Pick your trade and the covers you want, and see an indicative annual range built from published NZ premium data. Ranges, not quotes.
This free business insurance estimator for NZ tradies turns your trade and chosen covers into an indicative annual cost range. Pick your trade, tick public liability, tools of trade, commercial vehicle and income protection, and it builds a low-to-high yearly figure from published New Zealand premium data. Every range is grounded in a real source, and where there is no reliable public figure it says get a quote rather than inventing a number. These are indicative ranges to help you budget, not quotes. Below is a plain guide to what cover a tradie actually needs.
Ranges are built from published NZ premium data and are indicative only. Your actual premium depends on your revenue, staff, claims history, location, cover limits and excess. Always get a real quote before you rely on a figure.
Ranges current as at July 2026, from published NZ premium data: BizCover NZ public liability cost data (bizcover.co.nz), smallbusinessinsurance.co.nz 2026 pricing guide, and tradieinsurance.co.nz. Indicative ranges only, not quotes, not financial advice.
Public liability is the foundation. It covers you when your work causes damage or injury to other people or their property: you flood the kitchen below, drop a tool through a windscreen, someone trips over your gear on site. One claim can run into tens of thousands, which is why most main contractors and many councils will not let you on site without it. A $1 million limit is the common floor and $2 million is where a lot of tradies land, because the price step up is modest and the extra headroom matters on bigger jobs.
It is worth being clear about what it is not. Public liability does not fix your own mistakes in the work itself, and it does not cover a fine or prosecution. Those are different covers, which is where people get caught out.
Damage or injury you cause to others or their property. The near-universal one, and often required before you set foot on a commercial site. Indicative $180 to $600 a year for $1M, higher for riskier trades.
Defence costs and fines you can insure for under acts like Health and Safety at Work. Public liability will not touch these. Different policy, easy to overlook until a regulator comes knocking.
Your kit against theft and damage, on site and in the vehicle, for real replacement value. Indicative $120 to $360 a year for a typical kit, scaling with what your tools are worth.
Pays part of your income if illness or injury stops you working. Priced heavily on your age, income, job and waiting period, so there is no honest one-size range. Get a quote for this one.
The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest cover. Two things quietly gut a policy. First, the limit: a $500,000 public liability limit looks fine until a claim runs to $700,000 and you are personally on the hook for the gap. Second, the exclusions and excess: a bargain premium often hides a big excess, a long list of excluded work, or a tools limit that only applies while the kit is bolted inside a locked vehicle, not on the job.
Read what is actually covered, not just the monthly price. The difference between a policy that pays and one that argues shows up on the one day you need it, and by then it is too late to change. A broker who knows trades earns their cut here, because they read the fine print for a living.
Same trade, same town, wildly different premiums. Insurers price on risk, and the levers are your revenue (more turnover, more exposure), your staff count (more hands, more chances for something to go wrong), your claims history, the cover limit and excess you choose, and the specific work you do within your trade. A sparky doing domestic rewires prices differently from one working on industrial switchboards.
That is why every figure on this page is a range, not a single number, and why no honest estimator can hand you a quote. The ranges are here to help you budget and to know when a quote looks off. If a quote comes in wildly above or below the ranges above, ask why before you sign, and get a second quote to compare.
Ranges current as at July 2026, built from published NZ premium data (bizcover.co.nz, smallbusinessinsurance.co.nz, tradieinsurance.co.nz). These are indicative published figures, not quotes and not financial advice. Get an actual quote from an insurer or broker for your own situation.
For most trades it lands somewhere around $15 to $50 a month, roughly $180 to $600 a year, for $1 million of cover. Higher-risk trades like builders and roofers sit at the top of that range or above, while lighter trades sit lower. Your revenue, number of staff, claims history and the cover limit you pick all move the number, so treat any estimate as indicative and get a quote to confirm.
The near-universal one is public liability, which covers damage or injury you cause to other people or their property while working. Beyond that, most tradies add tools of trade cover so a stolen or damaged kit does not stop the job, and a commercial vehicle policy for the work ute. Income protection and statutory liability are worth considering depending on your situation. Business interruption and professional indemnity matter more for some trades than others.
No. They are indicative annual ranges built from published New Zealand premium data, not quotes tailored to you. Insurers price on your specific trade, turnover, location, claims history, cover limits and excess, none of which a public estimator can see. Use the ranges to budget and to sense-check a quote, then get an actual quote from an insurer or broker before you rely on a number.
Sometimes it is not: many comprehensive commercial vehicle policies include a limited amount of tools cover while the tools are in the locked vehicle. The catch is the limit is often low and only applies in the vehicle, not on site or in the shed. A dedicated tools of trade policy covers your kit more widely and for its real replacement value, which is why tradies with an expensive kit usually take it out separately.
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