01
Compulsory insurance
The federal government's business.gov.au site lists three covers a business may have to take out by law. They're CTP for vehicles, workers compensation for employers, and public liability in places that make it compulsory for that type of business. It recommends getting professional advice on which of them your pub needs.
State and territory laws decide which employers have to insure their workers and which are exempt.
- 1
New South Wales
icare, the NSW Government's workers compensation insurer, says most employers must have a policy. The only exemption is for employers paying $7,500 or less in wages a year. They also can't have an apprentice or trainee, or belong to a group of businesses.
- 2
Victoria
WorkSafe Victoria says that if you have workers in Victoria, you generally have to register for WorkCover, Victoria's workers compensation insurance. You don't need to register if you have no apprentices and pay $7,500 or less a year in wages.
- 3
Queensland
WorkCover Queensland says every employer must hold its accident insurance, as workers compensation is called there, and renew it each year while it has workers. The exception is an employer approved to self-insure, which means paying its workers' injury claims itself.
- 4
Western Australia
ABLIS, the government's directory of business licences, says WA businesses that employ workers must be insured by an approved insurer.
- 5
South Australia
ABLIS says businesses whose workers usually work in, or are based in, South Australia must register for work injury insurance. That's South Australia's version of workers compensation.
business.gov.au's advice for the whole country is that employers must insure their workers with an authorised insurer. For Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory, your broker can tell you the local details.
02
Courtesy buses and work vehicles
A courtesy bus, a delivery ute or a car registered to the pub needs third party personal injury insurance, usually called CTP. business.gov.au says it's often included in the rego fee.
03
Other covers
These seven are your decision, unless the law makes one compulsory for your pub. We arrange all seven. We also arrange cyber cover, for hacking and stolen data, and stock deterioration cover, for chilled food and drink lost when refrigeration fails.
Covers the pub when its negligence, meaning a failure to take enough care, hurts a person or damages property.
Products liability
Covers the pub when something it sold is blamed for injuring someone or causing damage.
Storm, fire or burglary damage to the stock, the furniture and fittings, and the building when the pub owns it.
If insured damage closes the pub, it can pay toward lost trade and some overheads.
Repairs to a freezer, dishwasher, generator or other machine after a breakdown, or a replacement if it can't be repaired.
Cash, stock and alcohol that thieves take, and shopfront glass that gets smashed.
Claims over how your directors and managers have handled the business.
04
Councils, permits and liquor licences
business.gov.au also points out that you may need insurance because the people you deal with want you to have it. Brisbane (Queensland), Yarra (Victoria) and Canada Bay (New South Wales) councils each want $20 million of public liability for outdoor dining. Other councils may want a different amount, so ask yours.
For each state and territory, we looked up the requirements for a pub's liquor licence. Insurance wasn't on any of those lists. Our guide to liquor licences and insurance explains council permits in more detail.
05
Renewals and changes at the pub
business.gov.au suggests going over your policies before each renewal, and after a change like one of these.
1
New premises
You've moved the business to a new address.
2
Staff
You've hired more people, or cut back.
3
Something new to sell
You've added meals, rooms or a bottle shop.
4
New ways of working
You've changed how the pub runs, such as opening for functions.
5
Equipment and vehicles
You've bought or sold gear, like a new cool room or a courtesy bus.
Sums insured, meaning the amount each item is insured for, should be checked every year and after a renovation or fit-out. Set one under the item's value and you may get a smaller payout. That comes from the Insurance Council of Australia and NIBA, the brokers' association, and our guide to pub insurance costs has an example.
Publicans ask
It can. business.gov.au says an insurer may turn down a claim when the policy's terms haven't been kept. Paying the renewal by the due date is one of those terms.
Tell your broker, who'll see whether any policy needs changing. In New South Wales, icare says the law obliges you to tell it when details of the business change during a workers compensation policy.