Electrician Insurance

As an electrical contractor you are exposed to a wide range of risks every day, which makes electricians insurance so important.

Some of these risks are relatively minor, whilst others are literally life and death situations.

Thankfully there are a range of insurances available to protect electricians and their families.

Public liability insurance is the most common, especially since it is required for your electrical contractors licence in most states.

Tool insurance is popular amongst electricians to protect their gear, as well as income protection to cover your income.

For any electrician there are three main risks to consider, with the first two of them being especially serious:

Suffering an injury, illness or death yourself
Causing property damage, injury or death to someone else
Having your tools and equipment stolen or damaged

These three risks can be covered with three main types of insurance, being life insurance (including income protection and TPD), public liability and tool insurance.

There are a range of other risks to consider, but these are the main ones that we will be covering in this guide.

We will now go into more detail on each of these covers.

Public Liability

This is the most common form of insurance required by electricians.

Virtually all licensed electrical contractors in Australia will need to hold public liability insurance as a condition of their contractors licence.

Public liability is designed to protect an electrician against the risks associated with causing property damage or personal injury (including death) to another person.

A small claim for an electrician could be putting your foot through a ceiling and having to pay for repairing and painting, which could still add up to a few thousand dollars.

Larger claims typically involve personal injury, and can climb into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for serious injury or death.

You can read more about public liability insurance by following this link.

Qld Electrician Insurance

Whilst most Australian states require that licensed electrical contractors hold public liability insurance, Queensland has an extra requirement.

In addition to public liability, Qld electricians insurance must also include consumer protection insurance cover up to $50,000.

This isn’t a separate policy, but is an extra option on your public liability insurance. Most insurers have this option, but it’s best to ask them specifically if you are based in Qld.

If you can’t provide a certificate of currency to the Electrical Safety Office which shows the consumer protection option, they will not approve your licence application or renewal.

Life Insurance

Incorporating income protection, TPD insurance and trauma insurance

When most people think about life insurance they think of a policy that pays out when they die.

But also falling under this banner are a range of other covers including income protection, total and permanent disability (TPD) insurance and trauma insurance.

For electricians the most common cover of this type is income protection, which can replace up to 75% of your income for a period of time while you are unable to work.

Whilst all workers can benefit from income protection, it is especially important for self-employed electricians who may not have access to sick leave or workers compensation insurance.

For more information about income protection please follow the link.

Tool Insurance

Another common form of electrician insurance is tool cover.

Sadly in Australia tool theft is rampant, and we’re constantly hearing about hard working tradies and electricians having thousands of dollars worth of equipment stolen from their vehicles and trailers.

There are various forms of cover available which offer varying levels of protection. A typical policy will cover theft from a secure location, fire damage and damage caused in a vehicle collision.

For more information please follow the link to our tool insurance page.

Commercial Vehicle Insurance

As a self-employed electrician your vehicle is absolutely vital to your business.

You can insure your ute or van through any old insurance company, but there are benefits to having a proper commercial vehicle insurance policy.

Not only can you combine your vehicle into a single monthly payment without your public liability, but you’ll also benefit from greater coverage that is more suited to a business vehicle.

Other Forms of Electrical Contractors Insurance

The above list simply covers a few of the more common types of policies for electrical contractors.

There are many other forms of electricians insurance which may be suitable depending on what type and size of business you run.

If you run a larger operation with your own premises, we can put together a business package which cover all of the above, plus your premises, contents and stock etc.

Some electricians also find themselves needing additional covers such as professional indemnity insurance and contract works insurance. It’s best to speak with a specialist trade insurance broker about these types of cover.