Trades & Services Insurance
Trades businesses run on the strength of the work, the reliability of the team, and the gear that goes on the truck each morning. Trades insurance is the cover that keeps all three protected. It sits across the tools, the people, the vehicle, and the liability that comes with working on a customer's property. For most trades businesses, it is the difference between an awkward week after an incident and a months-long argument about who pays for what.
OneSure is a specialist commercial insurance broker for trades and services. We arrange cover for sole traders running solo, small teams working under a head trade, and contractor businesses that run multiple crews across residential and commercial work. Our brokers work in this sector every day, so we know what a trades policy needs to do and where standard policies fall short.
What trades insurance can cover
Trades insurance is a family of cover types arranged to match the way the business actually operates. Cover can typically include:
- Public and product liability for injury or property damage caused by the business or its work.
- Tools-of-trade cover for hand tools, power tools, and small equipment.
- Commercial motor cover for the ute, van, or light truck the business runs.
- Contract works cover for projects where the trade is building or installing on a contract value.
- Personal accident and illness cover for the principal and key team members.
- Professional indemnity for trades that provide design, certification, or advisory work.
- Management liability where the trade operates as a company with directors and officers.
- Income protection arranged through the broker's life and personal lines panel where relevant.
The mix a trade actually arranges depends on the work, the value of the contracts, and the licence conditions attached to the trade. A specialist broker walks through that detail before any policy is bound.
Sole trader insurance for the one-person business
Sole trader insurance is often the starting point for a trade. The business is one person, the tools are personally owned, and the work is done by the principal. The cover at this stage is usually three pieces: public liability for the work, tools cover for the equipment, and commercial motor for the work vehicle. Personal accident and illness is often arranged alongside, because the principal is the business and a serious injury stops everything.
The shape changes as the business grows. A sole trader who picks up a regular subcontract role on a commercial site may need to meet the principal contractor's insurance requirements, which often specify a minimum public liability sum insured and may require contract works cover. A broker arranges what the contract requires, not what a generic policy assumes.
Tradesman insurance across the trades
Tradesman insurance covers the same family of products across the trades that drive most claims activity:
- Electrical and data trades, where exposure sits in workmanship, certification, and the high-consequence nature of electrical work.
- Plumbing, gas, and water services, where water-damage and gas-fitting claims dominate.
- Carpenters, joiners, and shopfitters, where tools, transit, and on-site damage are the main exposures.
- Painters and renderers, where overspray, drop-sheet failures, and surface-prep claims are common.
- Landscapers, paving, and arborists, where plant operation and underground services drive claims.
- Concreters, formworkers, and bricklayers, where contract value and weather exposure shape cover.
- Tiling, flooring, and finishing trades, where defective-work claims and tool theft are the recurring themes.
Each of these trades has its own claim shape. The cover at the policy level is similar in structure but different in detail. The wording matters.
Contractor insurance for businesses with crews and subbies
Contractor insurance is the term used by trades businesses that have moved past the sole trader stage. The business runs crews, engages subcontractors, signs head contracts with builders or principal contractors, and carries the obligations that come with all of that. Cover at this stage is usually broader and more layered, with attention to:
- Subcontractor liability and how the head contract treats it.
- Public liability sums insured that match what the principal requires, not the trade's own preference.
- Contract works cover for projects where the contract value is substantial.
- Management liability for the company and its directors.
- Workers compensation arranged through the relevant state scheme, alongside the commercial cover.
A specialist broker reads the contract, identifies what the cover needs to do, and arranges it.
Why work with a specialist broker
Off-the-shelf tradie policies are common. So are the claims that surface a gap between what the policy was sold as and what it actually does. A trade business is exposed in specific, identifiable ways, and a generic policy rarely matches that profile in full.
OneSure brokers arrange trades cover every week. We know the insurers that handle the trades well, the wordings that perform when claims are made, and the cover extensions worth adding for a given trade and stage of business. We also handle the claim when one happens, which is when the value of a broker is clearest.
Related cover
- Commercial motor insurance for the ute, van, or work vehicle.
- Construction insurance and contract works for trades working on a contract value.
- Liability and indemnity insurance for the public and product liability arranged on its own.
General advice disclaimer
The information provided by OneSure Insurance Services Pty Ltd on this website is for general information purposes only, and it is not a substitute for professional advice. You should always consider the PDS/policy wording before making a decision.
Coverage may differ based on specific clauses in individual policies. Refer to the FSG for our services and remuneration details.
OneSure Insurance Services Pty Ltd is an Authorised Representative (AR No 1242454) of PSC Connect Pty Ltd, ABN 23 141 574 914, AFS Licence No 344648.
Talk to a OneSure broker
Speak to a OneSure broker for an obligation-free conversation about trades insurance or sole trader insurance for your business. We will work through the trade, the work, and the cover that fits.
