Understand the cover electricians commonly use, what clients and sites ask for, and when it gets more complicated.
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The short answer
Most electricians in Australia carry public liability insurance, commonly $10 million or $20 million, plus tools and equipment cover and commercial vehicle insurance for the ute or van. Employers also need workers compensation. Solar, mining, industrial and high-voltage work can change what insurers will accept, so it is important that the policy matches the work you actually do.
Common cover
Most electricians build their insurance from a few separate policies. These are the ones that come up most, and why they matter for this kind of work.
The core policy. Covers injury or property damage caused by your electrical work, such as a fire traced back to an installation. Products liability matters too, because you supply and install electrical goods.
Test equipment, thermal cameras, cable locators and power tools are expensive and are a frequent target for theft from vans.
For the ute or van, including racking, fit-out and signwriting.
If you are a sole trader or working director, an injury on the tools may not be covered by workers compensation.
Some commercial and project contracts require electrical contractors to insure their portion of the works or materials on site.
When it gets harder
A residential electrician doing rewires, switchboards and small commercial jobs is usually straightforward to insure. It gets harder when the work moves into environments where a mistake is more expensive, or where insurers are more cautious.
Rooftop solar on houses is common work, but solar farms, battery installations and wind projects are a different risk. Some insurers exclude utility-scale renewables or only accept them with specific declarations. Principals on these projects also tend to ask for higher limits and contract-specific wording.
Work on mine sites, power generation and industrial plants often comes with $20 million or higher liability requirements, strict site inductions and contracts that ask for the principal to be noted on your policy.
An outage in a hospital, data centre or cold store can be very expensive. These sites often ask for higher limits and may ask about your quality and safety systems.
Work in hazardous areas, high-voltage or network infrastructure is a specialised activity. It usually needs to be declared, and fewer insurers offer cover for it.
If you design systems, sign off on others' work or give technical advice, a claim might be about your advice rather than your installation. Public liability generally doesn't cover that, and professional indemnity may be relevant.
Illustrative examples
These are illustrative examples, not real clients, showing how the work changes the insurance.
An electrical contractor with eight staff mostly does commercial fit-outs and wins a subcontract on a regional solar farm. The head contract asks for $20 million public liability, the principal noted on the policy and contract works cover for materials on site. Their existing policy was set up for fit-out work, so the cover needs to be checked against the new contract before they mobilise.
A sole-trader electrician's van is broken into overnight and $14,000 of tools and test equipment are taken. Whether the claim is paid in full depends on how the tools were stored and whether the expensive items were listed individually.
A fire starts in a switchboard a few months after an upgrade and damages a client's kitchen. The client's home insurer pays the client and then pursues the electrician. This is the kind of claim public liability and products liability are designed for.
Cost
Premiums for electricians vary widely. These are the factors insurers usually look at.
| Factor | Impact | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Type of electrical work | Major | Residential, commercial, industrial, solar, mining and high-voltage work are rated very differently. |
| Public liability limit | Major | Moving from $5 million to $20 million increases the premium. |
| Turnover and number of staff | Major | More work and more people means more exposure to claims. |
| Subcontractors | Moderate | Insurers ask whether subcontractors hold their own public liability. |
| Value of tools and test equipment | Moderate | The more expensive the kit, the higher the tools premium. |
| Claims history | Moderate | Recent fire or property damage claims are looked at closely. |
Common questions
There is no single national law for every electrician, but in practice most need it. Builders, commercial clients, property managers and sites routinely require it before work starts, and licensing or contract arrangements in some states reference it. Check your state's licensing requirements and any contracts you sign.
$10 million and $20 million are the most common limits for electricians. Residential-only work sometimes uses $5 million, while commercial builders, mines, hospitals and infrastructure sites often ask for $20 million.
Residential rooftop solar is often covered if it is declared. Commercial and utility-scale solar, batteries and solar farms may be excluded or need specific acceptance from the insurer, so it is worth confirming before taking that work on.
Workers compensation is compulsory once you employ people, and in some states certain contractors are treated as workers. As a sole trader you are generally not covered for your own injuries, which is why many sole traders look at personal accident and illness insurance.
It generally covers damage or injury your work causes to others, like a fire damaging a client's property. It usually doesn't cover the cost of fixing or redoing your own work.
This page is general information only. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs, and it is not a recommendation to buy any insurance product. Always read the policy wording and, where applicable, the Product Disclosure Statement.
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