
In Victoria, Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance is included in your vehicle registration fee.  It covers any personal injuries caused due to an accident involving your vehicle, but doesn’t protect your car or damage to property of a third party.  Other the CTP, there are 3 types of car insurance available:

• Third party property damage: This will cover you for the damage caused by your car to other people’s property.
• ​Third Party Fire and theft Cover: This policy will cover the damage to your car as a result of fire or theft as well as provide coverage for damages caused by your car to other people’s property.
• Comprehensive Car Insurance: Comprehensive car insurance is an insurer’s most extensive policy. It is also the most commonly held policy in Australia. It covers you for most damages done to your car as a result of collision, flood, fire, storm and theft. It also includes cover for damages to other people’s car and property as a result of a collision involving your car.  If you are thinking about buying insurance for your luxury car, it’s likely that comprehensive car insurance will be the type of insurance policy that you will need. 

Can I choose my own repairer?
This question is particularly important for luxury and exotic cars.  You wouldn’t send your family to just any doctor, so why would your prestige vehicle be any different? Many standard insurance policies won’t let you choose your own repairer when you need to make a claim, or they may force you to choose from a panel.  After making a big investment into your dream car, you need to have an insurance policy where you can choose a specialist repairer who has the expertise to repair your vehicle, and who has the contacts to source rare parts, particularly if your car is unique or vintage.  A specialist repairer will also be able to restore your car to its luxurious condition, and you’ll know that the repair has been done to the highest standard following the manufacturer’s specifications.  

How can I reduce my insurance premium?
​It’s not necessarily a good idea to choose the cheapest car insurance.  After all, the price of being underinsured may end up costing you a lot more than what you saved on the policy! Car insurance is actually one that will allow you to strike a balance between your coverage needs and your budget.  Insuring luxury cars can be a bit more expensive than insuring a standard car, because the claims tend to be more expensive and it costs a lot more to replace a luxury vehicle when compared to a standard car!  However, there are ways that might save you money, for example:

• Consider where you park the car overnight.  Your insurer may charge you a reduced premium if you park your car in a locked garage, rather than on the street. 
•  Installing safety and security devices on your car can help reduce your premium.  Options such as Immobilisers and car alarms contribute, and a car tracking devices can help save you money on your insurance. 
• The higher the excess you're prepared to pay, the lower the premium. If you're not worried about the cost of minor repairs (or if you have confidence in your driving abilities to avoid them!), higher excess is a great route to reduce car insurance costs.

When it comes to buying insurance, you have two choices: buy it online or organise it through a broker. There is much choice available online, however without the right advice; you could be buying the wrong insurance.  At best, it might be a waste of money.  At worst, you can be significantly out of pocket when it comes time to make a claim.
 
WHAT CAN GO WRONG – ANDY’S STORY:
Andy* is a new migrant in Australia.  He purchased a convenience store in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne.  Although he has decades of business experience in China, it is his first time running his own business.  Andy took a long time in comparing different business insurance policies online, and he felt confident in the choice that he made.
 
In July, heavy rain caused significant water damage to the store’s floor.   His landlord refused to do anything to help him.  Andy wasn’t able open the convenience store for 3 weeks whilst he arranged for the floor to be made safe and then fixed.  Andy called his insurance company, and it felt to him like he could never reach a person to speak to about his insurance claim, and he spent a lot of time on hold. 
 
It turned out Andy didn’t insure for loss of business income, which meant that he had to continue paying rent and salaries although he had no income from sales.  Insurance could have helped him cover some of these losses but Andy wasn’t aware that he could purchase this type of insurance. 
 
He eventually got the insurance company to pay for the repairs to the floor, but it took almost four months to finally receive his money, and it didn’t even cover half of the repair costs because the insurance company said that his repairer was too expensive.  Andy was incredibly stressed from dealing with the insurance company and the repairer while at the same time trying to operate his business. 
 
Two months later, Andy went to a migrants’ community activity.  He made friend with other new migrants who also who operate small businesses.  They, too, had bad luck during the year, and had to make a claim on their insurance policy.  However, they were pleasantly surprised at how easy the experience was.  Poor Andy was shocked!
 
WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED – MARK’S STORY:
Andy’s friend, Mark*, purchased a business located in a local shopping mall.  Mark’s shop sold cigarettes and magazines.  When he purchased his business, his migration agent recommended that he use an insurance broker.   As Mark was unfamiliar with running a business in Australia, he decided it couldn’t hurt to follow his migration agent’s advice. 
 
Mark spoke to the insurance broker, and they chatted about his business for about twenty minutes.   The insurance broker explained him what could go wrong for his business and told him that there were a lot of burglaries targeting tobacco shops.  He recommended that Mark install a back-to-base alarm system.  Mark hadn’t heard of this type of alarm system before, but he decided to look into it.  They also discussed how much insurance Mark should buy.  The insurance broker told Mark that cigarettes are expensive, and he should insure his stock for more money. 
 
His insurance broker came back to him the next day with several options for insurance, all at different prices.  Mark asked lots of questions about the different between the insurance products, and tried to understand as much as possible about what the insurance was for.  There were many insurance terms that Mark didn’t understand, but his broker was patient in explaining them to him. At the end of the process, Mark felt confident of the choice that he made when buying insurance. 
 
Mark’s shop was also affected by the heavy rains in July. The gutter overflowed, and the water started leaking into the shop.  About $8,000 of Mark’s cigarettes were damaged by the water.  The first thing Mark did was call his insurance broker.  His insurance broker told him straight away not to worry, as the loss would be covered by his insurance.   
 
The next day, a representative from the insurance company came to visit Mark to inspect the damage.  Mark didn’t feel confident in his English, but his insurance broker assured him that he had already explained the whole situation to the insurance company.  The visit went smoothly, and his broker called him the next day to tell Mark that everything was under control.  He told Mark that he could expect his insurance company to pay the claim within the next three weeks. 
 
Mark laughed as he told Andy this story, saying that it was lucky that the insurance broker had done all the hard work for him!
 
DID MARK PAY MORE FOR HIS INSURANCE?
Buying insurance through a broker can be cheaper than buying it online.  This is because brokers have negotiating power with different insurers.  Mark ended up with the best value for money insurance policy, as well as professional advice on risk management.  On top of that, Mark didn’t feel stressed during the claim as he knew his insurance broker was there to look after him. 
 
Don’t gamble on your livelihood.  If cost, convenience, and peace of mind is important to you, it is worth visiting an insurance broker for your home and business insurance. 
 
* Names have been changed

English translation, article originally appearing in the Vision China Times, Melbourne (15 January 2015)

​We all know that volunteering is good for your health, improves your mood and lowers your stress levels.  In fact, sharing and helping out in the community can become an essential part of your social and career success, whether you are the director of a charity organisation, spend time with the elderly in nursing homes, or help organise community events.  For the overseas Chinese population, especially for new migrants, it’s vital to participate and contribute to building strong Chinese communities in Australia. 
 
As valued as it is to give your time to charity, there are risks to consider if you’re working or volunteering in an association or charity such as:

• Churches and temples
• Nursing homes or elderly associations
• Cultural societies, for example, for a particular province in China
• Education centres, including Chinese Language schools

 
Associations and charities can be subject to lawsuits and losses in the same way that businesses are, and so it’s important for members and volunteers, particularly those who on boards or committees of associations, to consider the below questions:
 
1.CAN YOU AFFORD THE UNEXPECTED AND EXPENSIVE?
Your organisation’s purpose is to do good.  However, unexpected things can always happen and someone, or something, might be damaged or hurt during the organisation’s activities.  Sometimes, even if the organisation hasn’t done anything wrong, it can still suffer from expensive legal fees.   Accidents, which can lead to insurance claims, can be as simple as the following:
 

• A CHINESE SCHOOL:  A weekend Chinese language school holds a fundraising event, and a passerby trips over microphone cords and hurts themselves.  They sue the charity for medical costs
• A VOLUNTARY ORGANISATION PROMOTING RELATIONS WITH CHINA: The association rents an office building as their headquarters.  An employee forgets to toaster oven off and causes a fire, damaging nearby buildings.  The neighbours suit the organisation for damages. 

 
Other incidents could be even more complex. Here are some real life examples:

• SPORTING CLUB: A sporting club has a monthly newsletter.  It publishes an article about one of the team losing a match.  The coach of the losing team was unable to find coaching work after that article, and sued for defamation.  Legal defence costs for the club exceeded $75,000.
• MEDICAL CHARITY: A charity cancelled a contract with a supplier, alleging that someone had forged the charity director’s signature on the contract.  The supplier sued the charity.   Legal defence costs for the charity were more than $150,000.

 
2.WHAT ABOUT FRAUD?
Unfortunately, dishonesty and fraud is a fact of life.  Charities and associations are increasingly at risk of fraud.  If you’re a board or committee member, you run an additional risk of being accused of fraud, even if you’ve done nothing wrong.  Here are some real life examples:

• RELIGIOUS SOCIETY: The treasurer of a religious society stole more than $340,000 from the members of the group.
• FUNDRAISING: An association was raising money via collecting tins.  The Directors were accused of stealing the money.  The claim went to court, and it was ruled that the Directors had not done anything wrong, however the association incurred substantial criminal defence costs.

 
 
3.ARE VOLUNTEERS AND EMPLOYEES PROPERLY PROTECTED?
This is an important question to ask, regardless of whether you’re the volunteer or if you are organising a group of volunteers to help out in your association’s activities.  Here are a few things to consider:

• INJURY OR DEATH WHILE VOLUNTEERING: Insurance to cover this risk is often required by the authorities.  Volunteer Personal Accident Insurance must be purchased by associations in case any volunteers suffer accidental injury or death while volunteering
• BULLYING AND HARASSSMENT:  Volunteers and employees of non-profit organisations may sue for wrongful acts such as bullying, unfair dismissal, discrimination and harassment.  Even if the association hasn’t committed the act, legal fees can be expensive.  This can be covered by Directors And Officers Insurance.

 
Not-for-profit organizations form an invaluable part of our society and every participant takes pride in offering to the community. Like a business, they must also prepare for challenging events, know what risks they face and reduce the likelihood of potentially costly ‘surprises’. Consult a professional insurance broker to find out the optimal solution for your organization and make the most out of the organization budget. 

English translation, article originally appearing in the Vision China Times, Melbourne (18 December 2015)

Smart investors often add property to their investment portfolio. Lower volatility, potential tax benefits and control over assets have made property investments attractive for those seeking lucrative capital growth. In Australia, property values are growing up to 7% per annum and purchasing intent in the real estate marketplace is hitting a historical high.
As passionate investors dream of solid returns flooding in, crucial things that may go wrong are sometimes ignored as the trends heat up. Unexpected events such as fire or explosion, rental default, malicious and intentional damage by both tenants and criminals may result in expensive loss. When considering property investments that guarantee safe capital return, several factors can help safeguard it:


1. Reduce your risk by picking the right location

Damage from natural disasters, such as bush fires during scorchingly dry Australian summers, high winds and storm surge, are likely to occur if your property is located besides reserves, bushlands, creeks, storm drains and lakes. Statistics show that extreme weather events, for example, storms and hail, have resulted in damage to 30,000 properties in the past three years.  Bushfires destroyed up to 2029 properties in 2009, leaving tragic damage with thousands of dollars in repair costs.
It’s not only nature that you need to consider – don’t forget the human factor when choosing the location of your new property investment.  Unsafe suburbs with a higher crime rate nad drug use may lead to a high incidence of theft and household burglaries.  This will make your property unattractive to potential tenants, and also impact the value of your property. Safety and liveability always matter, even if you don’t live in the property yourself.
 
2. Safeguard your property

An ideal location doesn’t always prevent risks your property. Common problems, such as water damage from storms, can be minimised if you know how to protect your property.  Heavy rain can impact any location, and it’s wise to check the following items during your house inspection:

• Floor Level and house design: Check if your property is built on flood-prone sites. If it is, then raised floor slabs above expected flood levels can help your tackle heavy rain.  Also check how the house is designed, can floodwater move along a path, or will it pond against the house wall?
• Fixtures and fittings: Use water resistant fittings in your kitchen and bathroom. Cupboards could be suspended from walls, or raised off floors. 
• Appliances: Carefully choose your appliances such as stoves, refrigerators and their connections.  If it’s practical, you can organise your use of rooms so that the majority of your appliances are used on an upper floor level.
• Electrical and plumbing systems: Electrical systems, such as meters, power outlets and light switches, could be short-circuited by floodwater. Ensure internal wirings are set above likely flood heights.  A modern plumbing system will also help prevent damage from flooding.

 3. Choose your tenant wisely

​It is helpful to engage a professional property manager who will help you choose the right tenant and be proactive in the maintenance of your property.  Bad tenants can cause trouble and loss, for example they may default on rent payments, deny you access to the property or vacate without notice.  They may damage the property, leaving you with massive clean-up and repair bills.

4. Protect your investment

​Don’t wait for something to happen before organizing the insurance for your investment property – it will be too late. Extreme accidents may arrive when you’re unaware and even the best tenant could accidentally damage a property or lose their job and be unable to pay rent. A tailored landlord insurance policy is crucial for owners to cover loss and save efforts. The following insurance can be considered to safeguard your investment property:

• Rental Default: For example, when a tenant’s lease is terminated by court for not paying rent or the tenant is issued a legal for not paying rent.
• Failure to vacate: If your tenant fails to vacate at the end of paid rental period and refuses to pay additional rent owed.
• Contents & Building: Including accidental and malicious damage on property facilities, theft and loss due to theft.
• Public Liability: where injury is caused to a third party or damage to a third party’s property.

Natural disasters, crime, and bad tenants can not only cause headache and stress; it can cost you thousands of dollars. Getting insurance protection is worth bearing in mind to prevent this from happening. Consult an insurance broker for professional policy advice. Plan earlier, relax earlier. 

English translation, article originally appearing in the Vision China Times, Melbourne (04 December 2015)

Your livelihood up in flames…
What would you do if you arrived at work one day, and your office – or your shop, factory, or warehouse – had been razed to the ground?  Could you recover from the loss?  Most businesses can’t, it’s often the case that many businesses affected by a major fire either never recover or close within two years of reopening.  Even if the property can be rebuilt, you might lose market share and important customers while your business recovers, you could lose key staff while the business is unable to operate, or it could take a long time to obtain new permits or licenses. 
 
Arson costs Australia over $1.6 billion a year.  Arson can be motivated by many different things, such as revenge, juvenile boredom, terrorism, psychiatric problems, and business rivalry.  Although there will always be things that cannot be predicted and are outside of your control, there are very effective security measures that you can implement to reduce the chance that your business is a target for arsonists.  

Three top tips to prevent arson
TIP ONE: Arson often occurs at night, and improved security measures are most effective in preventing arson.  The below recommendations can also reduce the cost of your yearly insurance premium: 

• Keep the areas around your property well lit at night.  Install CCTV cameras around the property
• Have a back-to-base monitored alarm, where the alarm will notify a security company, rather than be directed to your mobile phone
• Install automatic fire sprinklers
• Strengthen physical security measures, such as fencing, grills on windows and doors, gated entryways.  For large properties, consider security patrols.

TIP TWO: Eliminate easy arson targets such as rubbish dumpsters, boxes, wooden pallets, crates, and plastic wheelie bins.  These should be locked and secured in places where arsonists cannot access them.  Prevent trash from accumulating around and in your business property. 
TIP THREE: Conduct your business activities with care!  Screen potential employees; carefully choose maintenance personnel who have unsupervised access to the business property, especially after normal working hours. 
 
Insurance should undoubtedly also be part of every business’ risk management plan.  Here’s a true story of how insurance helped one Melbourne business owner get back on his feet:

English translation, article originally appearing in the Vision China Times, Melbourne (11 November 2015)

Alison is a self-made success.  Originally from Hong Kong, she arrived in Australia in the late 80’s with two young children, little English, and no building experience to speak of.   The thriving shop fitting business that she has built up over the past 23 years is testament to her determination and astonishing work ethic.  
 
Alison’s business, Crown Shopfitters, supplies and installs kitchen and shop fittings in retail and department stores, domestic and commercial kitchens, restaurants, cafes and supermarkets.   From humble beginnings installing kitchenettes in small apartments, Alison proudly tells us that she can now walk through every major shopping centre in Melbourne and be able to point out a shop, café, or stall that was installed by her business.
 
Her story isn’t without challenges – in a male dominated industry, Alison had to prove herself over and over again dealing and negotiating with tradesmen, contractors and supplies to make sure that her clients receive the very best product. 
 
“There aren’t that many Chinese women in the construction industry in Australia!” Alison laughs.  “It was hard to be taken seriously at first”. 
 
By the looks of things, Alison no longer has any problems being taken seriously.  With her daughters now both grown up (one an architect, and other an engineer), she’s ready to tackle her next big challenge – expanding her business interstate.   
 
Crown Shopfitters and Great Wall Insurance Services
 Great Wall has been assisting Crown Shopfitters with their insurance since the mid 1990’s.  If you own a similar business (shop fitting manufacturing and installation, cabinet making, kitchen manufacturing and installations), you should consider the following types of insurance:

• Material damage to general property: Fire is a major hazard for this type of business because of wood, sawdust, adhesives, paints and solvents.  Make sure that your business adequately insures its physical assets (for example, the building and the contents, including machinery, tools, stock, raw materials, and office equipment).
• Business interruption: Downtime could be extensive if your business relies on machinery and equipment for its operations.
• Machinery breakdown: This could be required for various tools and equipment situated in your factory, or taken to sites.
• Public Liability:  If your business installs fittings on site, public liability could be a major risk due to injury to third parties by work activities, machinery or falling materials.
• Product Liability:  Your business could suffer a loss if you’re faced with a claim about the use of lower quality materials, not following specifications or building codes, and defective work. 
• Professional indemnity:  If your business incorporates consulting and designing services clients, professional indemnity insurance would be appropriate.  This would provide the business cover for a “breach of professional duty”. 

English translation, article originally appearing in the Vision China Times, Melbourne (30 October 2015)

WILL YOUR INSURANCE COVER THE LOSS FROM PROPERTY BURGLED THIS JANUARY?

As we reach the end of a year of hard work, we’re all looking forward to summer holidays… all except Melbourne’s thieves, who are looking forward to empty homes and easy money.

For the past few years, January has been the worst month for home break-ins.  The most burgled areas in Melbourne are in the west and north of the city, for example, Heidelberg West, Heidelberg Heights, Hoppers Crossing, Broadmeadows and Preston.  Wealthier suburbs in Melbourne’s inner east are also targets for thieves, for example, there were 9 burglaries and 2 attempted burglaries in just one night this October, in Camberwell, Hawthorn, Kew and Ashburton.   There are a few steps you can take to improve home security to reduce the risk of becoming the target of crime.  However, it’s also important to make sure that you have the correct insurance in case you are unlucky. 

Home security measures
The following tips can help you make your home more secure:

• Install a home alarm and connect it to professional security monitoring
• Ensure all doors and windows are well secured with locks, and make sure you lock up when you go out, even for short periods.  Lock the front door when you are in the back yard.  Burglars enter from unlocked or poorly locked doors and windows in almost 50% cases of home break-ins in Victoria. 
• Don’t hide a spare key – it can be found by a thief.  Leave it with a trusted friend instead
• If you purchase expensive items such as electrical appliances, cut up the boxes or shopping bags into pieces before recycling because boxes can let burglars know what’s new in your house
• Keep your garden tidy and well lit, removing hiding spots for burglars

Preventing crime during the holiday season
If you are going overseas and leaving your home vacant, be careful with your personal information online, for example, posting your holiday plans on Facebook and Wechat means that you are broadcasting that your home will be vacant.  You should also make it look like someone is home.  For example, get your neighbours to collect the mail, bring in the bins, close the curtains and hang some old clothes on the line. 

Insurance for your home
It’s impossible to prevent all crime, so insurance is critical in protecting your valuables.  Thieves will take items like designer bags, cash, jewellery and electronics, and this can quickly add up – in 10% of burglaries, the victim will lose more than $50,000 worth of goods.  Home insurance is readily available online, but you must make sure you get the right type of insurance for your home.  There are a few things to be careful of:

• Default limits for jewellery:  The standard insurance for jewellery can be quite low.  For example, theft of jewellery can be limited to $1,000 and theft of watches can be limited to $1,000.  In almost all cases, this would cover only a very small value of what is taken in a burglary.  It is best to discuss your valuables with your insurance company or your insurance broker to make sure you have enough coverage.  A better insurance policy will give you a limit of $10,000 for any one item.  You can also specify if you want to have coverage for certain, expensive items for example, an engagement ring.
• Default limits for theft of cash:  The standard insurance for theft of cash is limited to only $200 or $500.  A better insurance policy will provide for $1,500 or more.  Of course, it is best for you to limit the amount cash kept in the house.
• Default limits for paintings, pictures and rugs:  Again, this might be limited to $1,000 per painting or rug.  If you have invested a lot in furnishing your home, you should find an insurance policy that does not have a sub-limit for these items. 
• If your home is vacant: A lot of the cheaper insurance policies will deny your claim or charge you extra to make a claim, if your home was broken into after more than 60 days of being vacant, even if you were just on holidays.  The better insurance policies will have a longer period, such as 100 days. 

The better insurance policies will also cover the cost of replacing locks and keys when they have been stolen or damaged.  As you can see, buying insurance for your home may not be straightforward, and it is best to discuss it with your insurance company or your insurance broker instead of buying it online.  An insurance broker can help explain to you the differences between policies, and this will help you decide what is most appropriate.  An insurance broker will also help you make an insurance claim if you are unlucky enough to be the victim of a break-in.  

English translation, article originally appearing in the Vision China Times, Melbourne (17 October 2015)
The property market in Melbourne is red-hot, with property developers competing for sites in desirable suburbs like Glen Waverley, Mt. Waverley, Ashburton and Box Hill.  Chinese property developers are doing good business by subdividing and building townhouses and apartments in these blue-chip suburbs.  A word of warning, however, to those who are in this lucrative business – a great many unexpected events might happen, leaving you millions of dollars out of pocket, or worse, even bankrupt.
For example, a property developer in Mt. Waverley is now footing the bill to repair the damage caused by a landslip in a 20 metre-deep construction pit at his building side on Highbury Road.  He also has had to pay for the hotel accommodation costs for a dozen residents evacuated from the two townhouses on the edge of the pit. In cases like this, insurance is absolutely critical.  This is a timely reminder to all in the property development business that insurance can’t be ignored. 
What can go wrong
There are several key risks that you need to consider if you are developing a property, where it’s two townhouses or a large block of apartments. 
Firstly, you must insure and protect the site that you have purchased.  It could be some time before your permits are approved by the council and you can start to demolish the site.  Even if you’re planning to bulldoze the site, you must at least buy public liability insurance, or you could be sued. 
Next, once you start construction, you must make sure that you or your builder has the right insurance policy.  Many things can go wrong on site – your property could be damaged by water from severe storm or you could be a victim of arson or vandalism. Quite commonly, expensive items like hot water systems or even kitchen appliances and cabinets, can be stolen from an unoccupied site.  Further, the excavation or construction could damage nearby houses, for example, weaken the support of a neighbouring building, or cause a landslip.  In one case, a crane was not properly set up, and caused disastrous damage when it toppled over.  All of these losses can be prevented with the right insurance.  You also must make sure that the businesses you work with have their insurance in place.  For example, your architects, engineers, and surveyors all must have professional indemnity insurance. Depending on how insurance in arranged, your builder and tradespeople may need separate insurance.
As a property developer, you may also need to consider the safety standards at the site.  WorkCover  insurance is essential, and you also have to make sure you provide your workers with a safe working environment.   
Finally, once your new development is complete, don’t forget to insure the finished product.  How you do this will depend on what you are planning to do with it, for example, if you are planning to sell it, manage it as a body corporate, or let it out.  If your company also performs real estate activities, for example, selling and renting properties, you must also consider real estate public liability and professional indemnity insurance. 
Suggestions to Chinese property developers
Insurance for a property developer isn’t straightforward and simple.  To make sure that you are properly protected and that you won’t be up for potentially millions of dollars, insurance is absolutely worth paying for and getting right.  Get professional insurance advice, consult an insurance broker, in the same way that you seek professional advice from architects, engineers, and electricians.