Insurance For Electrical Contractors: What Cover Should You Consider?

Every day, electrical contractors look danger straight in the eye. It’s true. Because we all know only too well, we’re always a moment away from a potentially life-or-death situation.

You wouldn’t do work without flicking the switch on the switchboard, nor would you get up on a roof to do some solar maintenance without a harness.

But when it comes to those unseen risks – and unseen preventions – we can all fall into the trap of out of sight out of mind. “She’ll be right!” Really?

Not covering your risks isn’t a long-term strategy. It’s keeping your fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

And that probably won’t wash with your partner and kids if you’ve had your tools stolen and have to cancel that holiday to buy some new ones. 

Or if you get sick or injured and are laid up for a while.

Or if that member of the public who decided to ignore the warnings and was injured on your site decides to sue.

So, insurance. That thing you buy hoping never to use.

No one really likes it. Well, that is, until you need it. 

Take a look at our list of some of the insurances you should at least consider. This is definitely a case of ‘better safe than sorry’.

Key takeaways for electrical contractors

• Public liability insurance covers other people and their property, rather than you, your employees or your own goods.
• Professional indemnity insurance can provide protection against professional mistakes or oversights.
• Personal injury, accident and illness cover can help maintain an income if you are unable to work for a significant period.
• Tools and trailer insurance can help protect equipment and assets that are essential to keeping your business operating.
• Accurate valuations, individual item listings where required, photos and receipts can all be important when arranging cover and making a claim.

What does public liability insurance cover?

There are a whole host of things that could go wrong on a job, so it’s important to make sure you’re covered.

Public liability insurance essentially covers other people and their property – so, if someone hurts themselves tripping over some cable you’ve left out, or you accidentally cut a channel in the wrong wall, some grease gets on that new, very expensive rug, or any of the other countless things that could go wrong when you’re on-site – you’re could be covered.

Just keep in mind, however, that public liability only covers other people – not you or your employees, and won’t cover damage to your own goods either.

This one’s usually needed to get your licence in the first place or access a site – but regardless of whether it’s mandatory or not, it’s just smart to have public liability.

What is professional indemnity insurance?

We’ve covered this one in a bit of depth in this article here, but essentially professional indemnity is insurance against any mistakes or oversights you make as a professional. For example, if something goes wrong as a result of a design in installation.

Again, for some contracts it’s a ticket to ride, if not – you need to consider it. 

Why should electrical contractors consider personal injury, accident and illness insurance?

Again, this may be mandatory for some jobs, but in reality it should be mandatory for everyone who’s working for themselves or has their own business. Unless you’ve got a stack of cash in the bank, if you don’t have personal injury and accident cover, you’re effectively gambling on yourself never getting seriously ill or injured.

Yes, the tendency is to think ‘that’ll never happen to me’. But it can and we can find plenty of people out there who have had to take unexpected time off the tools.

Personal injury and illness insurance will cover you if you’re unable to work for a significant period of time, and enable you to maintain a steady flow of income.

If you’re a self-employed tradie, is it really worth the risk? 

What is total permanent disability insurance?

Not something we want to spend too much time thinking about, but it’s the responsible thing to do. If you couldn’t work again, what would you do? Total permanent disability insurance is one option that may provide cover for you should the unthinkable happen. You may not like thinking about it, but you need to.

Why should electrical contractors consider tools insurance?

It goes without saying that without your tools, the job can be a bit of a struggle. And the value of those tools is pretty significant. Tool insurance may provide coverage for your tools if they’re stolen, lost in an accident or vandalised.

Do electrical contractors need separate trailer insurance?

Your trailer’s most likely an essential part of your operation – storing and carrying your tools from site to site, job to job. But if your trailer gets stolen or is damaged in an accident, it would cause a serious issue. Your vehicle insurance may cover your trailer if it’s stolen or damaged while it’s attached to your vehicle – but only up to a certain amount, and if it’s not attached to your vehicle at the time, you may not be covered at all. Trailer insurance can mean your trailer’s covered, whether it’s attached to your vehicle or not.

Why are accurate tool valuations important for insurance?

Getting accurate valuations for your tools is essential – it’s surprising how much you accumulate over the years, and if your tools were all stolen, the cost to replace them could be astronomical without the correct cover in place. Most policies will specify anything valued over a certain price needs to be individually listed, so make sure you do so – and keep good records too. Photos, receipts… they are all incredibly important if you need to make a claim.

Managing the price of premiums

It can be easy to look at the cost of insurance and think ‘get rid’ – especially if you’ve not had a claim for ages. But that’s the point – it provides security, safety and reassurance – and can give you the confidence that, whatever happens, you’re covered.

Frequently asked questions about insurance for electrical contractors