Bay of Plenty Business News February/March 2018

18 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS February/March 2018
WORKPLACE HEALTH & SAFETY
ACC – a tax or insurance?
If your business insurance premiums
went up 10 percent on last year you
would call your broker pretty quickly
and find out why. You have an
expectation as to the cost and what
you are actually covered for.
Most employers do not
look at their ACC
levies the same way.
Rather, they take what they
are given and pay accordingly.
Great for ACC, not so
good for you.
The average ACC saving
we create is 41 percent and
this has been true for the
seven years we have been
doing this gig. This tells
us that employers really do
not understand ACC levies
very well… and overpay as
a result.
We encourage you
to look at ACC with a
cynical view as with
any insurance, it is
meant to be there if
there is a need. So,
what is the need or in
other words, what is
the risk that is being
covered?
In all honesty, I don’t
blame them. The invoices
have changed at least four
times over the last six years;
the way levies are calculated
seems convoluted; most folk
have at least one war story
with ACC; and lastly, ACC is
a government agency which
doesn’t give us much confidence
and the best of times.
ACC for business is an
insurance, it is there to cover
a risk. Sure, it is compulsory
however it is still an
insurance. This means that
we should look at it like all
our other insurances… do we
know the risk it covers?
Once we do, then we guarantee
you there are savings
available and quite substantial
at times.
ACC covers two key areas
– the shareholders and the
workers.
As a shareholder, do you
need ACC and if you do,
how much would you need
at claim time? If you do not
need ACC either because you
will still get paid or you happen
to have income protection
insurance, then you can actually
pay a lot less. Similarly,
if you are like most business
owners and never take any
time off, what are you actually
paying ACC for? You are
basically gifting ACC your
money. Nice for ACC.
As a business owner, what
do you actually do in the
business?
At seminars I always like
to shake everyone’s hands.
Why? Because it allows me
to see if they have clean fingernails
and soft hands. Ok,
humour me on this one. if a
bloke has clean fingernails
and they have a scaffolding
business… then there is
a good chance they are not
on the tools. This means we
can potentially move them
to a better suited levy code.
Scaffolding is $2.26 per $100
of income. A management
code by comparison is $0.14!
So, my question to you is,
what is your risk?
For your workers, what
business risk is being covered
and is this even accurate
for you? There are that
many levy codes to choose
from that 1 in 5 businesses is
actually on the wrong code.
Did you know we can back
date this type of change four
years?
We encourage you to look
at ACC with a cynical view
as with any insurance, it is
meant to be there if there is
a need. So, what is the need
or in other words, what is the
risk that is being covered?
This year ACC is working
on a raft of changes to the
way ACC is calculated. Some
of the changes will be great
however, it will be up to you
to take advantage of them.
As the only ACC brokers
in NZ, it is our job to advise
you of these changes. Like all
brokers, we work on commission
so no upfront fees for
you. If we do not create savings
there is no charge.
It is something we are very
passionate about and very
good at doing.
Manage Company offers
a monthly webinar series on
how to make ACC work for
you and your business. Give
Martin a call on 021 322
286 or email martin@managecompany.co.nz
to find out
more.
Martin Wouters, managing director Manage Company.
ACC Training
Be in the know, make it work for your business
Webinar Series: How to make ACC work for you
CLAIMS
We teach you the fundamentals of claims. We cover recruitment; induction; claims
processes; medical certificates; and disagreeing with ACC’s decision making.
Best suited for all who want to understand the fundamentals of managing claims
risk and not being controlled by ACC.
Dates: 6 March 1pm, 10 April 12pm, 1 May 1pm, 5 June 1pm cost: $49.00
INSURANCE
ACC and insurance have a lot in common – both cover risk, you can pay handsomely
for it and it is often not well understood. We recognise this so we’re getting our inhouse
experts to share with you what the insurance companies don’t. Over a series of
webinars we cover compliance insurances, business insurances, group employee
schemes, life and income protection insurances, buy sell agreements, the list goes on.
Dates: 6 March 12pm, 10 April 11am, 1 May 12pm, 5 June 12pm cost: FREE
SAFE +
A new health & safety initiative by Worksafe, ACC and MBIE. We tell you what it is,
how it works, how to align your business, and how to future proof your business.
The Safe+ scheme will get a big push from government this year so you may want
to learn about this.
Dates: 6 March 10am, 10 April 10am, 1 May 10am, 5 June 10am cost: $49.00
CPX Detail
Just as the title would suggest we will go into CPX (CoverPlus Extra) in more detail for
an in-depth understanding of the nitty gritty. CPX covers an individual’s risk which
means we have to be very clear about what that risk is and how we manage it. We
explore the needs analyses, application process, how to navigate ACC’s expectations,
levels of cover, passive earners, and much more. Best suited to accountants.
Dates: 6 March 3pm, 10 April 1pm, 1 May 3pm, 5 June 3pm cost: $49.00
Monthly
Webinars Series
How to register
Register online at:
manageacc.info/
monthlywebinars
You will receive a
confirmation email upon
registering. This will
provide a link to attend
the webinar/s.
Find more information for
each topic online.
If you have any
quesitons please feel free
to get in touch with
Martin at: 021 322 286, or:
martin@managecompany.co.nz