Have you had your tools stolen from the back of the ute? Or from a construction site? For tradies, this is a well-known crime across Australia every day. If your tools and other equipment are vital to your livelihood, loss or damage to these can often be devastating, and turning up to a job site without your tools isn’t an option, but it can and does happen.
Some examples of incidents occurring across Australia include in February 2019, where a tradie had his trailer and $50,000 worth of tools stolen because thieves hooked up his trailer inside a locked construction site and drove off with it. An apprentice carpenter also had $3000 worth of tools stolen from a locked toolbox on a construction site. And in April 2019, a tradie had his Ute and all his tools stolen, all he had left when he went to work was a hammer and a wheelbarrow.
If something like this happens to you, the right type of insurance cover will help you to get back on your feet quickly.
So do you have the insurance coverage you need as a tradie?
General property insurance
Protects your tools and equipment if they are damaged or stolen whilst working on a client site, or even your own site. You can tailor your policies to include cover for an electronic breakdown if you don’t only rely on hand tools, but electronic equipment also, as well as machinery breakdown cover if you have a specific type of machinery you need.
Commercial vehicle insurance
If you use your Ute or other vehicles for your job, make sure your insurers know that you are using the vehicle for commercial use and not for personal use, as this can alter your insurance cover and premiums and void a claim. Having the right cover will ensure you get back on the road promptly in the event if an incident.
Public and products liability insurance
Public liability insurance covers you against claims made against you if an accident occurs at a construction site or customer’s property, resulting in damage and/or injury to a third party/third party property.
Examples of some incidents that can occur are, if you damage an expensive antique at a customer’s property, a customer trips over electrical cables to your power tools or loose timber falls from a first-floor extension and injures a customer during a renovation. Public liability not only covers damage that you caused but also covers your employees and any sub-contractors in the event damage occurs as a result of their negligence.
There are other types of insurances to offer depending on your type of business and whether you have any employees to ensure you are fully covered for carrying out your business activities.
Lewis Insurance Services is here to help our clients on the most appropriate insurance to suit their needs for their business. To discuss further, please contact Lewis Insurance Services on 07 3217 9015 or send us an email by clicking here.
This article was published by our AFSL Licensee, Insurance Advisernet Australia P/L (24/06/2019)
Disclaimer:
This information and any accompanying material does not consider your personal circumstances as it is of a general nature only. You should not act on the information provided without first obtaining professional financial advice specific to your circumstances and considering the Product Disclosure Statement.