There is a federal inquiry running into small-business insurance, and it would be easy to file it under Canberra noise and get back to your day. That would be a mistake, because the questions it is asking are the same ones your SME clients are already bringing to renewal. The Parliamentary Joint Committee is looking at how insurance for small businesses, not-for-profits and community groups is provided, regulated and priced, across public liability, professional indemnity, cyber and business interruption, with a hard focus on whether cover is affordable and available in different regions and higher-risk industries. Hearings ran through the year, and the Committee is due to report on 27 October 2026.
The central themes are more nuanced than “premiums are too high.” The evidence is probing whether cover is actually available, whether it meets modern risk needs, and whether insurers can explain risk-based pricing in a way clients can follow. APRA has noted that affordability pressures vary significantly by location, sector and risk profile, with flood and bushfire-exposed businesses facing particular property-insurance access and affordability challenges. Stakeholders have also raised liability laws, legal costs, taxes and whether risk mitigation is properly recognised in pricing.
None of that has an outcome yet, and guessing at recommendations is not useful. What is useful is the work brokers can do before any policy response lands.
Start by helping clients separate what they can control from what they cannot. Review declared values, continuity plans, claims history, contracts, risk controls and the quality of the underwriting information going to market. For hard-to-place risks, start the renewal process earlier and build a clear market strategy rather than a last-minute scramble. Help clients document their mitigation investments, whether that is flood protection, fire resilience, security measures, maintenance or governance, because underwriters respond to evidence. And explain plainly why you may need to approach multiple markets, restructure cover or test alternative deductibles and limits.
For AR brokers, there is a portfolio strategy question underneath the news. Which SME industries are facing sustained affordability pressure? Where can specialisation, stronger risk information and better market relationships make a real difference to what you can achieve for a client? The inquiry may produce recommendations in October. Your clients need answers well before then.
We have tracked this story through tort reform emerging as a flashpoint in the inquiry, and covered the practical ground in 2026 SME insurance trends around bundling, higher limits and contract gaps and how to make the specialise-or-stay-general call for your brokerage.
Better Broker gives ARs practical support for the hard conversations, combining strategic guidance on portfolio and growth decisions with placement insight to identify viable markets and present complex SME risks properly. If your book is exposed to these pressures, let’s map out where you can add the most value.