Many people think that only qualified tradesmen need insurance, and that it’s not important for apprentices.
Whilst this may be true in some respects, there are still a number of forms of insurance which apprentice tradies should at least consider.
We have listed some of the most popular forms of tradies insurance below, along with information on whether or not they are suitable for apprentices.
Tool Insurance
We’ll start with the one we are most commonly asked about, which is tool insurance.
As a first year apprentice you may not have any of your own tools, but as the years pass by you will start to build up a good collection, and by the time you’re a fourth year apprentice you might be surprised by just how much money you’ve sunk into your tools.
Building up a valuable collection of tools over a number of years is one thing, but having to replace them all within a week is an entirely different prospect altogether.
Whilst we do recommend that apprentices protect their tools, we are unable to provide insurance cover.
This is because we only deal in business insurance, and as an apprentice you are an employee and not a business.
We recommend speaking with your home contents insurer to see if they are able to add your tools-of-trade onto your contents insurance.
Also note that some car insurance policies provide cover for tools, however the cover is generally limited to less than a thousand dollars.
Public Liability Insurance
Apprentice tradies will almost always be classed as employees, and therefore will be covered under their employees public liability insurance. This means you won’t need your own cover.
If for any reason you are being paid under an ABN or are issuing your own invoices then you should speak to us about whether or not you need public liability insurance.
Income Protection
As an apprentice you will be covered by worker’s compensation and should also be eligible for sick leave from your employer, however sometimes the benefits offered by these are insufficient.
If you suffered an injury or illness that left you unable to work for a week or two you will most likely be able to rely on sick leave. But if you were unable to work for a few months or more you could end up in real trouble.
Income protection insurance can replace up 75% of your income for a period of time if you cannot work due to injury or illness, meaning that you can still pay your bills even if you can’t earn a living.
Apprentice tradies will sometimes find that the insurance companies are unwilling to issue cover. Whilst this is the case for some insurers, there are others out there who will offer cover if you are a third or fourth year apprentice.
Sickness and Accident Insurance
A popular form of cover for tradies is sickness and accident insurance. In many ways this cover is similar to income protection, but there are some important differences.
As with income protection, this type of policy can replace a portion of your income if you cannot work.
Life Insurance
Many apprentice tradies are still very young, and the thought of taking out life insurance is probably the last thing on their minds.
Whilst it’s true that life insurance is probably less important for a single apprentice with no children compared to a tradesman with a wife and kids, it is still a form of insurance worth considering.
One of the benefits of being a young apprentice is that your life insurance will be very cheap. For less than a dollar a day a young tradie can get $100,000 cover, which should be enough to tidy up your debts and cover your funeral expenses.
Sure it’s not something that is nice to think about, but it is good to know that things will be taken care of rather than burdening your family with your debts and other costs.
TPD Insurance
TPD stands for total and permanent disability. This form of insurance is not particularly popular with young apprentices for many of the same reasons as life insurance, but it is still worth considering.
A TPD insurance policy will pay you a lump sum if you suffer an injury or illness serious enough that you are deemed unable or unlikely to return to work ever again.
Of course as a young tradie you think you are bulletproof, but you also need to remember that you have a very long period of time to get through if something did happen and you could no longer work.
Trauma Insurance
Of all the forms of tradesman insurance available, trauma insurance is probably the least popular with apprentice tradies.
This form of insurance will pay you a lump sum if you are diagnosed with a critical illness. The most common claims for trauma insurance are for heart attack, cancer and stroke, so you can see why it’s less popular with young tradies.
Although the big three conditions may not be common for younger tradies, there is one condition that is very relevant for tradesmen, and that is melanoma.
The coverage offered for melanoma does differ between the different insurance companies, but it’s certainly a useful cover to have for tradies who spend most of their time in the sun.
Do Apprentices Need Insurance?
The fact is that many apprentices choose not to bother with any form of trade insurance.
There are various reasons for this, with one of the major reasons simply being that apprentice wages aren’t exactly huge, and paying extra insurance premiums is not a particularly attractive thought!
Do apprentices need insurance? Technically the answer would be no, but technically you don’t have to insure your ute or your home either, but most people still choose to do so.
If you’re an apprentice and would like to know more about insurance for tradesmen, our experts can talk to you about a budget package that can give you some level of protection without costing the earth.
