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Tradesman insurance

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What's tradesman insurance?

If you're a self-employed tradesperson or you run a small business with employees, you'll need business insurance. 

But even if an insurance policy is marketed as ‘tradesman’ insurance, it’s certainly not just for men – it’s for any self-employed person working in trades like builders, tilers, electricians or plumbers.

A specialist business insurance policy for tradespeople can include a range of cover types, depending on your needs and those of your business.

Who needs it?

Anyone who’s self-employed with a skilled, manual job including:

  • Bricklayers
  • Builders
  • Plumbers
  • Electricians
  • Dog groomers
  • Mechanics
  • Decorators

You can add different elements of cover, to tailor a policy to your business's specific risks. You can get policies for just you working alone, or to cover you for employing other people. 

Builder's legs poking through a hole in the ceiling

What does tradesman insurance cover?

You can tailor your tradesman insurance to include exactly the types of cover you need:

 

Public liability

Public liability covers legal expenses resulting from claims made by a third party, and the compensation paid to the claimant if they’re injured or their property's damaged. 

More about public liability insurance

Professional indemnity

If your firm offers advice and expertise to third parties, professional indemnity cover can protect you if a client believes you’ve been negligent – it covers compensation or legal fees resulting from that claim.

More about professional indemnity insurance

Employers' liability insurance

If you employ staff, you legally need to have employers' liability insurance. It protects your employees in the event of an accident or illness due to work, and covers you if you're liable to pay compensation.

More about employers' liability insurance

Business interruption insurance

If you're stopped from trading due to illness, injury or other issues outside your control, business interruption insurance will cover your costs and loss of income while you're unable to trade.

More about business interruption insurance

Tool insurance

Insuring your tools covers them for loss, damage, or theft. It might be included as standard, as an optional extra or as a standalone policy. 

More about tool insurance

Insuring your stock

Losing stock stored on your premises could have knock-on effects for your business. Tradesperson insurance can help cover the cost of replacing your stock due to loss, theft or damage from fire or flood. 

Goods in transit insurance

If you transport goods for your trade, goods in transit cover can help with the cost if they’re lost or damaged while you’re transporting them.

More about goods in transit insurance

What’s builder’s insurance?

Builder’s insurance is a specialist type of business insurance. It’s there to help you in case something goes wrong on a job site or back at the office. 

While business insurance may seem like it covers everything you need, there may be gaps in it for a building company – tool insurance, protection if a project is late, and professional indemnity cover can be useful parts of insurance for builders.

Full liability insurance for builders 

Full liability insurance is public liability insurance and employers’ liability insurance – it could be cheaper compared to buying them separately.

For example, say a tool fell off some scaffolding and it caused an injury. Or if some brickwork fell and damaged a nearby car. Then you might be liable, but public liability insurance can help cover the legal and compensation costs.

Other types of cover that can be part of builder’s insurance  

Aside from liability insurance you might want to check the following is in your policy: 

  • Professional indemnity
  • Tool insurance 
  • Hired-in plant insurance (similar to tool insurance, but for tools and equipment you hire)
  • Insuring your stock 
  • Business interruption insurance 
  • Engineering insurance (for if your business uses large pieces of machinery)
  • Buildings insurance (this covers your office or company’s base site) 

What should I look out for with my trades insurance? 

Check that the levels of cover offered by the policy are sufficient for your needs, especially when it comes to cover for goods, equipment, accidental damage or theft.

When you’re comparing tradesman or woman insurance, the cheapest isn't necessarily the right product for your needs – cheap cover may mean important elements like flooding cover are excluded.

Think about exactly what you need from your tradesman insurance and check that your chosen policy covers everything you need it to.

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