For tradespeople
Life insurance for tradies
We help tradies arrange cover built around physical work, with income protection front and centre, so a bad injury does not become a financial one. No pressure, no jargon, just clear advice tailored to your situation.
Income protection front and centre. The right occupation rating. No jargon.
Your body is the tool we protect first.
For most tradies, being able to get on the tools is worth more than everything it has paid for. That is what cover should protect first.
The tradie’s risk
If you work with your hands, your body is the business
If you work with your hands, your body is the business. An electrician, plumber, carpenter, or concreter who cannot get on the tools cannot earn, and that is true whether you are on a wage or running your own ABN. Trade work also carries more physical risk than a desk job, and many self-employed tradies have no sick leave to fall back on. Life insurance for tradies is about building cover that recognises all of that, with income protection usually doing the heaviest lifting rather than death cover alone. Below we explain, in plain English, why tradies need cover suited to them, what you typically arrange, and how we help you get the occupation rating and the definitions right.
Why tailored cover
What a trade career changes
A few things about trade work change how cover should be set up. These are the ones that matter most.
Manual work makes income protection critical
A back, shoulder or knee injury can stop you working long before it ever threatens your life. Income protection, the cover that replaces a portion of your income while you cannot work, is usually the most important piece for a tradie precisely because being unable to work is the most likely thing to go wrong.
No sick leave if you are self-employed
Sole traders and subbies generally have no paid leave to lean on while they recover. If the income stops, the mortgage, the truck repayments and the household costs do not. That gap is exactly what income protection is designed to fill.
Occupation loadings and ratings affect price
Insurers rate trades by physical risk, and a heavy-manual occupation usually costs more for the same cover than a lighter one. Working at heights, heavy machinery and hazardous materials can attract additional loadings. Not every insurer rates the same trade the same way, which is where comparing matters.
Injury risk is real and it shapes the cover
The physical nature of the work means the definition in your policy carries weight. An own-occupation definition can respond if you can no longer do your trade, even if you could theoretically do lighter work, which is not always the case under the cover attached to super.
Often the main earner
Many tradies are the primary income for the household, and may carry debt for tools, a vehicle or a first home. Cover keeps those commitments from landing on the family.
Why income protection leads
The most likely thing to go wrong is time off the tools
A bad injury stops the income long before it threatens your life, and a sole trader has no sick leave to bridge the gap. That is why income protection usually does the heaviest lifting, with death cover sitting alongside rather than out in front.
Up to ~70%
Of income replaced while injury or illness keeps you off work.
Own-occupation
The wording that responds if you can no longer do your specific trade.
The building blocks
What cover tradies arrange
Most tradies build their protection from four building blocks, used together or separately. The thread running through all of them is the occupation rating and the definitions. Get those right and the cover does its job. Get them wrong and a claim can fall short when you most need it.
Used together or apart
- Income protectionFront and centre; self-employed benefit averages recent income.
- TPDOwn-occupation responds if you cannot do your trade.
- Life (death) coverClears the mortgage and tool or vehicle finance.
- TraumaLump sum on cancer, heart attack or stroke diagnosis.
How we help
Where the gaps hide for a tradie
Trade cover has parts that are easy to get wrong on your own, especially around occupation ratings and self-employed income. We help by:
- Comparing occupation loadings across insurers. The same trade can be rated quite differently from one insurer to the next. We compare so you are not overpaying for a loading another insurer would not apply.
- Comparing definitions, not just price. We read the own-occupation and any-occupation wording, because that is what decides whether your trade is actually protected, rather than comparing on headline premium alone.
- Setting up income protection for variable income. For self-employed tradies, we make sure the benefit, the waiting period, and the income basis suit how you actually earn, so the cover reflects a real working year rather than a single quiet month.
- Structuring inside versus outside super. Default cover inside super is convenient but often basic, own-occupation TPD is generally not available there, and income protection benefit periods inside super are commonly capped at around two years. We work out the right mix for your situation.
We are compensated by the insurer once you choose a policy through us, and we will always be upfront about any fee before it applies. This is general information only and does not take your personal circumstances into account.
Your body is the tool the whole job runs on. Insure it like one.
Moshe Chaiton, Director & Principal Adviser
In a client’s words
What working with us is like
I can’t believe I didn’t find Safety Nest sooner. I’ve been over paying for years. Moshe is a superstar and I have saved a bomb.
Tom Ormerod · Trustpilot review
FAQs
Frequently asked questions
Can I get income protection as a tradie?
Generally yes. Income protection pays a monthly benefit, generally up to about 70% of your income, if illness or injury stops you working, and it is usually the most valuable cover for a tradie because being unable to work is the most likely risk. Manual occupations cost more than office roles for the same cover, but cover is widely available. For self-employed tradies the benefit is typically based on an average of recent income, so it is worth setting up with that in mind.
Why does my occupation affect the price?
Insurers price by risk, and trade work carries more physical risk than a desk job, so it generally costs more for the same cover. On top of the base occupation class, insurers may add loadings for things like working at heights, heavy machinery, or hazardous materials. The important point is that insurers do not all rate the same trade the same way, so comparing can make a real difference to your premium.
Is own-occupation cover worth it for tradies?
For many tradies it is worth considering. Own-occupation cover responds if you can no longer do your specific trade, even if you could do some other kind of work. Any-occupation cover only responds if you cannot do any job you are reasonably suited to, which is a harder test to meet given many injured tradies could still do lighter or office-based work. Own-occupation terms are more likely on cover held personally, outside super.
Do I need cover if I already have some through my super or workers' comp?
It is worth checking, because both have limits. Workers' compensation generally only covers work-related injury or illness, not conditions that arise off the job. Default cover inside super is usually basic, often uses the stricter any-occupation TPD definition, and commonly caps income protection at around two years. For a tradie that can leave real gaps. Do not cancel any existing cover before a replacement is in place and reviewed.
What waiting period should a tradie choose?
It depends on your savings buffer. A shorter waiting period, such as 30 days, gets benefit payments to you sooner but costs more. A longer waiting period lowers the premium but means you need savings or other cover to bridge the gap before payments start. Tradies without much of a buffer often lean towards a shorter wait. We help you weigh this against the premium.
How much does cover cost for a tradie?
It depends on your trade and its occupation rating, your age and health, the types and amounts of cover, your waiting and benefit periods, and whether you choose stepped or level premiums. Because those variables differ for everyone, and because insurers rate trades differently, the reliable way to know your cost is to compare quotes across insurers, which we do for you.
For tradespeople
Protect the income your tools pay for
A no-obligation chat with a specialist who compares occupation loadings across insurers, reads the own-occupation definitions, and sets up income protection around how a tradie actually earns. No separate advice fee for our advice.