How Can a Tradie Protect Themselves From the Unexpected?

Insurance Blog

No matter what line of business you are in, you need to have an appropriate level of insurance in place in order to protect your venture on a daily basis. This is as important for the tradie as it is for the multinational corporation, but each particular organisation needs to analyse its risk portfolio and tailor their insurance accordingly. If you're just in the process of setting yourself up as an independent tradie, what types of tradies insurance should you consider getting?

Theft

To begin with, you need to protect the tools of your trade and your business premises from those who may seek to do you harm. Unfortunately, there are many people who will view your professional tools with envy and try to take them away from you by breaking into your premises overnight or by pilfering the equipment from the back of your van. Theft and burglary insurance plans are, therefore, critical, and you should also make your business as secure as possible at the same time. Remember, it can be difficult to identify the 'bad guys', so you need to be on your toes at all times and as protected as possible.

Damage

Next, you need to protect against nature and, specifically, any storm damage that it may cause to your premises. After all, Australia is a land of wild weather and you never know when such a storm may hit. You can take steps to mitigate this risk as well by cutting back those large trees and maintaining your drainage systems, but storm damage insurance is critical too.

Equipment

If you rely on certain items of equipment in order to ply your trade, then you need to think about what would happen if that equipment were no longer available. If it were to break down and could not be repaired for some time, what would that do to your business? Clearly, you will need to maintain it as rigourously as possible, but you will also need to get insurance protection, just in case.

Liability

If you provide a service in return for remuneration, then you have a certain amount of liability to consider as well. You will definitely need protection, just in case a third party sustains a personal injury or has to deal with damage to their property caused by you or a member of your team. Minimise the risk as much as possible by keeping your immediate environment in good condition and always handle third-party property as carefully as possible.

First Job

Talk with your insurance broker to get a comprehensive trading policy in place before you open your doors to your first client.

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18 September 2019