What is commercial lorry insurance?
If you have searched for commercial lorry insurance in Australia, you are looking for commercial motor cover on a truck. The word is British; the product is local, and it is worth knowing what sits inside it.
The terminology, briefly
Australian insurers, brokers and regulators say truck. Lorry is British usage that persists here mainly through search habits and operators who learned the trade overseas. There is no separate lorry product and no Australian insurer writes one.
That matters only because it occasionally hides a real question: whether the person selling to you understands the local market or is running a page built for a search term.
What commercial actually means
The consequential word in the phrase is commercial, not lorry. The moment you are paid to move goods belonging to someone else, you are carrying for hire or reward, and private motor policies exclude that outright.
There is no threshold below which it stops applying. A few paid jobs a month is still commercial use, and it can be rated honestly at a modest level rather than left undeclared.
What you are buying
Comprehensive cover on the vehicle, liability to third parties, and — elected separately — carriers liability for the freight, downtime while the truck is off the road, and cover for any fit-out or machinery attached to it.
If you have arrived from the UK, the structure will look familiar. The main difference is that carriers liability here is usually a distinct election rather than an assumed inclusion, and distances make downtime matter more.
Cover this article touches on
Get a quote
Tell us what you run and how it earns. It takes about a minute, and we come back to you with your options.
Start a quoteOr call 1300 080 323.
Any advice on this website is general advice only and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on it, consider whether it is appropriate for you and read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS).