Public Liability for Tradies

Whether you’re a fully licensed builder or just a tradie, public liability insurance is vital for protecting yourself and your business.

Most tradies know that they need public liability insurance, but many don’t know why they need it or how it protects them. In today’s guide we will try to answer these questions.

What is Public Liability Insurance?

Public liability is a form of business insurance which protects a tradie from the financial liability that can come as a result of a personal injury or property damage suffered by someone else and caused by your business activities.

If you are on site and do something which causes damage to property, usually you would be liable and would have to cough up the funds to replace or repair the damage.

If your work results in personal injury or death to a customer or member of the general public, normally you would be liable for the financial costs of compensation and lost income etc.

With a public liability insurance policy the costs are covered by the insurer, provided that the incident is covered under the type of policy you have.

Why Do Tradies Need Public Liability?

There are plenty of different business types which require public liability insurance, but due to the manual nature of their work it is even more important for tradies.

The type of work which the average tradesman undertakes every day leaves them exposed to all sorts of risks.

A tradie could cause property damage or personal injury directly through their actions, or their workmanship could result in property damage or personal injury further down the track which they are still liable for.

Any decent claim could easily send a tradie bankrupt, so it is important to have public liability insurance in place in order to take away this major financial risk.

Obtaining Public Liability Insurance

Thankfully it is very easy for a tradie to take out a public liability policy. There may be some exceptions when your business activities are outside of the norm, but the average tradie will have no problem obtaining cover.

Once you have worked out how much cover you need, the next step is to find out your public liability insurance cost. This can be done easily be obtaining quotes via an insurance broker or other insurance professional.

An insurance broker can not only help you with working out the cost of your cover, but can also recommend a specific insurance company and policy which they believe will meet your business needs.

For more information please feel free to get in touch with us or speak with your insurance adviser.