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All good tradespeople take pride in their work, but defective work is still a potential risk that needs to be considered.
No matter how careful we are in our businesses, the fact is we are all human and mistakes can happen. For a tradesperson this can involve defective work.
Repairing defective work is simply a fact of life for a tradie, but what happens if that defective work results in property damage or personal injury to another person?
If your work results in property damage or personal injury, and you are found to be liable, you could be up for some serious costs. In some cases these cost can be enough to force the average tradie into bankruptcy.
Can Insurance Help?
A common question asked by tradespeople is whether or not their insurance will cover them for defective or faulty workmanship.
The good news is that public liability insurance will cover defective or faulty workmanship, however not all costs relating to the work will be covered.
Defective Work Insurance
A typical public liability policy will cover the costs of property damage or personal injury to other people caused as a result of the defective work.
However, the policy will not cover the costs of rectifying or repairing the defective work, regardless of whether the work is done by you or by someone else.
Example
A bricklayer built a wall, and the following week the wall collapsed onto a vehicle causing extensive damage. The owner of the vehicle was also standing next to the wall and suffered a broken leg as a result of the incident.
The insurance company investigated the incident, and deemed that the collapse was due to defective work carried out by the bricklayer.
The policy will pay out a claim for the cost of repairing the vehicle as well as compensation to the person for their injuries.
The policy will not cover the cost of rebuilding the wall, and it will be the bricklayer’s responsibility to make arrangements with the property owner.
Liability can be a tricky area and in a case like this there would likely be extensive investigations, but the example does give you an idea of what is and isn’t covered under defective work.
More Information
If you would like more information about how defective work and faulty workmanship are covered for tradespeople please contact us or speak with your insurance broker.