Tool insurance

Tool insurance protects your business if essential equipment is accidentally lost, stolen or damaged away from your premises.  At Hiscox, we also call it property away and in transit insurance.  

It's similar to portable equipment insurance.

Tool cover insurance supports traders who take equipment out and about.

Tool insurance can cover:

• Electrical equipment such as laptops, mobile phones or cameras
• Handheld tools such as hammers or spanners. Or, for example, soldering irons and portable voltage testers
• Power tools, such as nail guns or angle grinders
• Plant tools, such as diggers, or portable leaf-blowing machines.

The idea is to help pay for repairs or secure replacements fast. With disruption minimised, you can get back to work, even if:

• Your employee leaves their work phone on a train
• A spilt drink damages your laser measurer
• Someone steals your drill from a locked van.

You can also take out insurance for your work tools as part of office insurance. This way, you’re protected even when you work on different sites.

You may benefit from tool insurance if you work with tools outside of fixed premises.

You could need tool insurance whether you’re:

• Self-employed
• A sole trader
• A limited company with staff who travel.

Think – could your business survive without key tools? Would you have the funds to replace everything tomorrow? If not, consider adding this tool cover to your business insurance policy. 

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How much tool insurance you’ll need varies depending on the:

• Nature of your business
• Type of tools you use
• Value of your equipment.

To calculate how much cover you need, work out your equipment’s total value. This sum should be equal to the amount of cover you take out.

Accurate calculations are important. The values you declare should match the amount it would cost to replace all insured tools. If not, we’d reduce the amount you can receive in the event of a claim.

• Repair or replacement of portable equipment as new
• Repair or replacement of stock at trade market value
• Repair or replacement of goods held in trust at trade market value. Or payment for your liability in those goods. Whichever is the lesser.

Hiscox tool insurance can protect equipment anywhere in the UK, EU or worldwide. So, if you’re travelling for business, you can count on us.

Please refer to the policy wording for the full details of inclusions and exclusions of this cover. Or contact our customer services team for more information.    

“Our customer (a wildlife photographer) had his camera stolen by a group of baboons in Kenya – we were able to cover the cost of replacement thanks to his specialist photography insurance policy.”

Read the full claims story

• Unexplained loss or disappearance
• Lost or damaged money or personal effects
• Damage caused by wear and tear
• Loss or damage caused by fraud or dishonesty
• Loss or damage caused by theft unless the equipment or stock is under your supervision, stored in a locked room or building or in transit
• Loss of damage caused by theft from an unattended vehicle unless hidden out of sight within the storage compartment, boot or trailer of a securely locked vehicle
• The amount of the excess.

For full details of what's not covered, see your policy documents.

Please refer to the policy wording for the full details of inclusions and exclusions of this cover. Or contact our customer services team for more information.