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Major users of public liability insurance in Australia are subcontractors.
As a subcontractor you will generally be responsible for your own actions, and in most cases you will not be covered by the insurance of the person hiring you.
Subcontractors come in many different forms, with the most common example being tradesmen. Whatever your business type, public liability insurance is an important consideration.
Why Do Subcontractors Need Insurance?
If you work as a subcontractor you are essentially running your own small business. Even if you work under instruction from a single person or company, you are still responsible for your own actions.
If you were to cause property damage or personal injury to another person as a result of your business activities, you would be responsible for the financial consequences yourself.
The person or company hiring your services will not cover the costs of such a claim, and therefore it is important for any subcontractor to have their own public liability insurance in place.
Do I Need Insurance?
Some subcontractors will find that public liability insurance is mandatory in order to enter certain worksites, whilst others will find that it is mandatory in order to obtain their contractors licence.
Many subcontractors work in the building and construction industry, and with worksites being fairly hazardous areas it is vital to have public liability insurance in order to protect yourself from the costs of things going wrong.
It is important for subcontractors to remember that public liability only covers property damage and personal injury suffered by other people as a result of your actions. It does not cover you for damage or injury that you suffer yourself.
Information for Companies Using Subcontractors
For companies that hire subcontractors, it is important to ensure that all subcontractors have their own public liability cover in place.
There are some policies available that will cover a company’s subcontractors, but this is very much the exception rather than the rule. In most cases your insurance will not cover your subcontractors.
In some cases it may be found that both you and your subcontractor are responsible for a property damage or personal injury claim. This is known as shared responsibility, and generally a percentage will be allotted to each of you.
In this case it is important that you both have adequate public liability insurance in place, as each of you will be responsible for a percentage of the claim amount.
More Information
If you work as a subcontractor and would like more information or need to find out the public liability insurance cost for your business, the team at publicliabilityinsurance.com.au can assist.
We have a network of insurance professionals around Australia who specialise in public liability insurance and can assist subcontractor with all the information they need.
To obtain a quote on your cover please complete our online quote form or get in contact with us.