After three consecutive La Niña wet weather patterns, your business might not have bushfire risks front of mind.

However, vigilance is needed. Above average rainfall and devastating floods have boosted vegetation and fuel-load growth in parts of our nation.

According to the National Council for fire and emergency services (AFAC), destructive and deadly fires can still happen even though most of Australia shows ‘normal’ fire potential for this summer. As well, much of NSW, parts of Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania will have above-normal fire potential as this map shows.

It’s important to know your local conditions as bushfire seasons differ across the country, says the Bureau of Meteorology. 

Fire remains one of the most common risks to businesses

Three years ago, bushfires affected 26% of Australian businesses over time, says Roy Morgan Research. Those most impacted were in NSW, Victoria and Queensland comprising eight in 10 businesses overall.

Workplace health safety and legal and financial implications may occur if your business doesn’t address bushfire risk management.

Bushfire risks to business include:

• Disruption to business continuity, including closing your doors due to fires and associated smoke issues
• Unexpected or unplanned impacts on employees
• Extended interruption to cashflow
• Inability to meet duty-of-care obligations and provide services.

Fire preparation steps

Often businesses that have survived a major bushfire had thought they were ready and prepared for the following destruction and emotional fallout. However, this was often not the case. So, please refer to these tips to improve and update your approaches.

• Identify what you’ll need to do to better prepare for bushfires
• Create an itemised checklist to deal with the gaps and weaknesses you’ve identified
• Test fire detection and protection systems equipment 
• Improve your fire safety culture through updated policies and procedures for safety and emergency business planning 
• Ensure you train staff to use fire extinguishers
• Regularly practice an evacuation plan
• Ensure you have plans to protect your data such as backing it up to the cloud/offsite.

Does your business premises maximise passive fire protection? The idea is to compartmentalise the building into zones to help contain or slow the fire’s spread. This means fire-rated walls, floors, shafts, ceilings, etc. Be mindful of how and where utilities enter your premises, such as through electrical and data cable, duct work, air conditioning pipes and plumbing.

Be sure to check your state or territory’s fire safety installation laws for buildings, such as this one for Queensland. And, here’s a good overview of fire safety at work – including laws and regulations. Plus, get updated on the latest fire warning system.

Steps to take during a fire

When a fire approaches, have your designated fire wardens monitor and manage the situation until emergency services arrive. A typical fire safety procedure would involve calling 000, activating fire alarms and operating fire extinguishers.

If your business needs to evacuate, first aid organisation St John advises to:

• Remain calm
• Alert staff and emergency services
• Have fire wardens ensure all staff and visitors leave via a safe evacuation route to a muster point, then do a head count in an assembly area 
• Close windows and doors, switch off power
• Don’t re-enter the building until authorities declare it safe to do so.

If you can’t evacuate, St John recommends you:

• Alert emergency services
• Not use lifts nor open doors if they feel warm/hot
• Turn off ventilation systems
• Place wet towels and clothing under doors, windows and vent openings to slow the spread of fire and smoke.

And after a fire

Check people are safe first and don’t enter your premises until firefighters say it’s safe. Then:

• Note in your phone or a notebook everyone you speak to, their contact details and conversations
• Photograph and video record the damage as much as possible, but avoid touching soot and dirty water which contains toxins
• Keep receipts of expenses 
• Contact us, as your broker, so we can support your claim processing
• Notify your landlord or property manager if you have one
• Update your business partners, credit card companies, suppliers and clients with information
• Negotiate new deadlines, if required
• Remove valuables and secure your property from thieves
• You may need to turn off utilities and/or update providers with your contact information.

Business insurance cover for fire, storm damage, flood and major perils

Appropriate insurance can make the difference between your business being able to continue operating after a major natural disaster or not. Let us help customise a policy package that addresses your company’s risk profile. 

The term ‘metaverse’ was coined in 1992, as an online space combining virtual and physical worlds. And, the metaverse-like online multimedia platform, Second Life, which began in 2003, is still going, with almost 65 million active users. 

Meanwhile, Meta – formerly Facebook – maintains optimism that its version of the metaverse will be on the horizon in five to 10 years. It estimates the metaverse will contribute $3 trillion plus to global GDP by 2031.

But only recently has the insurance sector seriously considered the Pandora’s box the metaverse presents. 

Risks of the metaverse

US-based information security expert Bill Malik of Trend Micro says we don’t know the safety protocols our societies and regulators will need. We can, however, picture the risks as many sensors will monitor and classify humans, their moves and reactions. That’s a lot of data.

Malik suggests these risks include:

• Possible alteration or theft of an organisation’s intellectual property
• Privacy violations of individuals
• Criminal transactions
• In a ‘dark web’ version of the metaverse – called the darkverse – opportunities for illegal activities such as selling malware, trading stolen data and planning for physical world crimes.

Even the World Economic Forum has looked into the risks of the metaverse. It’s raised concerns about vulnerable groups, unwanted contact, violent extremist and terrorist content, plus the rise of virtual currencies. As well, research has shown that bad actors can hijack the online feed of those using virtual reality headsets. This includes theft of biometric data, payment information, and passwords or the instigation of unwanted contact.

The need for increased cyber protection

Malik also makes an important point about the increasing risks as online and physical worlds merge. If you plan to do business in the metaverse, you’ll need appropriate protection for:

• Information technology (IT)
• Operational technology (OT).

There are protocols to secure IT, but not for OT, which also lacks privacy design principles. That’s where bad actors can interfere with transactions, steal or change your product or service and your IP, introduce ransomware, compromise email, etc.

Businesses may also underestimate how much bandwidth, processing power and storage capacity they’ll need to operate in the metaverse. Issues such as social engineering, propaganda and fake news are expected to feature, so it could impact your business reputation if it becomes entangled.

Why insurers are thinking about metaverse insurance 

Insurers are keeping a watching brief on the metaverse. They’re looking at how to insure crypto assets such as non-fungible tokens (artwork) and the marketplace network on which they reside. If the network goes down or is compromised, that artwork could be lost.

News site FinTech Global suggests there could be fewer insurance policies for the metaverse because risks such as earthquakes, fires, vandalism may not apply. The site also points to digital twins (of physical structures) as useful for virtual risk prevention and underwriting. That dynamic web 3.0 ‘internet of things’ view of a structure could even be used in claims management.

In the meantime, protect yourself with cyber insurance

Cyber insurance needs to be carefully considered if you see your business on the metaverse. It offers protection against diverse risks, including those relating to computers and networks & protecting business-critical data.

Such policies also encourage businesses to be proactive about risk management. That means not just strong policies, but oversight of their implementation. For example, you may have heard that the Medibank data hack occurred due to a single support desk not having two-factor authentication. We can guide you on improving your risk profile and customising insurance coverage to your unique business needs.