Maybe you should have another look. This opinion piece in the New Zealand Herald is a great example of why you need a good risk adviser, who also works with ACC, as well as your insurance. 

No, you employed people aren't exempt from this either. If you plan on taking a break from employment for any reason you too need advice on your ACC coverage for accident disabilities and weekly compensation.

There are several things at play with this article that could have easily been mitigated with some prior advice. Yes, easy with hindsight. But not your hindsight. 

Let's unpack issue 1:

The reduced level of weekly compensation. Between contracts suggests while there's an earning component the rules around this have meant a lower than expected level of coverage. 

Earning qualified claim

If this case was captured as an earner then Cover Plus Extra, the agreed value version of ACC's weekly compensation for self-employed and business owners, including contractors, would have delivered at the agreed value amount of weekly compensation. This would not have left a shortfall as outlined in the article.

Non-earning qualified claim

If this didn't qualify as an earner, then it would have been a situation of not working for longer than 28 days and more than 90 days to the next contract or expected work. This is where the employees need to take note.

In a non-earning situation having Time Out cover in place will ensure you have the ability to claim a loss of earnings as a result of an injury, when ACC would otherwise classify you as a non-earner.

The Second issue which rolls into the third:

Continuing payments into Kiwisaver. It's all well and good for ACC and income protection to get you to retirement if injured, but not having your retirement savings available to support you after age 65 is a problem.

This is where private insurance comes in. The Kiwisaver or retirement add-on to income protection policies mean if you are disabled a KiwiSaver contribution can continue while you're recovering or if you end up on claim long term too. 

I Say a contribution as it will depend on provider as to what this looks like. In some situations, you can insure for higher contributions and in others it's a function of the benefit paid, which could be less than the total you currently pay.

Issue 3:

Your income in an ongoing accident disability or medical disability situation. 

In both of these, it is likely you won't have ACC support, certainly for the medical disability. This is where I come in as your insurance adviser.

By insuring your income in an effective way, I can ensure your lifestyle is maintained, regardless of the reason for your disability, how long your disability is, including the situation where you can do another job but not your usual job.

If any of this raises questions about maintaining your lifestyle, you need to talk to me. If you are in business we may even be able to restructure your ACC to pay for the insurance, without increasing what you presently spend.

Better still, book some time right now!