After more than fifty years in the insurance broking business in Guyana, we have seen a lot. We have seen businesses survive disasters because they had the right cover in place. And we have seen businesses that thought they were covered — until the moment of a claim revealed a gap that could not be filled.
The good news? Most of these situations are entirely preventable. Here are the five insurance mistakes we see most often among Guyanese businesses — and exactly what to do about each one.
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A worried business owner reviewing an insurance policy or claim form at a desk. Natural office lighting, authentic Guyanese business environment.
Suggested image: A worried business owner reviewing an insurance policy or claim form at a desk. Natural office lighting, authentic Guyanese business environment.
Mistake 1: Treating insurance as a box-ticking exercise
Let's be honest — most businesses in Guyana buy insurance because they have to. The bank requires it. The landlord requires it. The contract requires it. So they get the cheapest policy that satisfies the requirement and file it away until renewal.
This is the single most dangerous approach to insurance. A policy that was bought to satisfy a requirement — rather than to genuinely protect your business — often has gaps that only become visible when you need to make a claim. By then, it is too late.
"We bought the policy. I assumed we were covered. The day we needed it, we found out we weren't. That's when we called Abdool & Abdool."
What to do instead: Work with a broker who asks the right questions about your actual business operations — not just the minimum required to get a policy issued. A good broker reviews your coverage annually and flags gaps proactively, not reactively.
Mistake 2: Underinsuring your property and assets
This is perhaps the most widespread problem we encounter. A business buys property insurance for, say, $50 million GYD — because that's what the property was worth five years ago, or because that's what they could afford at the time. Since then, construction costs have risen significantly, the business has acquired new equipment, and stock levels have grown.
When a fire, flood, or storm causes major damage, the insurer calculates the claim against the actual replacement cost. If that's $80 million but your sum insured is $50 million, you are effectively 37% underinsured. In many policies, this triggers an "average" clause — meaning you only receive 62.5% of any claim, not 100%.
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Side-by-side comparison graphic showing a building's original insured value vs its current replacement cost. Clean infographic style, gold and navy colour palette.
Suggested image: Side-by-side comparison graphic showing a building's original insured value vs its current replacement cost. Clean infographic style, gold and navy colour palette.
What to do instead: Review your sum insured every year — especially after major purchases, renovations, or periods of high inflation. We recommend a professional valuation every three to five years. The cost of getting this right is a fraction of the cost of getting it wrong.
Mistake 3: Assuming your cover is broader than it is
Insurance policies contain exclusions. That is normal — but many business owners do not read them, do not ask about them, and are genuinely shocked when a claim is declined because it falls within an exclusion they did not know existed.
Common exclusions that catch Guyanese businesses off guard include: flood damage in properties that are not specifically rated for flood risk; business interruption losses that don't meet the policy's trigger conditions; cyber incidents that happen to be categorised as "war" or "state-sponsored attacks"; and liability claims arising from activities not specifically listed in the policy schedule.
What to do instead: Ask your broker to walk you through the key exclusions in plain language before you sign. If something is not covered and you need it to be, it can usually be added — but you need to know about the gap first.
Mistake 4: Not having employer's liability cover
Under Guyanese law, any business that employs staff is required to maintain Workmen's Compensation insurance. Yet we regularly encounter businesses — particularly smaller ones — that either do not have it, or have a policy that is woefully inadequate for the number of employees and activities involved.
An employee injured at work can make a compensation claim that runs into the hundreds of thousands — sometimes millions — of Guyanese dollars. Without the right cover, the business owner bears every cent of that personally.
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Construction workers or warehouse staff in a working environment in Guyana. Safety equipment visible. Real workplace, not a generic stock image.
Suggested image: Construction workers or warehouse staff in a working environment in Guyana. Safety equipment visible. Real workplace, not a generic stock image.
What to do instead: Check that your policy covers all employees — including part-time, casual, and contract workers. Make sure the limits are adequate for your industry. If your business involves any physical activity (construction, manufacturing, delivery, hospitality), your limits should reflect the higher inherent risk.
Mistake 5: Not knowing what to do when something goes wrong
You have had an incident. A vehicle has been in an accident. A pipe has burst and flooded your premises. You have received a legal letter claiming you are liable for an injury. What do you do?
Surprisingly many business owners in this situation try to handle it themselves — sometimes admitting liability, sometimes paying out of pocket to "keep it quiet", sometimes simply not reporting it to their insurer at all. Each of these approaches can invalidate your coverage entirely.
What to do instead: The answer is simple: call your broker first. Do not admit liability to anyone. Do not make payments or agreements. Do not attempt to negotiate. Your broker's job — our job — is to guide you through the claims process from first notification to final settlement. That is what you are paying for.
The bottom line
Insurance is not a product you buy and forget. It is an ongoing relationship between your business, your broker, and the market. When that relationship is working properly — when your cover reflects your actual risk, your broker knows your business, and you know what to do in an emergency — insurance does exactly what it is supposed to do.
If you are not sure whether your current coverage has any of these gaps, the best thing you can do is book a free risk review. We will go through your existing policies, ask the right questions about your operations, and tell you honestly where you stand.
No pressure. No commitment. Just clarity.