Online retailers: insurance and scheme requirements
Sale of goods online, carrying product and data exposures without a shopfront.
Data as at
Cover commonly held
Ordered by how central each cover is to this occupation. This is what businesses in the trade commonly hold and what contracts commonly ask for — it is not a statement that any of it is legally required, and it is not a recommendation.
- Public liability insurance — Cover for legal liability to third parties for personal injury or property damage arising from business activities.
- Cyber liability insurance — Cover for the costs of a data breach or cyber incident, including response, restoration and third-party liability.
- Business pack insurance — A packaged policy combining property, liability and interruption sections for small business.
- Workers compensation insurance — Statutory cover for injury to workers, arranged through each state or territory scheme rather than on the open market.
- Products liability insurance — Cover for legal liability arising from goods a business sells, supplies or installs, usually written alongside public liability.
- Business interruption insurance — Cover for lost income and additional costs when insured damage stops a business trading.
- Theft insurance — Cover for stock, contents and equipment taken by forcible entry, written as a section of a business pack or on its own.
- Product recall insurance — Cover for the cost of withdrawing a product from the market and the associated loss of income.
- Commercial glass insurance — Cover for shopfront and internal glass, signage and associated damage after a breakage.
- Marine cargo insurance — Cover for goods moving by sea, air or land across borders, including while in store between legs of a journey.
Statutory schemes that can apply
- Workers compensation (NSW) · NSW — The New South Wales workers compensation scheme, with the nominal insurer and specialised insurers underwriting employer policies.
- Workers compensation (Queensland) · QLD — The Queensland workers compensation scheme, underwritten by the state insurer with self-insurance available to large employers.
- WorkCover (Victoria) · VIC — The Victorian workers compensation scheme, administered by the state regulator through appointed agents.
- Workers compensation (Western Australia) · WA — The Western Australian workers compensation scheme, where cover is placed with approved private insurers under a regulated framework.
- Return to Work (South Australia) · SA — The South Australian work injury scheme, funded by employer levies and administered by the state corporation.
- Workers compensation (Tasmania) · TAS — The Tasmanian workers compensation scheme, where employers hold a policy with a licensed insurer.
- Workers compensation (ACT) · ACT — The Australian Capital Territory private-underwriter workers compensation scheme.
- Workers compensation (Northern Territory) · NT — The Northern Territory workers compensation scheme, placed with approved insurers.
Checking what you hold
The document a principal, a landlord or a licensing team will ask for is a certificate of currency. The checker reads one and lists what it does and does not show.