Insurance for Painters

Painting happens at the end of a job, in finished rooms, on scaffold and up ladders, and usually with everything around you already paid for. Overspray that drifts onto a car in the driveway, a tin knocked over on new flooring, or a ladder that goes out from under you can cost far more than the job was worth.

We arrange insurance for painters and decorators, from sole traders to companies running several crews across domestic, commercial and strata work. We take the time to understand the jobs you take on and the way you apply paint, compare options across the market, and stand beside you if you need to make a claim.

Key covers to consider

• Public and Products Liability: injury or property damage caused by your work, including overspray and damage to surfaces you were not painting
• Business Pack: your shed, store or workshop, plus contents, paint and materials
• General Property and Tools: paint guns and sprayers, compressors, ladders, drop sheets and equipment away from your premises. Cover can often extend to tools stolen from a locked vehicle or job site, which is worth checking in your wording before you rely on it.
• Commercial Motor: utes, vans and trailers carrying your gear between jobs
• Contract Works / Construction: the work itself while it is under way, including materials on site, up to handover
• Workers Compensation: compulsory cover for businesses with employees and apprentices
• Management Liability: employment disputes, OH&S, and claims against the business and its owners and managers for alleged mismanagement
• Cyber Liability: quoting, invoicing and payment systems, and the client details you hold
• Personal Accident and Sickness: income while you are off the tools from an injury or illness, and is often mandatory protection for sole traders who are not eligible for workers compensation

Common questions

Does public liability cover faulty or defective work?

Public liability covers injury, and damage your work causes to other property, such as a fire that damages a client's building. The cost of going back and redoing your own faulty or defective work is usually excluded. This is commonly known as the Faulty Workmanship exclusion, and knowing where that line sits is part of what we talk through when we set the policy up.

Am I covered if overspray damages a car or a neighbouring property?

Public liability is the cover that responds to damage your work causes to property that is not yours, and drifting spray is a well known example. Some policies may also exclude damage from overspray or spray drift entirely. Policies differ in how they treat spray application, and some insurers ask about it specifically, so tell us how you apply paint and where, and we will check the wording before you need it.

Will my liability policy pay to repaint work that goes wrong?

Usually not. Liability responds to injury and to damage to other property, while going back to redo your own faulty work is generally excluded. It is a line worth understanding early, because the argument at claim time is often about which side of it a particular job sits on.

Do I need Home Warranty / Home Building Compensation cover?

This applies to residential work you contract directly with the owner above your state's threshold, such as extensions, garages, fences or retaining walls. It must be in place before work starts. It is compulsory for any residential building or renovation work valued over $20,000 (including GST) in New South Wales.

Do I have to use Dial Before You Dig?

Almost all policies include an exclusion for the damage to pipes and cables when you do not seek appropriate evidence or check that there are pipes or cables below. You should always check before you dig.

Do I Need Professional Indemnity insurance?

Trades industries are becoming more regulated. When a tradesman provides reports, surveys, designs, testing, or certifications, you may leave yourself exposed should a problem arise following your advice. You should always consider your services provided.

How Much Public & Products Liability Cover Do I Need?

It depends on the work you do and who you do it for. Many head contractors, councils, property managers and commercial sites set a minimum amount in their contracts before you can start. If you lease your premises, your lease will usually set a minimum level of public liability you must hold as a tenant, and often asks for the landlord to be noted on your policy. So check your contracts, your lease and any tender or site requirements first. Also think about the worst injury or property damage your work could realistically cause.

Cover level	When it's usually needed
$5 million	Small or hobby-sized businesses with lower-risk work, few or no visitors to their premises, and no lease or contract asking for more.
$10 million	Suits most trades and businesses working on client premises or dealing with the public. Often the minimum set by commercial leases, markets and event organisers, and many subcontract agreements.
$20 million	Suits higher-risk work such as specialist trades, construction, mining, transport operators, or working at heights. Often required by head contractors, government bodies, councils, shopping centres, mine sites and larger commercial clients.

We'll look at your contracts, your lease and your work, and help you choose a limit that fits.

Talk to a broker who knows painting

Tell us about your business and we'll do the comparing, the paperwork and the advocating.

Request a quote for your painting business