The Australian Tattooists Guild says the “effective operation of a near monopoly” in the insurance market has kept premiums unaffordable for its members.

Gallagher is the main broker tattooists approach for insurance and Lloyd’s is usually the capacity provider, guild president Alexander Cairns told a federal parliamentary inquiry yesterday.

He said: “We’ve been approached by multiple brokers over the years and they say, ‘Oh, look, we should be able to help you,’ and they go out and try to ... find other underwriters and … some of them come back going, ‘I couldn't find anyone.’ Or, ‘Oh, you know, Gallagher already handles that.’

“Or there’s just some sort of ... barrier. There have been very few that have been able to actually find other underwriters to cover for building insurance and also contents.”

The Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services is examining insurance challenges facing small businesses and is expected to deliver a report by October 27.

Mr Cairns said premiums were reduced when alternative quotes were obtained.

“When they’ve seen other players dipping their toe in the water, they’ve come back to us and said, ‘We’re able to reduce … premiums by 20%.’ That doesn’t imply that the risk has gone down.

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“That just implies that there’s competition, which is actually what the industry is lacking.”

Mr Cairns said he does not think “Gallagher is the problem … they’ve been able to sell our industry to another part ... within Lloyd’s that’s seen us as being profitable enough to dip their toe into that”.

The guild’s inquiry submission includes impact statements from members struggling to afford insurance.

“The limited number of insurers willing to offer coverage to tattoo businesses has resulted in a lack of competition and the effective operation of a near monopoly,” the submission says.

“Consequently, insurance premiums remain excessively high and continue to be a significant contributing factor to tattoo business closures across Australia.”

One statement from a tattooist in SA says insurance has always been its most significant expense, accounting for 20% of total outlays in 2024-25.

“Having looked into alternatives only to find no other broker willing to provide a quote, we strongly believe that our prices may not be so high if Gallagher could no longer enjoy the monopoly on insurance for the tattoo industry within Australia,” the statement says.

“If our premiums continue to increase as they have over the last five years, we don’t see a long-term solution and may be unable to bear that burden if left unchecked by a government body.”

Inquiry hearings continue today, with the National Insurance Brokers Association scheduled to appear this afternoon.