Roofers Insurance

Roofers need business insurance, including public liability insurance as roofing is high liability work, with frequent accident on sites.

People and property on site may be hurt or damaged due to accidents involving roofing work.

Working from heights over 10 meters, is particularly risky, and result in many claims against roofers for property damage or personal injury.

When working from heights, falling tiles and tools can damage vehicles, property or cause injury to a homeowner.

Fortunately, suitable business insurance for roofers may provide protection against financial hardships that could arise from accidents, property damage, orlegal claims caused by your roofing business activities.

Roofer business and public liability insurance may cover property damage, injuries to third parties that are caused by your roofing equipment and work activities.

Many Business Owners are UNSURE if they are COVERED PROPERLY.
We help them find affordable and SUITABLE INSURANCE so they can run their business with CONFIDENCE.*

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What Insurance Do I Need as a Roofer?*

Some of the major types of business insurance covers available to roofers in Australia are explained below and include:

Public Liability Insurance
Business Insurance Pack
Personal Accident Insurance
General Property and Tools
Commercial Motor insurance
Plant and Equipment Insurance

Why do roofers need public liability insurance?*

Public Liability Insurance coverage is essential for all self-employed roofers.

Roofers need public liability insurance as roofing involves working with solid materials and tools at heights that increase the probability of an accident on site.

People and property on site may be hurt or damaged due to accidents involving roofing work.

Protections offered to self-employed roofers by public liability insurance in Australia generally include:

Injury to other persons due to your roofing activities –Where a roofing business activity causes harm to a third-party person. For example, a client ignores your warnings to stay away from the site and injure themselves when they trip and fall on your equipment. Or, one of your tools falls off the roof and hits a third party in the head, causing injury.
Damage to others property due to your roofing activities – Where a roofing business activity causes damages to a third- party’s property. For example, a roofer may accidentally cause damage to a client’s home while performing work. Or a roofer may cause damage to a client’s car if a tile drops from the roof.
Harm to other persons or other persons property due to your roofing business’s products – Where a roofing business’s products and goods supplied causes harm to a third party -person or a third- party’s property. For example, products a roofer has supplied, repaired, or manufactured cause harm, injure someone or cause property damage.

Public liability insurance coverage may protect roofers from claims that arise when others allege they are negligent.

A roofer’s public liability policy may provide a defence against the ensuing lawsuit when needed and may pay the damages sought by the injured party.

Public Liability Insurance may provide roofers with protection for slip-and-trip accidents, accidents that damage client property or harm clients or third parties.

Business insurance pack for roofers*

Roofers may be able to combine multiple covers in a single business insurance pack policy.

By ‘packaging’ your business insurance into a ‘business pack’ roofers can potentially cover many of the risks their business faces in the one policy.

For example, if a roofer has a commercial premises, a business insurance pack may provide cover for buildings and contents if they are accidentally damaged by a defined event, such as fire, storm, impact damage, accidental damage, vandalism, or malicious damage.

Other typical inclusions for roofers with a business insurance pack are Public Liability Insurance and Product Liability Insurance.

Optional inclusions for roofers with a business insurance pack are General Property, Contents, Machinery, Plant and Stock, Glass, Money, Business Interruption and Marine Cover.

Personal Accident Insurance for self-employed roofers*

As a self-employed roofer your personal safety is your livelihood.

Personal accident insurance for roofers may provide cover for 52 or 104 weeks and up to 85%* of weekly income at the time of the injury; depending on the amount of coverage agreed when the policy is taken out.

Time away from work from an accident will have a direct impact on a self-employed roofer’s income, and a long period away can negatively affect their savings, family, and lifestyle.

Personal Accident Insurance may help self-employed roofers pay for essential bills and other financial commitments if they have an accident.

General Property and Tools Insurance for roofers*

As a roofer, you are likely to have many tools and equipment that allow you to do your job, such as drills, roofing nailers, roofing shovels , safety harnesses, roof anchors and caulking guns.

If your property is damaged or stolen, your business cannot operate effectively.

General property insurance can help you keep operating effectively.

It can provide needed funds to replace your tools such as drills, roofing nailers, roofing shovels , safety harnesses and caulking guns….and help keep you in business.

Commercial motor insurance for self-employed roofers*

Commercial motor insurance should be considered for roofers that drive their vehicle from site to site. Light trucks, vans and Utes may be covered

Plant & Equipment Insurance for roofing businesses*

Plant & Equipment Insurance may provide cover for owners of small roofing businesses that operate equipment such as Air Compressors, Asphalt Shingles, Roofing Shovels, Safety Edge Rails, and Testing Equipment.

Cover may provide roofers with protection for theft, damage, consequential loss, liability, road risk and machinery breakdown.

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What are the costs of Roofer Public Liability Insurance?*

How much does public liability insurance cost for self-employed roofers?*

Key factors in determining how much Public Liability insurance will cost a roofer include:

The nature and scope of the roofing business. For example, the type of work performed by the roofer.
The roofing business turnover and size. For example, is the roofer a sole trader that does 100% of the work themselves, or do they employee a team of 4 subbies?
Amount of insurance cover the roofing business needs. Liability starts with $5 million cover, $10 million is popular with many self-employed contractors, $20 million cover is needed for roofers that work for large companies, on commercial sites or have a team of employees.

Public liability insurance cost for a self-employed roofer with no previous claims, starts from around $650* or $60 per month for $5 million Public Liability Insurance.

*** Please note ***: While cheap Public Liability Insurance can seem attractive on the surface it is important to ensure the policy covers you for the full business activities you undertake, and that the insurance policy and company will respond as intended when there is a claim. Costs may differ greatly from the above based on the roofer’s business size, clients, experience, and business activities. For many roofers, that perform hot works , work on multi storey buildings or that have employees, costs will be a lot higher.

Do I need business insurance to work as a self-employed roofer in Australia?*

Self-employed roofers, or roofing small business owners, subcontracting for builders will typically be required by the builder to obtain their own public liability insurance to get on site. This is typical for contractors working for builders throughout Australia.

Many small business owners, and even retail clients, will also ask to see proof of a roofer’s insurance cover, called a certificate of currency, prior to awarding them work and ask for an update each year.

As a self-employed roofer, suitable business insurance may provide credibility and valuable protection against the cost of a claim too.

Key roofing activities that may be able to be covered include:*

Installation, repair, replacement, and maintenance of :

roofing materials including joists, frames, tiles and shingles
gutters
insulation
damp proofing

Why do roofers need tools insurance?*

Roofers need tool insurance as tools are the lifeblood of roofing.

They help roofers just like you to complete work on time, and to deliver quality workmanship.

Roofers have a large number of tools compared to many other tradies. And good tools are expensive. If they break or are stolen, it can impact your ability to get the job done or cost you thousands to replace.

Without tool insurance, you may have to dig into your own savings or borrow money to get the tools replaced or repaired.

Different types of roofers that may be able to be covered:*

Domestic roofers
Commercial roofers
Industrial roofers
Shingles
Metal roofers

I’m a roofer do I need to declare sub-contractors?*

As a roofer it is essential you declare sub-contractors to your insurance company or insurance broker.

As a roofer, if I hire sub-contractors do they need to have their own public liability insurance?*

As a roofer, it is vital that your sub-contractors have their OWN public liability insurance so that they may be covered for any damage they cause to a third parties’ person or property while sub-contracting to you.

As a contractor they are responsible for any damages they cause.

As a roofer, your public liability policy covers your roofing business.

Each business, including all sub-contractors require their own public liability insurance.

It is recommended that you obtain a current public liability certificate of currency from all sub-contractors that perform work for you.

Why should roofers use an insurance broker in Australia?*

If you are a roofer deciding on whether to use an insurance broker for your business insurance, it is important to consider that brokers act in the interests of the self-employed roofer.

Direct insurers and agents act for the insurer. This can be important; especially if you need to claim.

Brokers can help roofers by sourcing competitive quotes on policy inception, negotiate with the insurance companies to prevent or limit increases on renewal, remarket your policy to other suitable insurance companies where appropriate, talk to underwriters about policy wordings, industry classifications and terms, talk to insurance assessors during the claims process and repairers where necessary.

How do I get a roofers insurance quote?*

Simply TALK to a SMART Business Insurance broker on 1300 542 573 or contact us online for suitable and affordable public liability and business insurance quotes for your roofing business.