PEST CONTROL INSURANCE CASE STUDY
Two-Person Termite and Pest Business, $1M PI and $20M Public Liability
A newly established pest control business with twelve years of inspection experience behind it needed professional indemnity for its termite and pre-purchase reports, plus $20 million public liability, in its first year of trading.
THE SITUATION
A two-person pest control business came to Tank Insurance in its first year of trading. The principal had twelve years of pre-purchase inspection experience and had set up on their own, with expected first-year turnover of around $100,000.
The work was almost entirely residential. Around half of it was termite inspections and treatments, around 40 per cent general pest control, and the balance pre-purchase timber pest inspections. The business wanted $1 million professional indemnity for the written reports and $20 million public liability.
OUR APPROACH
Pest control is one of the occupations where the written report matters as much as the spray. A termite inspection report that misses active infestation is a professional indemnity claim, not a public liability one, so we structured the submission around both exposures from the start.
- The activity split was stated precisely: termite work, general pest and pre-purchase inspections as percentages of turnover, with the residential and commercial split.
- Experience was separated from entity age. The company was new; the inspector's twelve years were not, and the submission put that record in front of the underwriter.
- The risk went to a specialist pest facility that writes PI and public liability for pest managers as one package, rather than to business pack insurers that treat termite reporting as an add-on.
THE CHALLENGES
Business pack insurers can write general pest control, but termite inspection reports carry a professional indemnity exposure that a business pack insurer may exclude or price separately. A new entity with no claims history of its own adds a second question mark.
The answer was to present the inspector's track record and the exact report types being issued, so the underwriter could rate the actual work rather than the occupation label.
THE OUTCOME
$1 million professional indemnity and $20 million public liability were placed with CGU through a specialist pest facility at a combined premium of approximately $2,700 a year.
Final Solution: PI and public liability in one package for a two-person termite and pest business, at around $2,700 a year in its first year of trading.
The business now holds a $20 million liability limit and PI that responds to the inspection reports it issues, without waiting for a year of trading history first.
This case records one historical outcome; current insurer appetite, premium, timing and terms depend on the complete risk at the time of application.
For the wider buying context, see our insurance for pest controllers guide.
PEST CONTROLLER QUESTIONS
What this placement answers for other pest control businesses
How much does pest control insurance cost for a small business?
Do pest controllers need professional indemnity as well as public liability?
Which insurers write pest control in Australia?
PEST CONTROL INSURANCE
Put this placement in context
Case-study results are historical and are not a promise of current pricing, capacity or policy terms. This page is general information only and does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs.
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