Most solar installers think about insurance twice a year: at renewal, and the day something goes wrong. The second time is a poor moment to read the policy wording. This is a guide to the main covers an installer should have, the questions to ask, and the exclusions that catch trades out. It is general information, not advice on your specific business. A broker who works with the trades can place and explain cover for your circumstances.
We have not quoted premiums. They vary far too much by state, turnover, claims history, crew size and the work you do for any figure to be useful.
The core covers
| Cover | What it does | Common trap |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability | Injury or property damage to third parties caused by your work | Exclusions for work at height, roofing or certain products |
| Products liability | Loss caused by a product you supplied or installed | Imported or unlisted products may be excluded |
| Workers compensation | Injury to employees, required by law in each state | Subcontractors and labour hire may be treated as workers |
| Tools and equipment | Theft and damage to your gear | Unattended vehicle exclusions, and sums insured set too low |
| Motor vehicle | Your vans and utes | Business use, signwriting and equipment carried |
| Contract works | Damage to the works while in progress | Often needed on commercial contracts |
| Professional indemnity | Errors in design or advice | Needed if you design systems or advise on sizing |
Public liability is the one most customers and head contractors ask to see, and a certificate of currency is routinely a condition for commercial work, including mid-scale solar, which opens to STCs from 1 October 2026. See mid-scale solar and STCs if you are moving into that segment.
Roof, height and electrical work
Solar is roof work and electrical work together, and both are classic exclusion areas. Read the policy for:
- Height limits and roof pitch
- Requirements for fall protection or specific training
- Electrical work carried out by someone other than a licensed electrician
- Work on live systems, battery installation and commissioning
- Restrictions on work in specific structures, such as strata or heritage buildings
A claim declined for breaching a safety condition in the policy is as expensive as having no cover at all. Ask the insurer or broker to confirm in writing that your actual work, including batteries, is covered as you do it.
Batteries
Home batteries add fire, electrical and thermal risk, and some insurers treat lithium products with extra caution. If you install under the Cheaper Home Batteries Program, you need an accredited installer and a CEC-approved, VPP-capable battery. The insurance side is separate and is not satisfied by accreditation. Confirm cover for the installed system, and confirm what happens if a battery you installed is later found to be non-compliant. See our battery submission guide for how documentation supports both a claim and a defence.
Where STC income sits in the risk picture
There is no insurance product that covers a rejected certificate claim. What you have is contract terms and good process. The business risks are:
- A claim rejected for missing evidence
- A certificate invalidated after the fact, which can mean repaying a trader
- A trader that pays late or not at all
For the first two, the protection is clean paperwork and a trader agreement that is clear on who bears the cost. Read STC clawbacks and the claim rejection reasons. For the third, see what to do if a trader owes you money.
On a 14 kWh battery job worth about 95 STCs, or $3,660 at $38.50, a clawback is a very real number. Run a single bad month of those and it exceeds many insurance excesses. Process beats policy here.
What to do about customers and warranties
Your customer’s protection if you disappear, and your protection if they claim, depends on warranties, state building or consumer law, and in some states mandatory insurance for certain works. Requirements differ by state and by job value, so check your state’s rules. Explain warranties in plain words in the contract, and say who stands behind the product warranty and who stands behind the workmanship. See what happens to STCs if an installer goes bust.
From the desk: At renewal, send the broker a one-page description of what you actually do: roof types, maximum heights, battery installs, subcontractors, and the states you work in. Insurers price and exclude on that description. The most common claim denial we hear about is a job that did not match the description on the application.
Subcontractors and labour hire
If you use subcontractors, check their insurance as well as yours. A subcontractor with no workers compensation or public liability can leave you exposed. Ask for a current certificate of currency and diarise the expiry. In some states the line between a contractor and an employee is drawn by the nature of the arrangement and not the label, so get advice if you rely on a lot of subcontract labour.
Questions to ask a broker
- Is my actual work, including batteries and roof work, within the scope of the policy?
- What are the exclusions and conditions, and how would a breach affect a claim?
- Is the sum insured adequate for the largest job I take on?
- Does cover continue for work I finished in previous years?
- How does cover respond to defects found after handover?
- Is there a limit for each claim and in total?
A yearly routine
Review your cover before you take on a new product line or a new segment. If you add commercial solar or batteries, tell the insurer before the first job. Update the tools register, vehicles and crew list at each renewal. Keep copies of certificates of currency for yourself and your subcontractors in a single folder.
Insurance and the paperwork trail
Insurers and the CER often want the same thing from you: a clear record of who did what, when. A job file with dated photos, serials, signed forms and licence details is a defence in a liability claim and evidence in a certificate review. If you have to choose one habit to improve this year, make it the job file. It lowers the cost of every problem you will meet, from a customer complaint to an audit request.
What to do next
- Pull your current policy and check it against the table above
- Send your broker a plain description of your work, including batteries
- Read how STC audits work and the checklist for choosing a certificate trader
- See how Energy Merchants pre-checks claims, and today’s pricing
- Browse the glossary