As a tradie, you should consider purchasing insurance policies that can give you sufficient coverage for public liabilities, injuries, work interruptions, or damage to your tools and equipment.
But not all insurance policies are created equal. Some provide only the basic coverage while others offer more benefits. Some companies charge high monthly premiums but can provide higher compensation. Others, meanwhile, offer cheaper policies but with less monetary coverage.
It’s a matter of balancing the pros and cons and matching them with your capacity to pay. Find out if a tradie insurance policy is a good fit for you by asking the following questions:
1.What’s the coverage of the policy?
There isn’t one blanket policy that covers all the risks mentioned above. If you want protection for public liability, personal injury, and your work vehicle, for example, you must purchase policies for each separately.
Here are the tradie insurance policies you’ll want to consider:
- Public liability Insurance – The most common insurance for tradies, it offers financial protection and compensation if you ever become liable for third-party injuries and third-party property damage.
- General Property Insurance – This type of insurance covers loss (due to theft) and accidental damage to your tools and equipment.
- Personal Accident Cover – Public liability insurance doesn’t offer coverage for your accidental injuries while on the job. This type of insurance does. It can also cover part of your regular income if you’re unable to return to work because of your injury or illness.
- Commercial Motor Vehicle Insurance – If you own a vehicle that’s instrumental to your work (i.e., you store several pieces of equipment there, and it is your sole means to get from one job to another), comprehensive commercial vehicle insurance is an important one to consider. It will cover your van or truck for theft, accidental damage, even damage to third-party property in case you get into a road accident.
Now that you know what their ideal coverages are, you can double-check with your potential insurer (1) if they are included in the policy and (2) how much the insurer can cover or compensate for each policy.
You’ll do a better job of assessing the cost benefits of tradie insurance policies if you have relevant information on hand.
2.Can the provider be flexible and offer benefits specific to your line of trade?
Most insurers create an insurance product that offers blanket coverage and privileges, then offer this one policy to tradesmen even though they specialise in different services. You must be careful with policies like this because you might end up paying much for a benefit that you don’t need as much.
For example, if you feel that the compensation package for damage to third-party property is too little, considering that you work as a plumber, consider asking if your insurer can increase it for a reasonable adjustment in your monthly premium. The cost of water damage repairs can quickly climb to four-figure sums and the damage to home appliances and gadgets, for example, could be substantial. If, for any reason, a major pipe you installed in a client’s house burst, it is important you have enough coverage to pay for your client’s property damage claims.
3.Does the provider offer public liability protection for as long as the statute of limitations for claims?
Let’s use the third-party accident benefit as an example. Suppose a client fell, tripping over your toolbox. Fortunately, he didn’t get injured or wounded and seemed perfectly fine when you left. A year later, you receive a call from the client: he wants to file claims for a hip problem he says resulted from that tripping incident a year earlier.
The statute of limitations for public liability claims in Australia is three years, so you could be held liable for this incident. Your insurance should cover these late claims that fall within the legally accepted period.
These are questions we gladly answer and explain at IMAR Insurance. We can also advise you on how to customise your insurance coverage so that you can get adequate protection as you work.
If you want to consult our tradie insurance experts or request a FREE QUOTE, contact us anytime.
To the extent that any material on this page may be considered advice, it does not take into account your objectives, needs or financial situation. You should consider whether the advice is appropriate for you and review any relevant Product Disclosure Statement and policy wording before taking out an insurance policy.
