A new year brings fresh goals, momentum and new opportunities.
It also brings change, often in places businesses don’t immediately expect.
Markets shift. Risks evolve. Operations grow. Contracts change. And yet, many insurance programs roll over quietly, unchanged, year after year.
Below is a practical checklist to help business owners and decision-makers identify potential gaps early to assist with addressing them calmly and strategically.
The Start-of-Year Insurance Checklist
A practical guide for business owners and decision-makers
Use this checklist to identify potential gaps before they turn into problems. If any of these questions give you pause, just remember it’s a signal not a failure and we’re here to help when you need it.
Business & Operations
✔ Has your revenue, turnover or headcount increased?
✔ Have you expanded into new services, products or activities?
✔ Are you operating from new locations, sites or jurisdictions?
✔ Have you introduced new equipment, plant or technology?
Assets & Valuations
✔ Are building and contents values current and reflective of today’s replacement costs?
✔ Have rising labour or material costs increased your exposure to underinsurance?
✔ Are leased, hired or financed assets correctly declared?
Contracts & Legal Exposure
✔ Have you signed new contracts with higher indemnity or insurance requirements?
✔ Do your policies actually align with those contractual obligations?
✔ Have you reviewed exclusions that could invalidate a claim under contract?
Liability & People Risk
✔ Has your workforce changed (contractors, labour hire, seasonal staff)?
✔ Are your liability limits still appropriate for your size and risk profile?
✔ Are directors and officers comfortable with their personal exposure?
Claims Readiness
✔ Do you understand how a claim would be handled and by whom?
✔ Are you confident the policy would respond as expected—not just in theory?
✔ Do you know what documentation you’d need if a claim happened tomorrow?
Market & Policy Health Check
✔ Have insurer terms, conditions or exclusions changed at renewal?
✔ Are you relying on cover that’s quietly becoming more restrictive?
✔ Have you tested whether your program still reflects today’s risk environment?
If any of these questions gave you pause and you’d like to speak with a McKenzie Ross specialist for a free independent review of your business feel free to reach out.
