Shopfitters Insurance

What Insurance Do I Need as a Shopfitter?*

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

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

Why do shopfitters need public liability insurance?*

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

Shopfitters need public liability insurance as shopfitting involves working with volatile materials that increase the probability of an accident on site.

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

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

• Injury to other persons due to your shopfitting activities –Where a shopfitting 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.
• Damage to others property due to your shopfitting activities – Where a shopfitting business activity causes damages to a third- party’s property. For example, a shopfitter may accidently cause damage in a client’s store, or to a neighbouring store, while performing work.
• Harm to other persons or other persons property due to your shopfitting business’s products – Where a shopfitting business’s products and goods supplied causes harm to a third party -person or a third- party’s property. For example, products a shopfitter has supplied, repaired, or manufactured cause harm, injure someone or cause property damage.

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

A shopfitter’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 shopfitters with protection for slip-and-trip accidents, accidents that damage client and neighbouring property.

Business insurance pack for shopfitters*

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

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

For example, if a shopfitter 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 shopfitters with a business insurance pack are Public Liability Insurance and Product Liability Insurance.

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

Professional Indemnity Insurance for shopfitters *

Professional indemnity insurance should be considered for shopfitters that prepare plans and drawings for clients.#

This is especially the case if you charge a separate fee for the plans and drawings.

If a shopfitter makes an error, such as providing incorrect information, makes an omission in due diligence, or provides advice that leads to damages or losses for a client, a client may seek damages from the shopfitter.

Professional Indemnity Insurance may help shopfitters stay in business by paying for legal defence costs, and for damages if awarded against them.

For example,  a property developer client may claim damages for loss of income as a result of your advice or plans . Professional indemnity may help pay for your legal costs to defend yourself .

#If you are a self-employed shopfitter and want to understand if professional indemnity insurance will provide suitable cover for your business activities, please call a Smart Business Insurance broker.

Professional Indemnity Insurance may provide protection for shopfitters for errors or advice that cause a client to lose money, claims of negligence.

Cyber Insurance for shopfitters *

Cyber insurance is strongly recommended for shopfitters that hold valuable data, including customer data, digitally or take payment electronically.

Cyber insurance may help shopfitters recover financially from data breaches and cyberattacks.

Cyber Insurance may provide protection for Data breach notification costs, Data breach investigations, PR costs for reputational harm.

Personal Accident Insurance for self-employed shopfitters*

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

Personal accident insurance for shopfitters 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 shopfitter’s income, and a long period away can negatively affect their savings, family, and lifestyle.

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

General Property and Tools Insurance for shopfitters*

As a shopfitter, you are likely to have many tools and equipment that allow you to do your job, such as saws , power drills , hammers and nail 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 saws , power drills , hammers and nail guns.….and help keep you in business.

Commercial motor insurance for self-employed shopfitters*

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

Plant & Equipment Insurance for shopfitting businesses*

Plant & Equipment Insurance may provide cover for owners of small shopfitting businesses that operate equipment such as Laptops , Computers , Table Saws, Power Tools , Trailers and Forklifts.

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