We’ve been helping scaffolding businesses with their insurance needs for over a decade.
From sole traders through to larger operations, our brokers can assist with a range insurance needs from public liability through to full business packages.
For a quote on your scaffolding insurance please call us on 1800 808 800 or click the button below.
To read our guide on business insurance for scaffolders please read on.
It goes without saying that scaffolding can be a risky occupation for workers, and a risky business to run from an ownership and management perspective.
Many of those risks can be managed on the job, but it’s also vital to have the right insurance in place if and when things do go wrong.
Whether it’s as simple as having some tools stolen, or as serious as a scaffolding collapse that causes injury or death, insurance is what will save you financially.
In this guide we’ll look at some of the common insurance types needed by scaffolding businesses.
Public Liability Insurance
For any trades business, public liability will be one of your core insurance types, and it’s no different for a scaffolding business.
Public liability will cover you for claims where your business activities have resulted in property damage or personal injury to a third party.
At the low end of the scale, you might be carrying some scaffolding gear past a car and you happen to run a big scratch down the side of the car.
You might be up for a thousand dollars or so in repairs, which can be covered by your insurance.
At the top end we’re talking about serious injury or death. For example you might have erected scaffolding in a public space, and a collapse of the scaffolding results in the death of a member of the public below.
This type of claim could escalate into the millions very quickly, and without the right insurance in place it would render many scaffolding businesses bankrupt.
Public liability insurance can’t stop these things from happening in your business, but they can protect you from the financial consequences.
Factors Affecting Scaffolders Insurance
Before we get into the next types of scaffolders insurance, it’s important to take a look at some of the factors that will affect your public liability insurance.
Because we deal with many scaffolding businesses, we’ve built up strong knowledge of what specific work the insurers will want to know about.
Insurers will typically want to know more about the following work locations:
- Temporary seating
- Stages
- Grandstands
- Lighting towers
- Camera towers
- Concerts
- Sporting events
You’ll probably pick up a theme there, which is anything relating to public events where there could be large gatherings of people.
They’ll also want to know about activities which may include the following:
- Manufacture of scaffolding products
- Selling second hand equipment
- Hiring our equipment on long term contracts
- Owning or hiring out lifting equipment
None of the items listed above exclude you from obtaining insurance, or mean that the price of the insurance will increase greatly, but insurers will want to know about it.
They will typically want to know that you have formal training plans in place for your staff, and confirm that you have procedures in place for the regular inspection and maintenance of your equipment.
Although it might seem like extra hassle having to provide this extra information to the insurers, the trade off should be a more competitively priced premium that better reflects the quality of your business.
Our brokers can help you through this process to ensure we’re obtaining the most competitive insurance premium for your scaffolding business.
Personal Accident Insurance
If you’re on the tools yourself, or even if you’re just visiting your sites to keep an eye on things, the risk of injury when around scaffolding is ever present.
Personal accident insurance can replace a large portion of your income for a period of time whilst you’re unable to work.
As standard the policy will cover you for injuries that leave you unable to work, but you can also include cover for illness.
Tools and Equipment Insurance
The risk of having your tools – or the scaffolding itself – stolen is ever present.
Insurance can protect your gear from a range of risks, including theft, fire damage and damage caused during a vehicle collision or rollover.
Tools can be covered under a specific tools section – commonly known as general property cover – whilst the scaffolding could typically be covered under your contents insurance whilst stored on your premises.
If comparing policies, ensure you look at the conditions surrounding theft and what level of security is required.
Commercial Vehicle Insurance
Whether you’re a single vehicle operation or have a large fleet, insuring your vehicles correctly is a must.
Whilst any old insurance company could sell you a cheap policy for your ute or van, a proper commercial vehicle insurance policy will provide a higher level of cover more suited to a business.
If you have a fleet of vehicles in your scaffolding business, even if it’s just five or ten, a fleet policy can save you serious money and time.
Property
If you’re simply providing your labour as a scaffolder you’ll most likely not have your own premises.
But if you’re running a scaffolding business and own the physical scaffolding, you’ll most likely be operating from a premises where you can store the gear.
Whether you own or rent the premises it’s vital to ensure you have the correct property insurance in place.
For owners this means insuring the building itself, unless it’s part of a large complex and the building is insured through the body corporate.
You’ll still need to insure the contents of the building, and there will typically be aspects of the building and fit-out that also need to be insured by you and not the body corporate.
For those renting business premises, the same as above applies to the contents and fit-out, but you’ll also find that your lease will most likely have a requirement for glass insurance.
Other Insurance Types
There are other insurance types that a scaffolding business may require, but the ones we’ve listed above tend to be the most common.
Other forms of insurance for scaffolders include the following. Which ones you might need really depends on the setup of your business.
- Professional Indemnity Insurance
- Business Interruption Insurance
- Cyber Insurance
- Contract Works Insurance
Obtaining Expert Advice
Knowing which types of cover you need for your business isn’t easy, and even if you do, being able to compare the different options can be hugely time consuming.
Our team of specialist brokers have been dealing with scaffolding businesses for over a decade.
As brokers we have access to specialist insurers and underwriters who understand scaffolding businesses and can provide appropriate cover at competitive prices.
Whether you’re a sole trader supplying your labour only, or a large operator with millions of dollars’ worth of scaffolding around the country, we have the team to help.
To obtain a quote or just to speak with one of our brokers, please call us on 1800 808 800 or click the button below to complete our quote request form.
