A paved surface that shifts underfoot is a trip hazard with your name on it.
Paving looks like a finishing trade, but it carries a real completed-operations exposure. Base preparation and drainage that isn't right doesn't show up on the day of the job, it shows up months later as subsidence, pooling water, or a paver that's lifted just enough to trip someone. Cover built for that delay.
Where a paver actually gets exposed
The risk in paving is mostly about what the surface does after it's laid: whether it stays level, drains properly, and doesn't become a hazard once people are walking on it every day.
The trip hazard that appeared later
A paved patio you laid subsides slightly in one corner over several months. A visitor to the property catches their foot on the raised edge and falls, and the fall is traced back to inadequate base preparation.
Drainage that sends water the wrong way
A driveway paving job is laid with a fall that sends water toward the house instead of away from it. The client only notices during the next heavy rain, when water starts pooling against the foundation.
The footpath left without signage
Pavers staged on the footpath overnight during a driveway job aren't signed or barriered off. A pedestrian trips over them in the dark, and separately, a passing car is scratched while materials are being carried past it earlier in the day.
Who's going to ask you for it
Landscapers and builders set the requirement
Paving is usually engaged as part of a broader landscaping or building job, which sets the cover expectation before you start:
- Head contractors and landscapers typically want $10M public liability before subcontracting paving work.
- Commercial and body corporate clients may set higher limits for larger paved areas like car parks or common driveways.
The exclusion pavers assume is covered
Subsidence or drainage failure showing up after the job is a defect in the finished surface, not something that happened while you were on site. That's a product liability claim, and it's easy to assume a standard public liability policy already stretches to cover it. It usually doesn't unless specifically included.
Common questions
A paved area I laid has subsided and someone's tripped. Is that covered?
Only if product liability is included, not just public liability. Subsidence discovered after handover is a completed-operations claim, separate from an on-site accident.
What if the ground conditions were the problem, not my preparation?
That's part of what an investigation would establish, whether the base preparation accounted properly for the ground conditions on the day. It's worth documenting ground conditions where they're unusual.
Does drainage-related damage count as a paving claim?
Yes, incorrect falls or drainage in a paved surface that lead to water damage are a common and genuine completed-operations claim in this trade.
I mostly do small patio jobs. Do I still need product liability?
Yes. Even a small paved area can become a trip hazard or a drainage problem, and the size of the job doesn't limit the size of a possible claim.
Do I need higher cover for car parks or larger commercial paving?
Often, yes. Larger paved areas carry more foot and vehicle traffic, which raises both the injury and property damage exposure.