Public liability insurance should be highly considered as a tradie. Public liability insurance could cost as little as $40¹ per month for a sole trader carpenter or $50¹ for some sole trader sparkies, handymen and painters.
Two factors mainly influence the Public Liability Insurance costs:
- Type of trade (carpenter, electrician, gardener, painter etc)
- The business size (in terms of staffing and revenue)
How does the type of trade affect Public Liability Insurance Cost?
In general, due to the increased risks, a plumber will pay more for public liability insurance vs a carpenter or electrician. In addition window cleaners will pay more than most other trades due to their increased risk of the nature of their work.
Size of business can affect the Public Liability Insurance Cost
Generally speaking the more people you employ, the higher the cost of your public liability insurance. This is because it increases the potential risk of accidents to a third party or property. Per month the public liability insurance cost might be $40 for a sole trader, $80 for 3 people and $120 for 5 people.*
Does the level of cover affect the cost of Public Liability Insurance?
In general the coverage level does not greatly affect the cost of public liability insurance. For example if you got coverage for $5 million and decided you needed $10 million, the cost of public liability insurance would not likely double, it might go up 20-30%.*
How does State affect Public Liability Insurance cost?
Yes, in New South Wales you don’t have pay stamp duty however in all other states you do. In Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and the ACT pay similar level of stamp duty. Finally Tasmania tends to pay the least amount of stamp duty within their public liability insurance cost.
Noteworthy information:
If you work in hazardous locations, such as airports and mine sites, their premiums will also be affected. The potential risk you pose also determines your public liability cost. If your business’s operations fall under the ‘high-risk’ category, you’ll be charged with a higher premium.
*Indicative prices only
¹Note: The monthly costs stated for public liability insurance per job type are only indicative and do not take into account other individual factors therefore the monthly amount may differ to once these extras are factored into the quote.
