Excavation Insurance

Contractor Plant and Machinery Insurance may be relevant if your excavation business owns, hires or operates excavators, skid steers, loaders, trenchers, compactors, rollers, tipper-mounted equipment or other plant.

Standard tools insurance may not cover plant, attachments or hired-in machinery unless the items are declared and accepted by the insurer.

Cover may include:

• Theft, fire, storm, vandalism and accidental damage to insured plant
• Owned plant and hired-in plant, where included
• Attachments such as buckets, augers, rippers, hammers, forks and grabs
• Plant in transit, storage or use on site, where covered
• Registered machinery used on public roads, where arranged
• Wet hire and dry hire exposure, where accepted
• Damage waiver arrangements for hire clients, where available
• Breakdown cover, where available

This cover is commonly considered by excavation contractors carrying out footings, trenching, drainage preparation, site cuts, pool digs, civil projects, roadworks, subdivision work, mining support and plant hire.

Tools and Equipment Insurance, also known as General Property Insurance, can help cover insured tools and portable equipment used in your excavation business, subject to the policy wording.

Excavation contractors often carry survey gear, laser levels, power tools, trench safety gear, hand tools, compaction tools and smaller site equipment between jobs. Theft, accidental damage or loss can delay work and increase costs.

Small Contractors 1 to 5 Employees

For small excavation businesses, this cover can help with insured tools and portable items stored in utes, trailers, garages, sheds, depots or on site.

Covered items may include:

• Laser levels and survey gear
• Power tools and hand tools
• Site radios, signage and barriers
• Compaction tools and smaller equipment
• Trench safety equipment, where declared and accepted
• Safety and measuring equipment
• Portable equipment stored in vehicles or trailers, where declared and accepted

Larger Contractors

For larger excavation businesses, tools and equipment cover can be structured around multiple operators, vehicle setups, storage locations and scheduled equipment.

Cover may be arranged for:

• Multiple tool kits across different crews
• Equipment stored across depots, vehicles and job sites
• Portable equipment used across multiple excavation sites
• Higher-value survey or site measurement equipment
• Hired-in or borrowed equipment, where available

Commercial Vehicle Insurance can help cover eligible business vehicles used by excavation contractors, including trucks, utes, tippers, service vehicles, floats, trailers and other work vehicles, subject to the policy terms and selected cover.

Excavation work often depends on trucks and other vehicles for transporting operators, fuel, tools, attachments, safety equipment, materials and smaller machinery between sites.

Small Contractors 1 to 5 Employees

For sole traders and small crews, Commercial Vehicle Insurance may cover trucks and work vehicles used to travel between residential jobs, suppliers, depots, civil sites and construction projects.

Cover may include:

• Business-use vehicles
• Utes, service trucks, tippers, floats and trailers
• Vehicle damage, depending on the selected cover
• Third-party property damage liability arising from vehicle use
• Finance clauses or interested party endorsements, where required

Larger Contractors

For larger earthmoving contractors, fleet insurance may be more practical where multiple trucks and other vehicles are used across operators, sites and projects.

Fleet cover may help manage:

• Multiple trucks and business vehicles under one arrangement
• Vehicle additions and removals as the fleet changes
• Tippers, service trucks, water trucks, floats, trailers and fitted storage systems
• Finance and leasing requirements
• Claims support across multiple vehicles

Contract Works Insurance may be relevant where your excavation business is responsible for works in progress, site materials, construction obligations or project delivery under a contract.

For excavation contractors, this cover may be considered on larger residential, commercial, civil, subdivision or staged projects where damage to incomplete works could create cost and delay issues.

Cover may include:

• Insured works in progress
• Materials stored on site
• Theft, vandalism, fire or storm damage to insured works
• Project-specific or annual cover options
• Materials in transit or temporary storage, where included
• Principal-supplied materials, where covered

Contract Works Insurance may be requested by builders, developers, principal contractors, councils or project owners. The exact requirement depends on the contract and your role on the project.

Professional Indemnity Insurance may be relevant if your excavation business provides design advice, site level advice, drainage advice, excavation methodology, reports, written recommendations or project consulting.

Not every excavation contractor needs Professional Indemnity Insurance. It becomes more relevant where your advice, calculations, written recommendations or documentation could later be challenged as incorrect, incomplete or negligent.

You may need this cover if you:

• Provide site preparation advice
• Give drainage, fall or levels advice
• Prepare written scope documents
• Provide excavation methodology advice
• Work under design-and-construct contracts
• Provide reports, drawings or specifications
• Are required to hold Professional Indemnity Insurance under a contract

Cover may include:

• Legal defence costs
• Claims alleging breach of professional duty
• Claims linked to advice, reports, specifications or documentation
• Retroactive cover for past work, where included

Professional Indemnity Insurance is generally separate from Public Liability Insurance. Public Liability may respond to certain third-party injury or property damage claims, while Professional Indemnity may respond to claims linked to professional advice or services.

Personal Accident and Illness Insurance may be considered by sole traders and contractors who are not covered by Workers Compensation Insurance. It may provide financial support if you are unable to work due to an insured injury or illness, subject to the policy.

Excavation work can involve machinery operation, manual handling, uneven ground, trench areas, vibration, long hours and outdoor work. If you are self-employed and cannot work, your income may be affected quickly.

Cover may include:

• Weekly benefit payments while recovering from an insured injury or illness
• Lump sum benefits for serious injury, where included
• Optional illness cover
• Optional capital benefits
• Optional medical cost benefits, depending on the policy

Cover is subject to policy terms, conditions, limits, exclusions and insurer acceptance.

Workers Compensation Insurance is generally required when an excavation business employs workers. Requirements vary by state and territory, so the right approach depends on where your workers are based, where the work is performed, how your workforce is structured, and whether you use employees, apprentices, casuals, working directors, labour hire or subcontractors.

All Trades Cover may be able to assist with arranging Workers Compensation Insurance for businesses in Western Australia, Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory. In New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, workers compensation operates through state-based schemes, so cover generally needs to be arranged through the relevant scheme or authorised provider.

Depending on your location and circumstances, we may be able to help with:

• Workers Compensation setup and placement
• Wage estimates and annual declarations
• Worker classification, including apprentices, casuals and working directors
• Subcontractor and labour hire considerations
• Principal’s Indemnity, where required and available
• Claims lodgement support
• Return-to-work coordination
• Insurer correspondence and paperwork
• Claims history reviews and renewal discussions where past claims have affected premium

Workers Compensation Insurance is commonly relevant for excavation businesses with employees, apprentices, working directors, subcontractor arrangements or labour hire exposure.

Requirements and available assistance vary between states and territories. Cover is subject to applicable workers compensation legislation, scheme requirements, policy terms, conditions, limits, exclusions and insurer acceptance.

Business Package Insurance brings several common business covers together under one policy structure. This may make it easier to manage property, liability, business interruption and other risks under one arrangement.

For excavation businesses, a Business Package may include:

• Public and Products Liability
• General Property cover for tools and portable equipment
• Property cover for offices, depots, yards or storage areas
• Theft and vandalism cover for insured property
• Business Interruption cover following an insured event
• Money, glass or electronic equipment cover, where relevant
• Optional extensions, depending on insurer appetite and policy wording

This cover is commonly considered by excavation businesses with offices, depots, storage yards, tools, equipment, stock, spare parts or administration systems.

Cover is subject to policy terms, conditions, limits, exclusions and insurer acceptance.

Management Liability Insurance is designed to help protect the business and the people who run it from certain claims relating to management decisions, governance issues, employment disputes or regulatory investigations.

As an excavation business grows, exposure can move beyond day-to-day site work. Claims can arise from staff management, WHS obligations, subcontractor arrangements, payroll issues, contract compliance or decisions made by directors, officers or senior managers.

A policy may include:

• Directors and Officers Liability, either as part of a Management Liability policy or arranged separately
• Employment Practices Liability, such as unfair dismissal, discrimination or harassment claims
• Statutory Liability, where available
• Crime or fidelity cover for internal or external fraud or theft
• Tax audit and regulatory investigation costs, where covered

This cover may be considered by excavation businesses managing employees, subcontractor crews, WHS obligations, multi-site work, plant hire arrangements and contract compliance requirements.

Cover is subject to policy terms, conditions, limits, exclusions and insurer acceptance.

Tax Audit Insurance can help cover certain professional fees if your business is audited, reviewed or investigated by the ATO or a state revenue office. It may help pay for accountant, bookkeeper or adviser time required to respond to the audit, subject to the policy.

This may be relevant for excavation contractors claiming vehicle, fuel, machinery, depreciation, finance, repairs, tools, travel, subcontractor, payroll or other work-related deductions.

Cover may include:

• Accounting fees during an audit
• ATO, BAS and GST-related reviews or investigations
• Payroll tax and superannuation audits
• State revenue office reviews, where covered
• Record review and response costs, where included

Tax Audit Insurance does not usually cover tax liabilities, fines, penalties or interest payable to a revenue authority.

Cyber Insurance can help cover certain financial and operational impacts of cyber incidents, such as phishing, ransomware, data breaches, invoice scams or business email compromise, subject to the policy wording.

This may be relevant for excavation businesses using job management software, GPS systems, telematics portals, cloud accounting, online quoting, digital payroll, online invoicing or client databases.

Cover may include:

• Cyber incident response costs
• Data restoration and system recovery
• Business interruption following a cyber event
• Legal and notification costs for data breaches
• Ransomware and phishing response support
• Invoice redirection or social engineering losses, where available
• Third-party liability for exposed client, contractor or employee data

Cover is subject to policy terms, conditions, limits, exclusions and insurer acceptance.