Trades Insurance
Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra

Trades businesses often expand beyond the work described when their first policy was arranged. List the trades performed, the share of work in each and any design, supply or project-management services. Identify residential, commercial, industrial and specialist sites. Working heights, excavation, hot work and hazardous materials deserve explicit discussion where relevant. A business name or broad description such as maintenance does not establish that every new activity is accepted. The insurance arrangement should follow the actual work rather than the wording on an old certificate.

Describe employees, subcontractors, labour hire and the entity contracting with customers. Explain workshops, storage, vehicles, tools and plant. Customer goods, hired equipment and materials left on sites can create exposures beyond owned assets. Public liability, professional indemnity, contract works, plant and worker injury arrangements answer different questions. None should be assumed to replace the others. If one team delivers several trades, explain responsibility for coordination and handover, because a customer may allege a problem with the complete job rather than identify the individual trade or subcontractor involved.

Collect the principal contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders and relevant insurance clauses before starting work. Identify required limits, insured entities, activities and any indemnities or guarantees. Ask the broker to explain where contractual obligations exceed the liability the policy is designed to address. A certificate can confirm selected details, but it does not reproduce all exclusions or establish that a contract has been fully matched. If a head contractor provides project insurance, clarify what it includes and what remains the trade business’s responsibility.

Keep job scopes, approvals, variations and completion records organised by project. Record relevant qualifications, site documentation and subcontractor insurance evidence without treating those documents as proof that every activity is covered. Discuss defective workmanship separately from resulting damage and the cost of completing an unfinished job. For tools and plant, compare values, security conditions, transport and hire terms with actual practice. A business may routinely leave equipment in a vehicle or site compound, so those arrangements should be declared rather than discovered during a theft claim. Review specialist or statutory requirements through the relevant adviser for the trade and jurisdiction.

Consider a hypothetical renovation where damage appears after several trades have worked in the same room. Preserve scopes, dates, photographs, testing or completion records and communications between the parties. Arrange appropriate steps to reduce further harm and notify the broker about the allegation. Avoid assuming the last contractor on site caused the problem or promising to pay for all rectification before assessment. The cost of repairing faulty work, damage to other property and delay claims can be treated differently, even where the customer presents them as one invoice.

At renewal, review new services, largest projects, subcontractor use and changes in working conditions. Update tools, stock and plant values, including items stored away from the main premises. Consider continuity when a key vehicle, machine or qualified worker becomes unavailable. Replacement hire and subcontracting may help operations continue but can introduce costs and liabilities of their own. Keep past job records after staff departures and software changes. A trade business can continue to face allegations about completed work, so the annual review should consider both the next year’s projects and the work already delivered.

For businesses operating several legal entities, identify which entity signs each contract, employs staff and owns equipment. Shared branding can obscure those distinctions. Ask the broker whether the named insureds and property schedules reflect the structure, especially after acquiring another trade business. Moving work to a new company or invoicing through a different entity should not be assumed to transfer the earlier policy’s protection automatically to every related business and person.