Scaffolding Contractor, $20M Public Liability in a Limited Market

A New South Wales scaffolding contractor came to us for public liability. It was a small operation - two staff, turnover around $75,000 - with nine years of industry experience and work up to about 10 metres in height.

They needed a $20 million public liability limit. Scaffolding is height work, and that places it in a narrow band of insurer appetite, so even a modest-sized business can sit outside standard appetite.

We presented the business properly - the experience, the working height, the scale of the operation - and went across our liability panel rather than relying on the standard markets.

• Mainstream appetite for height work is limited, and every insurer draws its appetite lines slightly differently.
• We went to the specialist liability markets we know have genuine appetite for scaffolding and height work.
• We confirmed the $20 million limit and arranged a formal quote at that level once we had a market prepared to write it.

For a hard-to-place trade, the placement is about knowing which markets are open. Every client's situation is slightly different, and so is each insurer's appetite - matching the two is the job.

The challenge was occupation, plain and simple. Scaffolding is height work, and standard-market appetite for it is limited.

The $20 million limit narrowed the field further. Combining a hard-to-place trade with a high limit on a small turnover is exactly the kind of risk that needs a specialist market rather than a standard one.

We placed the public liability cover through HSUA, a specialist market comfortable with scaffolding and height work, at the full $20 million limit.

The contractor had the limit they needed to take on the work in front of them, in a market where mainstream appetite is limited.

This case is a clear example of where broker market access can matter. It 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 public liability guide for scaffolders and scaffolding quote requirements checklist.