The telecommunications industry is wide and varied, and your business insurance needs to be up to the challenge.
At Trade Risk we’ve been assisting business owners with their telecommunications insurance needs for over a decade, and we have put together our ultimate guide below.
From basic public liability insurance for sole traders, through to full business insurance packages for larger telecommunications companies, we have the team to assist.
In this guide we’ll take a look at the different types of insurance available to telecommunication businesses, and which ones you might need.
Jump straight to the section you’re interested in:
- Types of telecommunications businesses
- Public liability insurance
- Personal accident insurance
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Tool insurance
- Other insurance types
- Seeking advice
If we haven’t answered your questions in this guide, our team are always here to help. Call us on 1800 808 800 to speak with one of our friendly team.
Types of telecommunications businesses
There are many different types of telecommunications businesses that will need different types of business insurance.
For the purposes of this article, we aren’t including giant telecommunications companies such as Telstra, Optus, Vodafone etc. We do deal with some larger companies, but not that big!
Our typical telecommunications client, and the target market for this guide, are typically subcontractors or small businesses with up to ten staff.
That’s not to say we can assist larger businesses with 50 or even 500 staff, but those smaller ones are our real bread and butter.
These clients may include NBN contractors, cable installers, private and commercial contractors, network administators and a whole host of other activities within the telecommunications space.
Different types of businesses will require different types of insurance, and we’ll take a look at those different policies next.
Public liability insurance
This form of insurance will be vital for any type of telecommunications business, no matter how large or small you might be.
The policy will respond in the event that you cause property damage or personal injury to a third party.
For example you might be installing some new cabling through an office during business hours, and you leave same cable running across a hallway without any warning signs.
An office worker trips over the cable, and breaks their wrist when landing.
The worker may seek damages from you or your company directly, or they may go through their employer’s workers compensation provider.
But even if they do lodge a workers compensation claim, the insurer will likely still come after you as the person / business that caused the injury.
Either way, it’s vital that your telecommunications business has public liability insurance in place to protect against such outcomes.
Personal accident insurance
When running a telecommunications business, especially if you’re undertaking any manual work such as cabling, it’s important to protect your income.
Personal accident insurance can protect a large portion of your income for a period of time whilst you’re unable to work.
There are plenty of options that go into a personal accident policy, and we recommend speaking with one our experts to see which options will suit you and your business.
Professional indemnity insurance
If you’re undertaking any design work, such as designing telecommunications systems or networks, you’re open to a number of additional risks.
This risk isn’t so much about physical damage or injury, but is more about the consequences of providing negligent advice.
This could be a poorly designed system that results in a financial loss, and that your customer then seeks damages from you for.
Such risks can be covered by professional indemnity insurance. This for of business insurance will cover you in the event that you are sued for negligent advice.
Along with design work, you may also be exposed to this risk if you are providing any types of assessments, reports or recommendations on telecommunications systems.
This is another form of business insurance that we strongly recommend speaking with an insurance broker about.
Tool insurance
Whether or not you need insurance on your tools or equipment really depends on the type of telecommunications business you are running.
If you’re doing data cable installations you’ll most likely have a range of portable power tools and other equipment that should be insured.
Tool insurance, also known as general property insurance, can assist.
Other telecommunications insurance types
We’ve covered off some of the most common forms of telecommunications insurance, but there are many others depending on the size and type of business you’re operating.
If you’re operating from your own premises, such as a warehouse or offices, you’ll need to consider buildings and contents insurance.
If you’re in manufacturing you’ll need to look at plant and machinery insurance, as well as machinery breakdown insurance.
Then there are other forms of business insurance such as management liability, and of course cyber insurance that is becoming increasingly important.
Seeking advice
We’ve been assisting a broad range of telecommunications businesses for over a decade.
From sole traders subcontracting to the NBN, through to larger operations with teams and assets to protect.
As a full-service insurance brokerage, we can assist with the advice and recommendations you need, along with access to all major and specialist insurance companies and underwriting agencies in Australia.
To get started please call our friendly team of experienced insurance brokers on 1800 808 800 or click the button below to complete our online quote request.
