Insurance for tradies

Insurance for tradies

Have you had your tools stolen from the back of the ute? Or from a construction site? For tradies, this is a well-known crime across Australia every day. If your tools and other equipment are vital to your livelihood, loss or damage to these can often be devastating, and turning up to a job site without your tools isn’t an option, but it can and does happen. 

Some examples of incidents occurring across Australia include in February 2019, where a tradie had his trailer and $50,000 worth of tools stolen because thieves hooked up his trailer inside a locked construction site and drove off with it. An apprentice carpenter also had $3000 worth of tools stolen from a locked toolbox on a construction site.  And in April 2019, a tradie had his Ute and all his tools stolen, all he had left when he went to work was a hammer and a wheelbarrow.

If something like this happens to you, the right type of insurance cover will help you to get back on your feet quickly. 

So do you have the insurance coverage you need as a tradie?

General property insurance

Protects your tools and equipment if they are damaged or stolen whilst working on a client site, or even your own site. You can tailor your policies to include cover for an electronic breakdown if you don’t only rely on hand tools, but electronic equipment also, as well as machinery breakdown cover if you have a specific type of machinery you need. 

Commercial vehicle insurance

If you use your Ute or other vehicles for your job, make sure your insurers know that you are using the vehicle for commercial use and not for personal use, as this can alter your insurance cover and premiums and void a claim. Having the right cover will ensure you get back on the road promptly in the event if an incident.

Public and products liability insurance

Public liability insurance covers you against claims made against you if an accident occurs at a construction site or customer’s property, resulting in damage and/or injury to a third party/third party property.

Examples of some incidents that can occur are, if you damage an expensive antique at a customer’s property, a customer trips over electrical cables to your power tools or loose timber falls from a first-floor extension and injures a customer during a renovation. Public liability not only covers damage that you caused but also covers your employees and any sub-contractors in the event damage occurs as a result of their negligence.

There are other types of insurances to offer depending on your type of business and whether you have any employees to ensure you are fully covered for carrying out your business activities. For advice on what insurance suits you and your business, contact your local Insurance Advisernet adviser today. 

General Advice Warning
The information provided is to be regarded as general advice. Whilst we may have collected risk information, your personal objectives, needs or financial situations were not taken into account when preparing this information. We recommend that you consider the suitability of this general advice, in respect of your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. You should obtain and consider the relevant product disclosure statement before making any decision to purchase this financial product.

Liability Insurance

Liability Insurance

Despite the very best of intentions, accidents can still happen in any business. Public and Product Liability Insurance  protects you against claims for personal injury or damage to a third party.

Find your local Insurance Adviser

Talk to your local Adviser to get advice about your insurance needs and to get a quote