Subcontractors: What’s the Risk?

DID YOU KNOW….

That you may be held liable for the work done by your subcontractors on your behalf?

Your insurer may not cover the work done by your subcontractor(s) under your Liability policy and if your sub-contractor does not have their own policy, you may be placed in a difficult position. We recommend you check that each of your sub-contractors has its own Liability policy – every year if you use the same sub-contractors or before you engage a sub-contractor on a ‘one off’ basis. Obtain a copy of their Certificate of Currency and keep it on file as a claim may take some time to come to light.

DID YOU KNOW….

That you may be liable for injuries sustained by your subcontractor(s) while they are working for you – even if your subcontractor has their own worker’s compensation policy?

If they do, your subcontractor’s workers compensation insurer will finalise the claim and then might seek recovery from your liability insurer if they believe you have contributed to the injury.

This is typically known as a Worker to Worker claim. It can take years for these to come to light and be very expensive. This is why some insurers choose to add a higher excess for these claims or may choose not to insure you if you use subcontractors in your business.