If you're hiring an excavator from another company and supplying your own operator, the insurance situation is a little different from owning the machine.

Public Liability Insurance

For a small excavation business in Australia, public liability cover is commonly:

• $5 million cover: roughly AUD $500–$1,500/year

• $10 million cover: roughly AUD $800–$2,500/year

• $20 million cover: roughly AUD $1,200–$4,000+/year

Most builders, councils, and commercial clients will want $20 million cover. For residential backyard work, many operators still choose $20 million because the price difference is often not huge.

The premium depends on:

• Your turnover

• Claims history

• Whether you're doing excavation work

• Number of operators

• Whether you're working near services

If You're Hiring the Excavator

There are usually three scenarios:

1. Wet Hire (Machine + Operator from Owner)

If the machine owner supplies the operator:

• The owner's insurance generally covers the machine.

• Your insurance requirements are minimal if you're just arranging the booking.

2. Dry Hire (Machine Only)

If you hire the machine and provide your own operator:

• You become responsible for damage to the machine under the hire agreement.

• The hire company may charge a damage waiver.

• You may still be liable for excesses and exclusions.

Typical costs:

• Damage waiver: often 10–15% of hire cost.

• Excesses can range from $2,500 to $10,000+.

Always read the hire contract carefully.

3. You Hire the Machine and Operate It Commercially

This sounds closest to what you're describing.

In this case you should consider:

• Public liability insurance.

• Hired-in plant insurance (sometimes called hired plant cover).

• Commercial motor insurance if transporting the machine.

Hired-in plant insurance covers your liability for damage to machinery that you don't own.

A broker can often add this as an extension to your policy.

Example

Let's say:

• You hire a 2-tonne excavator for $350/day.

• Your operator accidentally rolls it into a retaining wall.

• Repairs cost $15,000.

Without hired-in plant cover:

• You could be responsible for the repair bill and any hire company excesses.

With hired-in plant cover:

• The insurer may cover the damage (subject to policy terms and excess).

Typical Startup Insurance Budget

For a small backyard excavation operation:

ItemRough Annual CostPublic liability ($20M)$1,000–$3,000Hired-in plant cover$300–$1,500Commercial vehicle insurance$800–$2,500Workers compensation (if applicable)Varies by wages

A lot of sole operators doing small residential jobs end up spending somewhere around $1,500–$4,500 per year on business insurance, depending on turnover and risk profile.

One Thing I'd Check First

Since Hitchit sounds like a hire platform/business, ask yourself:

Are you:

1. Acting as a marketplace that connects customers with machine owners/operators?

2. Hiring the machine yourself and supplying the operator?

3. Quoting customers under the Hitchit brand and taking responsibility for the work?

The insurance and liability requirements are very different between those three models, and one may be significantly easier and lower risk than the others.