.svg)
Business Insurance for Electricians
Business Insurance for Electricians
Written by
Gemma Kaczerepa
Edited by
Laura CrowdenCompare business insurance the easy way
We’ve partnered with BizCover to help you compare business insurance policies.
Do electricians need business insurance?
Long story short
Public liability insurance is mandatory across several Aussie states
If you’re an electrician in Queensland, Victoria, or Tasmania, you’ll need public liability insurance to operate.
Electricians can expect to pay an average of $85 per month on business insurance with BizCover
Premiums can vary based on your work type, business size, tool value, and coverage level.
Several business insurance types could be worth considering for electricians
Public liability, personal accident, professional indemnity, and portable equipment insurance might be beneficial.
Do electricians need business insurance?
You probably wouldn’t rock up to a job without your tools and safety gear, and business insurance should be no different.
It can offer financial protection if something happens to you, your business, your tools or your employees, like accidents, damage or theft.
With adequate business insurance, certain costs are covered, such as medical expenses, repairs or replacements, and legal costs. Plus, depending on where you live in Australia, some types of insurance might be mandatory – but we’ll dive into that further down.
What kinds of business insurance products are available for electricians?
There’s no single product known as electricians’ insurance, nor is there one kind of business insurance for electricians. However, several types of insurance could be incredibly beneficial for an electrician business.
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance might just be the single most important insurance you’ll come across as a sparkie. This is because it’s mandatory in several states if you want to legally trade – including Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.
Even if you’re operating your electrician business elsewhere, public liability insurance could still be a good idea. It can help with expenses like third-party medical bills and property repairs, as well as legal costs, if a member of the public is injured or has their property damaged and your business is responsible.
The events that aren’t covered can differ between policies and providers, but generally public liability insurance doesn’t cover damage to you or your business’s property, injuries to your employees, fines or punitive damages or correcting your bad workmanship. If you’re a sparkie who works on aircraft, you may also need to take out a specific aviation insurance policy.
Personal accident and illness insurance
If you’re a sole trader, your business relies on your labour to get anything done – which is why getting sick or having an accident wouldn’t exactly be ideal.
This is where personal accident and illness insurance steps in. It could replace your income and possibly pay your business expenses if you can’t work after an unexpected injury or illness – even if it occurs off the job.
In most cases, personal accident and illness insurance doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, pregnancy and childbirth-related injuries or illnesses, or injuries or illnesses caused by intentional criminal acts, alcohol and drugs, or resulting from professional sports.
Professional indemnity insurance
Say you miscalculated the electrical load for a client’s new addition to their home, resulting in frequent power outages or equipment damage. Professional indemnity insurance could help shoulder the cost of any claims that arise from that mistake.
It can help cover losses incurred by negligence or misleading advice, as well as the legal costs associated with the claim. Professional indemnity insurance also usually includes breaches of professional duty, defamation, breaches of confidentiality, and a few other scenarios.
However, situations like intentional misconduct or damage, fraud or dishonesty and contractual liabilities aren’t covered by professional indemnity.
Portable equipment insurance
Imagine if your tools or expensive equipment, like your wire tracer and multimeter, got stolen from your ute. Not only would you be unable to work, but replacing them could cost an arm, leg and a small fortune.
Portable equipment insurance can help cover tools, business equipment or electronic items that get stolen, damaged or lost.
There are a few things it doesn’t include, though, like general wear and tear, theft by employees, and environmental damage like rust, oxidation, mildew, mould and so on.
Is business insurance mandatory for electricians?
Besides public liability insurance requirements in a few Aussie states, what other kinds of insurance are must-haves for sparkies?
If you’ve got employees, apprentices or subcontractors working for you, you’ll need workers’ compensation– this covers them if they get sick or injured on the job. It’s mandatory across Australia and if you’re an employee of your business, you could be financially protected by it too. If you’re not, that’s where personal accident insurance comes in.
Queensland-based electricians also have to add a consumer protection extension to their public liability insurance, with a minimum coverage of $50,000. This protects consumers against defective electrical work and other liabilities.
Helpful tip
Keep a detailed inventory that covers every single tool and piece of equipment you own, including serial numbers and receipts. That way, if you need to file a portable equipment insurance claim, you’ll have proper documentation. And ensure you update your inventory if you add or remove anything from your toolkit.
Jane Mason
Former Head of Product, Channels & Risk at BizCover
How much does business insurance cost for electricians?
When insurance providers are assessing your fees (AKA ‘premiums’) they’ll look at several different factors, including:
The kind of electrical work you do
There’s a big difference between doing domestic, commercial and industrial electrical work, especially where risk is concerned. Generally, high-risk jobs come with higher premiums because there’s more potential for claims.
Your business size
Bigger businesses also have more exposure to claims, simply because they have more employees.
The value of your tools
If you’ve got expensive or specialised equipment, it can impact the price you pay.
Your coverage amount, along with other insurance bits and bobs
If you’re insuring your business for a higher amount, you may pay more. The same goes if you have any add-ons with your policy.
On average, electricians pay $85 a month for business insurance with BizCover.1This estimate is based on BizCover’s FY24 data and presented as a guide only. It may not reflect pricing for your particular business, as individual underwriting criteria will apply.
What else should electricians consider when choosing business insurance?
When you’re picking your policy, keep these key considerations in mind:
Your risk level
You might work in a particularly risky electrical job, like industrial maintenance or construction site wiring, where you’re at risk of severe electric shocks or burns, or maybe you work at high altitudes or with high-voltage equipment. A bigger amount of risk could require more coverage.
Excess
The excess is the gap you pay if you make a claim. Although not necessarily true of all policies, the higher your excess, the lower your premiums.
Exclusions
Once again, every policy differs when it comes to exclusions, but generally things like pre-existing damage or conditions, theft by employees and environmental damage aren’t covered by insurance. Check your policy’s Product Disclosure Statement to make sure.
Where can I find and compare business insurance?
Right here on iSelect! We’ve launched a business insurance comparison tool with BizCover, which lets you weigh up policies from several of Australia’s leading insurance providers.
Get started on comparing business insurance today!
We’ve partnered with BizCover to help you compare from a range of business insurance policies.
^As with any insurance, cover is subject to the terms, conditions and exclusions contained in your policy document. The information contained on this webpage is general only and should not be relied upon as advice.
iSelect’s partnered with BizCover Pty Ltd (ABN 68 127 707 975: AFSL No.501769) to help you compare small business insurance policies. iSelect earns a commission from BizCover for every policy sold through the website or contact centre. iSelect and BizCover do not compare all providers in the market, or all policies offered by all providers. iSelect does not arrange policies from the providers we compare for you directly, but iSelect will refer you to our trusted partner, BizCover Pty Ltd who can.
Any advice provided on this website is of a general nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. You need to consider the appropriateness of any information or general advice iSelect gives you, having regard to your personal situation, before acting on iSelect’s advice or purchasing any policy. You need to consider if the insurance policy is suitable for you. Please read the Financial Services Guide before buying any insurance policy.