Reviewed by licensed advisers at Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver (FSP712931) · Updated 11 November 2026

Painter Insurance NZ: Public Liability, Tools and the Covers Painters Ask About

Painter insurance in NZ is public liability, which can respond when your work damages a client's property or injures someone else. Next come cover for tools and ladders, cover for the work van, and a certificate of currency to hand to builders and property managers. Whether you need more depends on your contracts and whether you employ staff.

In short

Painting looks low risk, but the claims are real: overspray on a neighbour's car, a roller tray on a client's carpet, a heater left near drop sheets.
Builders, property managers and commercial clients often ask for a certificate of currency before you start. Sort public liability first.
Employ an apprentice or use subcontractors? Read about statutory liability and talk to an adviser.

Who asks painters for a certificate

Builders, at subcontract stage
Property managers and body corporates
Commercial clients, at tender or site induction
A limit named in the contract, such as $2m

Overspray

Paint drifting onto a car, window or neighbour's fence.

Fire and heat

A heat gun or work light left near dust sheets.

Sprayers and ladders

An airless sprayer and scaffold tower taken from the van.

Work out what to raise

Tick what applies to you

We paint house interiors
Spills on floors and benchtops are among the common claims.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Tools and equipment
We paint house exteriors
Overspray can reach a car, window or neighbour's fence.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Tools and equipment
We take commercial or strata work
Covers to raise: Public liability, Statutory liability
We paint new builds for builders
Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works
We use an airless sprayer or specialist finishes
Covers to raise: Public liability, Tools and equipment
We prep or sand older buildings
Many policies have pollution or contamination exclusions. Tell the adviser.
Covers to raise: Public liability
We have an apprentice or subbie
Covers to raise: Statutory liability, Public liability
A signwritten van carries paint and racking
Covers to raise: Business vehicles, Tools and equipment

What these covers do not pay

Repainting your own poor finish.
Ladders, sprayers and towers under public liability.
Pollution or contamination from lead paint or asbestos, which many policies exclude.
A workmanship guarantee you give a client. That is your promise, not insurance.
Health and safety fines, which can never be insured (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s 29).

General information only. Whether a cover responds depends on the policy wording.

Which clause is in your contract?

Interested party noted
The client, head contractor or financier asks to be named on your policy so they are told about changes such as cancellation. Wording varies, and in some contracts it means something different from being an extra insured.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works
What it does not decide: Being noted does not by itself give that party cover under your policy or a right to claim. That depends on how the insurer words it.
Subcontractor cover
The contract asks that anyone you sub the work to carries their own insurance, or that your policy responds to their work. Insurers often ask how much work you sub out and whether you check your subbies.
Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works, Statutory liability
What it does not decide: It does not decide whether your policy covers a subcontractor, or whether theirs is enough. Both depend on the wordings and on what you declared.
Own tools and plant
The contract says you bring and look after your own tools, equipment or machinery, so damage or theft of them sits with you rather than the client.
Covers to raise: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles
What it does not decide: It does not decide whether those items are insured, on site or in a vehicle, or hired in. Contract works and public liability policies usually do not pick up your own tools.

General information, not legal advice. The full clause and the policy wording decide how it applies.

Check your certificate of currency against the contract

Check the insured name, limit and dates match the contract. The policy wording, not the certificate, decides what is covered. How a certificate of currency works

What each cover may pay, and what it usually does not

Public liability
May respond to
Overspray, spills on floors and benchtops, a ladder through a window.
Common trigger
Damage to a client's or neighbour's property.
Usually not covered
Repainting your own poor finish.
Tools and equipment
May respond to
Sprayers, ladders, towers and sanders.
Common trigger
Theft from the van or a site.
Usually not covered
Wear and tear, and gear left unsecured.
Business vehicles
May respond to
A signwritten van with racking and paint on board.
Common trigger
A crash or theft of the van.
Usually not covered
Contents, unless the policy lists them.
Statutory liability
May respond to
Defence costs if a regulator investigates or prosecutes, depending on the wording.
Common trigger
A regulator investigates work at height.
Usually not covered
Health and safety fines, which can never be insured.

If something goes wrong

Overspray on a neighbour's car
Wind carries spray from a house exterior onto a parked car next door.
May respond: Public liability
Have ready
- Photos of the car and the wall
- The weather and time you were spraying
- A quote for the valet or repaint
A heat gun starts a fire
A heat gun left near dust sheets scorches a floor and starts a small fire.
May respond: Public liability
Have ready
- Photos of the damage
- The fire brigade report if attended
- Details of the job and who was on site
A ladder goes through a window
A ladder slips and breaks a client's window, with paint on the carpet below.
May respond: Public liability
Have ready
- Photos before and after
- A glazier's quote
- Your certificate of currency
A sprayer and scaffold tower are taken
The van is broken into overnight and the sprayer and tower go.
May respond: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles
Have ready
- The police report number
- Invoices or serial numbers
- Photos of the van and how it was locked

Typical examples, not real claims. ACC deals with most injuries, so an injury claim is mostly about property and legal costs. Whether a claim is paid depends on the policy wording and the facts.

What goes wrong on a painting job

You work inside and around other people's property, often with spray equipment, solvents and ladders. The claims public liability is built for are mostly property damage:

overspray onto cars, windows, roofing or a neighbour's fence
paint, stain or solvent on carpet, timber floors or benchtops
water damage from a tap left running while cleaning brushes
fire or heat damage from a heat gun or work light near dust sheets
a ladder marking a wall or going through a window

Injury claims exist too, but ACC rather than the courts pays for most personal injury (Accident Compensation Act 2001, s 317), which is why property damage dominates.

Public liability and the certificate

Public liability insurance pays when you are legally liable for damage to someone else's property or injury to someone else. It does not cover your tools, your van, or the quality of the paint job. If the finish peels or the colour is wrong, that is a workmanship dispute, and liability policies commonly exclude the cost of redoing your own work.

Limits are set by contract, not law. A builder or property manager might ask for $2m or $5m. Check the clause before you quote, and see NZS 3910 insurance requirements if you work under that form.

A certificate of currency is one-page proof that your policy is in force, with the limit and dates. Commercial clients, body corporates and main contractors commonly ask for it at tender or site induction. Keep a copy on your phone.

Tools, ladders and the van

Airless sprayers, ladders, scaffold towers and sanders are your income, and theft from a van or ute is the usual loss. Tool insurance can be separate or an add-on, and policies may set conditions on storage when the vehicle is unattended. Ask whether paint stock is counted.

A private car policy generally does not suit a signwritten van carrying ladders and racking. Business vehicle insurance matches cover to how you use it.

Staff and statutory liability

Take on an apprentice or subcontractor and you have duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, and work at height is part of a painter's day. Statutory liability can respond to defence costs when a regulator investigates. It cannot pay a fine: section 29 of the Act makes cover for those fines of no effect.

Older homes, strata and commercial work

Disturbing old coatings can involve lead-based paint or asbestos-containing coatings, and WorkSafe publishes asbestos guidance for tradespeople. Many policies have pollution or contamination exclusions, so tell the adviser if you do prep, sanding or work on older buildings. If you give colour or specification advice for a fee, ask about professional indemnity.

Master Painters describes its members' work as covered by a 5-year workmanship guarantee. A guarantee is not an insurance policy, and it does not cover your liability for damage to a client's property.

Your own income

ACC covers accidents, not illness. See income protection for tradies, ACC for contractors and business protection. For the whole range of covers, see the business insurance hub and tradie insurance.

How we help

A Smiths adviser will phone you to talk through which covers to look at. Some business covers are referred to another licensed Financial Advice Provider, and we will tell you who, and how they are paid, before your details go to that firm. There is no instant online quote. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission or referral payment if you buy. Cover and price depend on insurer underwriting and the policy wording. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931).

Frequently Asked Questions

Do painters need public liability insurance in NZ?

Not under the LBP scheme: painting is not one of its seven licence classes. Clients and main contractors commonly write it into the contract and ask for a certificate of currency.

Does public liability cover overspray?

Overspray damaging someone else's property is the kind of claim public liability is designed for. Check the wording for exclusions such as pollution.

Does it cover repainting a bad job?

Usually not. Redoing your own faulty work is commonly excluded.

Are my ladders and sprayer covered?

Not by public liability. They need tool insurance.

References

Related industries

Protect the people behind the business

Liability cover protects the business from claims. If you or a business partner could not work, or died, key person and shareholder cover can help keep the business, and your family, going.

Key person cover, if the business relies on you
Shareholder cover, so partners can buy each other out
Income protection for owners and the self-employed

Sort your cover before the next quote

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you and asks about your kind of painting, your sprayer and ladders, and any contract insurance clause. If we refer you to another licensed firm, we tell you who first. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission or referral payment if you buy.

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you. If we refer you to another licensed firm we tell you who first and how they are paid.

Read the full insurance guides

Tell us how the business trades and a Smiths adviser will phone you to talk through which covers to look at. Check what cover you need. No cost to talk it through.