Public Liability Insurance for Australian Builders and Tradies
Public Liability insurance (often bundled with Products Liability) protects your business when a third party claims injury or property damage arising from your work, your site, or your products. For every builder, subcontractor, and trade business in Australia, it’s the single most important commercial cover — and it’s often a legal and contractual requirement to hold it.
Silverback Insurance places Public and Products Liability for construction-industry clients of all sizes — from sole-trader trades to tier-two head contractors managing multi-site projects.
What Public and Products Liability Covers
- Third-party bodily injury — claims from members of the public, visitors, or other trades injured on or by your works
- Third-party property damage — damage to neighbouring property, adjoining units, services, and completed works
- Products liability — claims arising from goods you supply or install after they leave your control
- Legal defence costs — lawyer fees and court costs whether the claim succeeds or not
- Completed operations — liability arising from work you’ve finished, within the policy period
Choosing the Right Limit for Your Work
- $5M — minimum for most trades on domestic work; often below contract requirements
- $10M — standard for commercial and government contracts
- $20M — commonly required by principal contractors and larger developers
- $50M+ — major head contract work, tier-one subcontract, high-hazard trades
Exposures We See Often in Construction
- Damage to existing structures — hot works, crane movements, excavation near neighbours
- Services strikes — underground power, water, gas, and telecommunications
- Subcontractor gaps — principal’s liability for uninsured or underinsured subbies
- Injury to site visitors and public — falling objects, trips, unsafe access points
- Completed-work liability — property damage claims emerging after practical completion
Why Silverback for Public Liability?
- Construction specialists — every broker knows trades, head contracts, and subcontractor flow-down
- Broad market access — QBE, CGU, Vero, Liberty, Zurich, Chubb, plus specialist trade underwriters
- Contract clause review — we check PI and liability clauses in your contract before you sign
- Certificates on demand — fast turnaround on project-specific certificates of currency
Request a quote for Public Liability insurance — or call us on 0410 152 835 to discuss limits and wording for your contracts.