Protecting your electrical business for the long haul means there are a few things to consider, especially when it comes to business insurance* and being compliant with specific requirements. To make things a bit easier we’re here to break down the key things you need to know about insurance requirements for electricians in QLD- without the boring bits.
Let’s get started by having a look at the basics of what some of your insurance requirements involve.
Key insurance requirements for QLD electricians
Some of the vital insurance requirements to keep in mind when operating as an electrician in QLD include:
- ensuring that you hold an insurance policy that meets the requirements of Section 51 of the ES Regulation. The policy must be issued in the legal name of your business applying for the licence. Your policy must also include Public and Products liability with the following specifics:
- a limit of indemnity of at least $5,000,000, and
- Consumer Protection insurance of at least $50,000.
Consumer Protection insurance is not a different policy. It’s usually an automatic inclusion in your Public Liability insurance policy. When you are quoting your policy and state you’re a an electrician from Queensland, this will be included when creating your policy.
Some of the other things your policy must have include the following:
- liability arising from testing and certification of work in accordance with the ES Regulation
- injury or damage arising from faulty design work performed by you including where you did not charge a specific fee for such design work
- injury or damage arising from incorrect advice including where you did not charge a specific fee for such advice
- goods in your care, custody or control.
What is exactly is Consumer Protection insurance?
Consumer protection insurance may be something you haven’t come across before and you’re not alone by wondering what it is! It is a policy that is only required for when you perform domestic electrical work, not commercial jobs.
It only covers your domestic work and has no impact upon the Public Liability section of your policy. It’s your Public Liability insurance policy that typically provides cover for your commercial work, provided it is within the guidelines that are stated on your quotes and policies.
Some of the things Consumer Protection insurance may provide cover for include:
- defects in Domestic Electrical Work
- any Trade Practices Liability
- liability arising which may arise testing of the insured’s own work and the work of others
- personal injury or damage to property arising from incorrect advice or faulty design work performed by the Insured, where the Insured did not charge a specific fee for such advice or design work
- non-Completion of domestic electrical work
It is always wise to double check with your insurance provider about the exact details of what your Public Liability insurance policy covers, particularly when it comes to the Consumer Protection insurance section.
How do I meet my insurance requirements?
It’s important to make sure that you tick all the right boxes when it comes to following the regulations as a Queensland electrician.
One of the first things you need to check is that your insurance policy has a certificate of currency that includes all the following government requirements:
- that you hold a current Public and Products Liability insurance policy of at least $5,000,000 and Consumer Protection Liability of at least $50,000 under a contract of insurance issued in the name of the applicant.
When completing your licence application you will need to confirm the following:
- tick the check box, I, the authorised person, confirm the following;
- The electrical contractor licence applicant (as named in section 1 of this application) holds current broadform public and products liability insurance of at least $5,000,000 under a contract of insurance, including consumer protection insurance of at least $50,000 at the time of making this application.
- That your insurance cover is in the legal name of the applicant (that is the same name as applicant stated in section 1).
- I hold documentary evidence of the currency of the above insurance cover, which is available for if required for an audit
How much insurance do I need?
While the minimum level of cover required for QLD electricians is $5million, there is still the question of much cover do you need to take out. Unfortunately, we can’t tell you the exact amount you should have, but we can give you food for through when it comes to what you need to consider when working out what level of cover to take out. For example:
- If you work on contracts often a minimum amount of cover will be stipulated, and you may need to increase your cover accordingly to meet the requirement
- Consider the scale of the job. The larger the project, the higher the risk and potential cost if a claim were to occur
- If you are a member of certain trade organisations a specific minimum level of cover may also be outlined
Get your insurance sorted for your QLD electrician business today
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