IN SUMMARY
A strong relationship between your insurance broker, accountant and bookkeeper can help you as a business owner make better-informed decisions about your finances, assets and insurance. By sharing relevant information early, these professionals can identify any insurance considerations for you as business circumstances change.
In this article, I explain:
- how the right insurance broker can complement the services accountants and bookkeepers provide to their business clients
- why involving an insurance broker early when purchasing commercial property can help identify potential insurance costs and risk requirements
- how sharing updates about new machinery, vehicles and asset values can help keep insurance arrangements aligned with the business
- how collaboration can help accountants and bookkeepers add value to their services and strengthen client relationships
- why appropriate insurance can support business resilience and continuity
- how a more connected approach helps professionals work together in their clients’ best interests
At GIBA, we believe better collaboration starts with understanding the business behind the insurance.
When accountants, bookkeepers and insurance brokers share relevant insights, they can help clients consider potential risks earlier, make more informed decisions and better prepare for their business’s changing needs.
Your business decisions don’t happen in isolation
Running a business involves making important financial and operational decisions throughout the year.
Your accountant or bookkeeper may already be involved in these conversations, helping you understand the financial side of your business. But your insurance broker might not always be aware of what’s changing.
That’s where a more collaborative approach can make a difference.
When accountants, bookkeepers and insurance brokers communicate and share relevant insights, they can help business owners in Australia consider both the financial and insurance implications of their decisions.
At GIBA, we see collaboration as an opportunity to provide more connected support, helping you consider your insurance needs when making important business decisions and as your circumstances evolve.
What your accountant or bookkeeper already knows
Your accountant or bookkeeper already knows your business in great detail.
They’re familiar with turnover, financial transactions, assets you’ve purchased or sold and plans that could change your financial position.
They typically also hear about those plans long before your insurance broker does.
If you’re arranging finance for new machinery or negotiating a property purchase, for example, your accountant will be involved from the outset, while you may not inform your insurance broker until you’ve already secured the asset.
With the right working relationship, your accountant or bookkeeper can share this relevant information with GIBA, helping us understand what’s changing in your business and identify any potential insurance implications upfront.
That doesn’t mean your accountant needs to become an insurance expert.
Their financial knowledge complements our insurance knowledge, allowing each of us to focus on our own area of expertise while supporting you.
For accountants and bookkeepers, having access to a trusted insurance broker also creates an opportunity to provide more comprehensive guidance when clients are making important business decisions.
Bringing insurance into the conversation earlier
If, for example, your accountant lets us know that you’re considering purchasing a commercial property while negotiations are underway, we can investigate insurance options and indicative premiums before you commit.
This gives your accountant valuable information to incorporate into your broader financial assessment, helping them provide more comprehensive support before a significant investment is finalised.
Rather than treating business insurance as a cost that appears after the transaction, you can factor it into your budget alongside financing and other expenses.
Depending on the property, your business activities and the insurer, there may be elements such as fire protection, security, fencing or other risks to consider. These could mean additional expenditure that you will want to know about before deciding whether the investment stacks up.
We can’t assume every cost or condition will be confirmed in advance. However, starting the conversation earlier gives us more opportunity to:
- identify relevant insurance considerations
- investigate available options
- help you understand potential costs and requirements
It’s about giving you a clearer picture of the investment before you commit, so you can make a more informed decision.
Keeping business insurance aligned throughout the year
Changes in your business can happen at any time of the year.
Purchasing new equipment or vehicles or evaluating changes in asset values can all be reasons to check whether existing insurance arrangements still comprehensively cover the business.
Often, these changes are only brought up to us as an afterthought. The client has been busy running the business and simply forgotten to mention it.
Whereas their accountant already knew about the purchase because they helped arrange the finance.
But the quicker that information reaches GIBA, the earlier we can consider whether the new asset needs to be addressed in the client’s insurance arrangements.
This doesn’t mean every purchase or change automatically requires a policy adjustment.
It’s about keeping communication open so we can assess the situation and determine whether anything needs attention.
Our goal at GIBA is to help our clients maintain appropriate cover as their businesses evolve, rather than only reviewing their circumstances when insurance renewal comes around.
What do accountants and bookkeepers gain from the relationship?
As an accountant or bookkeeper, connecting your clients with the right insurance broker in Australia helps them consider the insurance implications of major purchases and business changes alongside their financial decisions.
In doing so, this can:
- Support more informed planning: Bring relevant insurance costs and potential requirements into important client discussions, helping you provide a more complete picture before major investments are finalised.
- Support business continuity: Help clients consider appropriate insurance as part of managing their assets and finances, supporting their ability to remain in business and grow.
- Strengthen client relationships: Show clients you’re looking beyond the immediate transaction and considering their longer-term business interests.
This collaboration can also give you greater peace of mind, knowing you’ve helped your clients consider all the risks that could affect their business.
While business insurance can’t prevent every loss or guarantee a business will survive a serious setback, appropriate cover does improve financial resilience and the ability to bounce back in those situations.
For busy Australian business owners, having their professionals communicate and bring their expertise together can also make it easier to identify insurance considerations they might otherwise overlook.
It’s a more connected way to support clients without
expecting any one professional to have all the answers.
Why collaboration matters beyond the insurance policy
In my experience, accountants, bookkeepers and insurance brokers like to stay in their own lane. Everyone does their part, but opportunities to connect and share expertise are often missed.
I believe we can do better by putting the client’s needs first.
At GIBA, that means being approachable, understanding the business behind the insurance and working with accountants and bookkeepers when our input could be useful.
By establishing a strong working relationship together, we can provide real value through the practical difference we make to the businesses we’re all here to support.
Because when a client is better supported, everyone benefits.
Frequently asked questions about insurance brokers and accountants working together
Can my accountant contact GIBA before I've committed to a purchase?
Yes, an early conversation can be useful while you’re still weighing up a significant investment. With your permission, your accountant can share relevant details with us so we can investigate insurance considerations. You can then factor that information into the decision before moving forward.
What information is useful for your accountant or bookkeeper to share with GIBA?
An accountant or bookkeeper can help by sharing relevant information about planned purchases, asset sales or significant changes in your business. This can give our team at GIBA useful context for an insurance conversation. The information needed will depend on your circumstances and what you’re planning.
Do I need to introduce my accountant and insurance broker formally?
It doesn’t take much to start a useful conversation. With your permission, we can communicate with your accountant about a particular decision or change. The important thing is that everyone understands what information needs to be considered and why.
How does GIBA take a proactive approach to working with accountants and bookkeepers?
At GIBA, we encourage accountants and bookkeepers to share relevant business updates rather than waiting for renewal. Whether a client is buying an asset or planning a major investment, early communication gives us more opportunity to consider insurance needs and provide timely support as part of an ongoing professional relationship.
Want to understand more about working with a trusted insurance broker in Australia?
When accountants, bookkeepers and insurance brokers work together, clients can make more informed decisions about their finances, assets and insurance needs.
At GIBA, we work with businesses in Australia and their advisers to identify potential insurance considerations early, review cover as circumstances change and help clients understand the options available to them.
Whether you’re an accountant or bookkeeper looking to strengthen your client service, or a business owner wanting your advisers to work more closely together, let’s start a conversation.
Together, we can help clients stay ahead of insurance considerations as their businesses grow and change.
