Electricians Public Liability Insurance

Pretty much all self-employed trades need public liability, but perhaps none more so than electricians.

For starters, it’s mandatory for your electrical contractors licence in some Australian states.

Secondly, as an electrician there are plenty of risks involved in your trade, and working without insurance would be madness.

What is public liability?

Unlike many types of insurance which are about protecting loss or damage to your own property, public liability is focused on losses to others.

So if you cause property damage or personal injury to another person, as a result of negligence, your public liability policy will respond.

You could say it’s there to protect others, but it’s also about protecting you, because it’s going to save you from having to pay out thousands and potentially millions in damages if you are sued.

Here’s a quick example of a basic claim for an electrician.  You or one of your staff are in a roof working, and you put your foot through the ceiling.

No one is injured, but the cost of repairing the ceiling and repainting can add up to a few grand.  Do you want to cover that out of your own pocket?  No way!

Instead your insurance would cover the costs.

Another very important part of a public liability policy is something commonly known as defence costs.

Say a house burns to the ground or someone is electrocuted, and the finger is pointed at you because of some electrical work you did.

Even if you are eventually found through the courts not to have been at fault, your insurance will cover all of the legal costs to get to that point.

That’s a very important inclusion, because even if you think your work is perfect and you never get it wrong, it won’t stop someone from trying to sue you, and the cost of defending yourself can be crippling.

Why do electricians need it?

The most important reason is to protect yourself financially, but the reality is most electricians take out insurance because you need it for your licence.

Some states have very specific requirements, such as the Qld electrical contractors licence which requires a public liability policy with a special ‘consumer protection’ endorsement.

If you don’t get the right policy, you won’t get your licence.

You’ll also find that many construction projects require that all contractors and subcontractors have public liability in place before entering the site.

Putting licence and contractual requirements aside, it is simply a vital form of insurance to protect yourself financially.

Even minor claims can end up in the tens of thousands once legal costs are included, you paying this out of your own pocket is something no electrician wants to do.

How much does it cost?

For a typical residential electrician operating as a sole trader (or one-person company) and with a turnover of no more than $100k, you’re looking at less than $500 a year for $5 million cover.

That’s incredibly cheap given the level of coverage and the risks that you face.

If you’re in Queensland the cost is a little higher because of the special licence requirements, but you still looking at less than $600 for a typical sparky.

For businesses with higher turnover or staff numbers the cost will be higher, but not a lot higher.

Next steps

For a quote on your public liability or any other form of electricians insurance please hit the ‘compare premiums’ button below.

If you’d rather speak to someone about your needs before getting a quote, simply get in touch with us and we’ll be more than happy to assist.