Before severe weather season: what should you check in your insurance?

The Bureau of Meteorology describes October to April as a period of higher severe-weather risk across Australia. Emergency services cover preparing your property and staying safe. It's also a good time to look at your insurance. Whether it's a farm, business or home, ask what has changed since your last review and whether your sums insured, cover and records have kept up.

Farm: what has changed since your last review?

Farms rarely stay the same from one year to the next.

There may be another machinery shed, upgraded yards, a replacement tractor or header, additional equipment or different levels of stored fodder or grain. Even where the property itself has not changed, rebuilding and replacement costs may have.

The lead-up to storm season is a sensible time to compare the sums insured on your farm policy with what's on the property today.

Underinsurance can matter even when the property is not completely destroyed. In March 2026, the Insurance Council of Australia and National Insurance Brokers Association released a joint fact sheet on averaging provisions, sometimes called co-insurance clauses, which deal with underinsurance. These provisions are common in many business insurance policies and, depending on the wording, can reduce a claim payment where property has been insured below the value required by the policy.

Our article Underinsurance: why getting your business sums insured right matters explains this in more detail.

Check how different parts of the farm are insured, too. Farm buildings, machinery, livestock, stored produce and household property do not necessarily sit under the same section of a policy or respond in the same way. The schedule and policy wording need to be considered together.

Preparing your farm for bushfire season

Reviewing insurance is one part of preparing for bushfire season. There are also steps farmers can take to reduce fire risks and protect livestock, buildings and equipment.

Farm bushfire preparation checklist

• Reduce fire hazards around buildings and assets. Clear accumulated vegetation, leaves and debris around sheds, buildings and other important assets, following local fire authority guidance.
• Maintain machinery and firefighting equipment. Check machinery for faults that could start a fire and maintain appropriate pumps, hoses, extinguishers and other firefighting equipment.
• Prepare a written farm fire plan. Include arrangements for family members, employees and contractors, including communication, responsibilities and emergency procedures.
• Plan for livestock. Identify suitable low-risk areas with access to water and consider how and when livestock may need to be moved.
• Keep livestock records current. Maintain identification and livestock numbers, including NLIS records where applicable.
• Document important farm assets. Take photographs or video of buildings, machinery, fencing, livestock and significant equipment.
• Maintain records and inventories. Keep purchase records, valuations, asset inventories and insurance documents securely backed up.
• Follow official fire warnings. Monitor fire danger ratings and emergency warnings and follow the advice of the relevant fire authority.

Bushfire preparation should be guided by the relevant state fire authority and emergency services. These measures sit alongside an insurance review, which should consider whether the property, livestock, machinery and other assets are appropriately declared and insured under the policy.

For official farm fire preparation guidance, see the Country Fire Authority, Agriculture Victoria and NSW Rural Fire Service. Follow the guidance of the relevant fire authority in your state or territory.

Business: would the insurance still match the business?

For a business, the physical property is the first place to look.

Have you completed a fit-out, purchased equipment, increased stock levels or made improvements since the sums insured were last reviewed? If so, make sure those changes have made their way onto your policy.

Also consider how an insured loss could affect trading.

A significant insured loss can interrupt a business well after the initial damage occurs, which is where Business Interruption cover can matter.

Your financial figures may have moved too. Turnover may have grown, margins may have shifted or a new income stream may have been added. Do not assume a figure taken directly from the accounts is necessarily the figure required by the policy. The calculation depends on the wording.

Following a widespread storm, flood or bushfire, repairing the premises may be only one part of recovery. Access, power, suppliers, customers and other services all play a part.

So think beyond how long the building might take to repair. How long could it realistically take to get trading normally again?

“Getting the property repaired and getting a business back to normal are not always the same timeframe.”

The basis of cover, applicable figures and indemnity period need to be considered against the particular Business Interruption wording.

Business severe weather preparation checklist

• Review property and stock values. Check whether building improvements, equipment purchases and stock changes are reflected in the sums insured.
• Review Business Interruption insurance. Check the insured figures, basis of cover and indemnity period against the business’s current circumstances.
• Plan for operational disruption. Consider how the business would manage interruptions to electricity, communications, premises access, suppliers or customers.
• Protect important business records. Maintain secure backups of financial information, asset registers, supplier details and other essential documents.
• Document significant assets. Keep photographs, purchase records and valuations for major equipment, stock and improvements.
• Review emergency arrangements. Ensure staff know the relevant emergency procedures, communication arrangements and official warnings to follow.

Home: would your sums insured be enough to rebuild and replace?

At home, begin with the building sum insured.

Would it reasonably reflect the cost of rebuilding the home?

Renovations and improvements are obvious reasons to revisit the figure, but they are not the only ones. Rebuilding costs can change even when the house has not.

The Insurance Council of Australia provides building and contents calculators that can help when reviewing these figures. The calculators are a guide rather than a professional valuation, and ICA recommends seeking an appropriately qualified professional where an accurate estimate is required.

Where you live matters as well. ICA notes that properties exposed to hazards such as bushfire, flood or cyclone may face different building requirements following a total loss, which can affect rebuilding costs.

Contents deserve the same attention. Think about what you've bought or replaced since the contents figure was set, and whether it still reflects what is in the home.

On farms and other rural properties, there's one more distinction to keep in mind. Household contents and property used for the farm or business may be insured differently. Tools, workshop equipment and other business assets should not simply be assumed to fall within home contents cover.

Our article on home and landlord underinsurance looks at rebuilding costs and domestic sums insured in more detail.

Home severe weather preparation checklist

• Review building and contents sums insured. Consider renovations, major purchases and changes in rebuilding or replacement costs.
• Check important policy details. Review the treatment of storm, flood and bushfire under the policy, including applicable exclusions, limits and excesses.
• Maintain your property. Check gutters, drainage, roofing and surrounding vegetation, following relevant safety and local authority guidance.
• Document valuable belongings. Keep photographs, receipts and an inventory of significant household contents.
• Prepare an emergency plan. Know where to obtain official warnings, what important documents to take and how household members will respond.

Good records can help later

Whatever you're insuring, take some time before the weather turns to record what's there.

Photographs or video of buildings, machinery, equipment and significant contents are a good start. Keep purchase records for major items where they are available, and consider a room-by-room inventory for home contents.

Businesses should also know where important financial records are stored, particularly where Business Interruption insurance is held.

Keep important records and insurance documents somewhere you can still access if the property cannot be reached. Secure digital copies stored off-site are a simple safeguard.

These records do not determine whether a policy will respond, but they can help establish what was there and support the information required if a claim occurs.

If severe weather causes damage

Safety comes first. Follow emergency-service instructions and do not enter a damaged property until it is safe.

When you can safely assess the damage, take photographs or video before cleaning up or moving damaged items where possible. Reasonable steps may also be needed to prevent further damage.

Where it is safe and reasonable to do so, keep damaged items until they have been assessed or you have received instructions from your insurer. If livestock are injured or lost, record the details and seek veterinary assistance for injured animals as soon as it is safe.

Before arranging non-urgent repairs, check with your insurer or broker. An insurer may need to authorise repairs or tradespeople before work begins.

If RMA Insurance Brokers arranged your insurance, contact us as early as you can after the damage. We can help you work through the policy, notification and information needed for the claim.

Our guide to the first 48 hours after an incident covers the early claims steps in more detail.

A good time to review your insurance

There's no need to wait for renewal.

A new shed or replacement machinery on the farm, updated property values or Business Interruption figures for a business, or home sums insured that haven't been looked at for a while can all be reasons to check in now.

Not sure your insurance still reflects your farm, business or home? Contact RMA Insurance Brokers and we'll review it with you before the season sets in.