We take a practical, risk-based approach to corporate insurance reviews, ensuring that your insurance programme is delivering maximum value and is properly aligned with your risk profile.
A corporate insurance review is an independent assessment of your insurance programme's structure, premiums, deductibles, and policy limits to ensure they align with your actual risk profile.
Risk Advisory Services (RAS) has completed more than 250 independent insurance reviews over the past six years, with total improvements to reviewed programmes exceeding $100 million in value.
Insurance benchmarking compares your programme against market data and peer organisations to confirm your coverage is commercially appropriate.
RAS has facilitated over 100 insurance broker tenders in the past 12 years, using a 100-point qualitative assessment matrix to evaluate broker performance.
Independent review removes the conflict of interest inherent in commission-based broking models, providing objective analysis of coverage gaps and cost-saving opportunities.
A corporate insurance review is a structured, independent assessment of your entire insurance programme, covering premiums, policy conditions, deductibles, and limits to confirm your cover matches your risk profile. First, we review your processes, practices, and claims history. Next, we conduct a deep dive into your industry. We then build a risk profile based on your history and preferences. After discussing and agreeing a strategy with you, we begin reviewing your insurance programme.
The good news is we almost always find opportunities for savings. According to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), insurers and brokers must meet strict conduct standards, yet many businesses still overpay due to misaligned cover. Common savings opportunities include:
Ensuring a service agreement is in place with your broker that prevents them from earning commission on your policies
Verifying that the fees charged by your broker are reasonable relative to the scope of services provided
Identifying areas where you are over-insured compared to your risk profile for example, deductibles that are too low or limits that are too high
Helping you to self-insure those risks that fall within your company's stated risk appetite
Reviewing policy wording and exclusions to ensure adequate protection for high-exposure areas
Risk Advisory Services (RAS) provides five core insurance advisory services, each designed to reduce your total cost of insurable risk while strengthening your governance framework.
RAS Corporate Insurance Services Overview | ||
|---|---|---|
Service | Description | Best For |
Insurable Risk Reviews | Identify and quantify insurable risks across your operations | Organisations needing a full risk profile assessment |
Corporate Insurance Reviews | Independent review of your full insurance programme | Businesses seeking objective policy and premium analysis |
Outsourced Insurance Management | RAS acts as your embedded Insurance Manager on an hourly-rate basis | Companies without a dedicated insurance specialist |
Insurance Broking Tenders | End-to-end broker tender management using a 100-point qualitative assessment matrix | Organisations reviewing or changing insurance brokers |
Complex Insurance Claims | Claims advocacy and management through to final settlement | Businesses facing large or disputed claims |
Expert Witness | Impartial, Court-Credible Analysis and Litigation Support | corporate boards and legal counsel require authoritative, objective analysis |
The insurable risk profile of every organisation is unique, so the way we help each client get the best value from the insurance market is also unique. We work with our clients to reduce their total cost of insurable risk — a concept that refers to the combined expense of premiums, retained losses, and risk management activities.
A comprehensive business insurance review gives you total confidence that you are buying the exact insurance solutions your business needs. According to the Insurance Council of Australia, businesses that regularly review their insurance programmes are better positioned to respond to claims and avoid coverage gaps. As a result, you will be neither over-insured nor carrying unmitigated operational risks.
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Insurance benchmarking is the process of comparing your current insurance programme including premiums, deductibles, and policy limits against market data and peer organisations with similar risk profiles. Our clients expect to receive the best value for money from the insurance market, and benchmarking provides the data to confirm whether that is the case.
We review existing arrangements and use detailed insurance benchmarking to assess true market competitiveness. RAS has completed more than 250 independent insurance reviews during the last six years. Furthermore, we estimate that the total value of improvements to the insurance programmes we have reviewed exceeds $100 million.
"An independent insurance review is the single most effective governance step a board can take to protect its balance sheet from avoidable insurance risk." — Maria Gonzalez, Principal Consultant, Risk Advisory Services
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Outsourced insurance management is an alternative to hiring a full-time Insurance Manager or relying on a busy CFO with no specialist insurance experience. Many companies delegate insurance responsibility internally, but this approach can leave coverage gaps and limit market leverage.
RAS offers a highly effective alternative. We embed ourselves in your business as your outsourced Insurance Manager. In contrast to a single in-house hire, RAS consultants oversee the risk profiles of dozens of major Australian companies, giving us broad experience and strong market leverage. Brokers know us and always assign their best teams to RAS clients. Additionally, our services are based on hourly rates, so you will not be paying for an under-utilised resource.
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An insurance broker review refers to a structured, independent evaluation of your broker's performance, service model, and fee arrangements. An insurance broking tender is the formal process of inviting competing brokers to bid for your business. RAS manages both processes from start to finish.
RAS knows the Australian insurance market and can cut through jargon to identify true value. We conduct objective insurance broker review services using our unique 100-point qualitative assessment matrix. This matrix evaluates brokers across service quality, claims handling, market access, and pricing competitiveness.
There are several common reasons an insurance broker review or tender may be required:
Your current broker is underperforming or not testing the market adequately
Your risk profile has changed - for example, due to an acquisition or expansion
It is part of a regular good-governance cycle, typically every 3–5 years
You want to confirm your broker's fees and commissions are reasonable
RAS has facilitated over 100 tenders in the past 12 years, and they have almost always resulted in substantial savings. According to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), regular broker reviews are an important part of corporate governance for insurance buyers.
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Claims advocacy refers to the process of independently managing and negotiating large or disputed insurance claims on behalf of the policyholder. Large and complex claims can take months to resolve and consume the valuable time of your internal staff.
RAS consultants are highly experienced in managing the needs of insurers, adjusters, and brokers during a claims situation. We provide objective advocacy to ensure your policies respond as intended. To date, we have successfully navigated dozens of large claims through to final settlement, covering areas including property damage, business interruption, and liability.
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The commercial value of an independent insurance review lies in confirming that your policies will actually respond to a claim when your business needs them most, not simply that your premium looks competitive on a balance sheet.
Engaging an independent risk advisor for a business insurance review removes the conflict of interest inherent in commission-based broking models. Because Risk Advisory Services does not sell policies or receive commissions from insurers, our analysis is completely objective. We use thorough insurance benchmarking to ensure your coverage is commercially appropriate and structurally sound. In summary, we view this process as a critical governance exercise to protect your balance sheet and executive team. Data from the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) supports the finding that independent reviews consistently uncover coverage gaps and cost-reduction opportunities that conflicted advisors may overlook.
In a recent engagement, a major Australian ASX 200-listed company (unnamed for confidentiality) contacted Risk Advisory Services (RAS) seeking independent advice on its property insurance arrangements. The review identified structural issues in the client's programme and led to measurable improvements in coverage and cost. Read the full details in the RAS insurance review case study (February 2024).
A competitive premium can sometimes create a false sense of security. If your broker is not actively examining how your business has changed, your insurance programme may drift out of alignment. An independent business insurance review focuses on cover, policy conditions, and risk alignment to ensure you are fully protected when a claim occurs. It provides an objective assessment highlighting critical gaps your incumbent broker may have missed.
Insurance benchmarking involves comparing your current insurance programme against market data and peer organisations with similar risk profiles. This process helps independent consultants determine if your premiums, deductibles, and policy limits are commercially appropriate and structurally sound. RAS draws on data from more than 250 completed reviews to inform its benchmarks.
We recommend an insurance broker review if your business has experienced significant operational changes, if you are unsure whether the market has been adequately tested, or as part of a regular governance cycle (typically every 3–5 years). This structured process ensures your broker's service model continues to match the complexity of your risk profile.
An insurance review evaluates your entire insurance programme including: policies, premiums, deductibles, and coverage structure. A broker tender, on the other hand, is a competitive process to select or replace the broker who manages your programme. RAS can conduct either independently, or both in sequence. Over the past 12 years, RAS has facilitated over 100 broker tenders.
The timeline depends on the size and complexity of your insurance programme. However, a typical corporate insurance review by RAS takes 4–8 weeks from initial engagement to delivery of the final report. This includes risk profiling, benchmarking, programme analysis, and a strategic recommendations presentation.
No. Risk Advisory Services does not sell insurance policies or receive commissions from insurers. This independence is central to the objectivity of every review. RAS charges on a fee-for-service basis, which removes the conflict of interest inherent in commission-based broking models.
For a free, no-obligation chat about how our Insurance Solutions could help your organisation, simply reach out to us today.