Sole-Trader Tradie Needing Public Liability NZ

Public liability for the one-truck plumber, sparkie, builder or painter — what to look for in the wording.

You're a sole-trader tradie working on residential and small-commercial sites. Public liability covers a third party (homeowner, principal contractor, member of the public) if your work causes injury or property damage. NZ wordings vary on the products-liability bundle, contractual-liability extensions, and what happens to work-on-the-site.

Cover types most relevant

Public liability

Public liability (sometimes "broadform" or "general liability") covers third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from your business activities. NZ commercial wordings vary materially on the products-liability bundle, the "occurrence" definition, contractual-liability extensions and the territorial limit.
Combined liability package

Most NZ commercial insurers offer a combined liability package (NZI LiabilityOne, Delta GEL Package, Vero Combined Broadform). A single schedule, three coverage sections — but the limits and exclusions on each module aren't identical to the standalone equivalents.
Statutory liability

Statutory liability covers fines and defence costs for unintentional breaches of NZ statutes (HSWA, Privacy Act, RMA, Fair Trading Act). Insurability of the fine itself depends on the Act — defence costs and reparation orders are universally insurable.

Refining for your situation

Do you subcontract to large principal contractors who require named-insured cover? — affects how we weight matching clauses

Watch out for

workmanship: Public liability does NOT cover defective workmanship — that's contract-law / Consumer Guarantees Act exposure, not liability cover.
asbestos: Asbestos exclusions are universal — if you work on pre-1990 buildings, ask the broker about asbestos endorsements.

Sole-Trader Tradie Needing Public Liability NZ

Cover types most relevant

Refining for your situation

Watch out for

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