What should business insurance cost for my trade?

There is no honest single answer, because the figure depends on the activities, the limit, the excess, the revenue and the claims history together. This site does not publish premium benchmarks until it holds a sample large enough for a median to mean something.

My renewal jumped and I have never claimed. Is that normal?

It happens, because insurers reprice whole classes of business rather than only individual policies. It is also worth checking whether anything changed at your end — revenue, activities or the limit — since those move the figure without feeling like a change.

Is it worth using a broker rather than buying online?

That is a choice about advice and service, and this site does not rank or recommend either channel. What is worth knowing is that a broker holds a licence to advise on the policy and this site does not.

Why comparing premiums with other businesses misleads

In short

Premium is driven by the activity, the limit, the excess, the revenue and the claims history together, so two businesses in the same trade can be priced very differently.
A figure from a peer is the only data most people have, and it is close to useless for judging your own.
This site publishes no premium benchmark, because a benchmark drawn from a handful of policies is a guess with a decimal point.

Every forum discussion about business insurance eventually becomes a comparison of numbers. Someone posts what they pay, someone else measures their renewal against it, and both walk away with a false sense of whether they are being treated fairly.

The honest position is that the comparison does not work, and it is worth understanding why before deciding what to do about a renewal.

What actually moves the number

An insurer prices the activity rather than the job title. Two businesses that both describe themselves the same way can carry very different exposures depending on what they physically do, where, for whom, and with what equipment.

On top of that sit the limit chosen, the excess accepted, the revenue declared and the claims history. Change any one and the figure moves, which is why a number quoted without all of them attached is not comparable to anything.

The activities actually performed, not the occupation label
The limit of indemnity and the excess
Revenue, wages or another exposure measure
Claims history, and sometimes the industry’s recent history

Why a renewal can rise without a claim

Insurers reprice classes of business, not just individual policies. A class that has performed badly nationally can move for everyone in it, including businesses that have never claimed.

Changes at the business end matter too, and some are invisible to the owner: revenue growth, a new activity added during the year, a change in the mix of work, or a limit that was increased to satisfy a contract and never revisited.

What is worth checking instead of a peer’s figure

The description of the business on the schedule is the most useful thing to read, because it is what the insurer priced and what a claim will be tested against. A description that no longer matches the work is both a pricing problem and a coverage problem.

After that, the limit and the excess are the two settings with the largest effect, and both are choices rather than facts. Whether a particular combination is appropriate is a question for somebody licensed to advise.

Why this site publishes no premium figures

A useful benchmark needs a real sample, drawn from real documents, large enough that a median means something. Anything smaller is a number with false authority attached.

This site holds no such sample yet and publishes none. When it does, the sample size will be published alongside it, and any figure below a floor will not be published at all. That rule exists so that a number on this site can be relied on rather than argued with.

Questions

What should business insurance cost for my trade?: There is no honest single answer, because the figure depends on the activities, the limit, the excess, the revenue and the claims history together. This site does not publish premium benchmarks until it holds a sample large enough for a median to mean something.
My renewal jumped and I have never claimed. Is that normal?: It happens, because insurers reprice whole classes of business rather than only individual policies. It is also worth checking whether anything changed at your end — revenue, activities or the limit — since those move the figure without feeling like a change.
Is it worth using a broker rather than buying online?: That is a choice about advice and service, and this site does not rank or recommend either channel. What is worth knowing is that a broker holds a licence to advise on the policy and this site does not.

Sources

Moneysmart (ASIC) — General guidance on business insurance from the regulator’s consumer site.
Australian Financial Complaints Authority — Free external dispute resolution for insurance complaints once an insurer’s internal process is exhausted.