Construction insurance
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Compare contractors' insurance with Simply Business[1] and find the right policy to suit your needs
Are you a building contractor, independent IT specialist or accountant? Whatever type of contract work you do, it’s important to get insurance to protect you and your business. It can pay out for things like your business equipment failing or getting damaged, or if you’re held liable for accidentally damaging someone’s property while working.
Contractors’ insurance can bring together a range of business cover options like public liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, personal accident and portable equipment cover. You can tailor a policy so it includes exactly what you need for your particular type of work.
Running your own business and working on a contract basis for clients comes with all sorts of risks. You could be held liable for accidents, injuries and mistakes. You may get injured yourself while working or damage vital business equipment.
Contractors’ insurance can help protect you.
For example, having public liability insurance as part of your contractors’ insurance policy can be helpful if you accidentally damage a client’s expensive IT equipment. Or if a client comes to your home, injures themselves by tripping over a rug, and sues you.
Then there’s all the equipment you work with – whether it’s expensive tools, computers or tech. Contractors’ insurance can pay out to repair or replace equipment that gets damaged. So you don’t have to dig into your earnings and can carry on working to schedule.
And personal accident cover as part of contractors’ insurance can pay out for loss of income if you have an accident and an injury leaves you unable to work for a prolonged period.
Without contractors’ insurance, you could find yourself losing a lot of money if something goes wrong.
The only type of contractors’ insurance that’s legally required is employers’ liability insurance - and that’s only if you employ one or more people.
It provides financial protection if an employee gets ill or is injured as a result of their work and they sue you for compensation. For example, if a builder you employ falls off a ladder and suffers severe injuries.
Other parts of contractors’ insurance aren’t required by law. But they can offer valuable cover for you and your business.
You can adapt contractors’ insurance to suit your trade. So, depending on what type of business you run, policies can include:
Contractors' all risks (CAR) insurance is a comprehensive ‘all-in-one’ policy that combines important protection for the tools of your trade, plant equipment and business materials, along with things like public liability cover and contract works insurance.
You can get separate policies for all of these. But a CAR policy can make claiming a lot easier as you only need to liaise with one provider. It could also be cheaper than buying separate policies from different providers.
Generally covered under CAR insurance is:
What’s not usually covered is wear and tear, poor workmanship and wilful negligence.
For some CAR policies, you can get add-ons for things like damage to surrounding property, terrorism, loss due to broken glass and debris removal.
This covers you if a client claims you’ve made mistakes, been negligent or failed to perform the contracted job. Or that your services or any advice you gave them resulted in financial losses.
Professional indemnity insurance will cover the costs arising from a claim against you. This could include paying for a solicitor to defend your case and any damages awarded to your client.
Insurance policies may be invalidated if certain safety procedures aren’t followed, or tools aren’t stored correctly.
If you come into contact with any third party in your contractor profession, you might need to get contractors' liability insurance.
Liability insurance will cover the costs of a third-party claim against you.
For example, if you were employed by a shop to fit some new shelves, and someone trips over your tools, they could make a claim against you, which could be expensive.
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Page last reveiwed: 07 August 2023
Page reviewed by: Jasmine Hembury
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