What is tradesman insurance?
Tradesman insurance is a specialist type of business insurance that provides cover for the risks which professionals in skilled trade industries face. A tailored tradesman insurance policy can be built to include various different covers, including public liability, employers’ liability and tools insurance.
Sometimes things don’t go to plan and an unhappy customer, accidental damage to property, or an injury to you or an employee can mean you can’t work until things are put right. With the right insurance you can get on with your job without the extra headaches. Hiscox business insurance for tradesmen provides cover for the unexpected, covering compensation costs, legal fees, tool repair or replacement and more.
Why you need business insurance as a tradesman
Whether you’re a builder, a plumber or an electrician, as a skilled trades worker, customers rely on your expertise and skill in your field. The jobs you take on are often fraught with hazards. Having the right commercial cover can work as a safety net if things do happen to go wrong. Here are a few examples of where tradesman insurance can help:
Illness and injury
An employee breaking an ankle at a client’s house could mean several plumbing jobs are put on hold. That might see you unable to carry out projects, meaning lost earnings, damage to your reputation as a tradesman and worse, the employee could launch a claim against you. Employer liability insurance makes sure that you’re equipped to cope with the unexpected.
Accidents
Imagine a release valve connecting a pipe to an immersion heater tank fails and causes significant damage to a customer’s ceiling. It’s definitely not a deliberate action, but it could mean a big compensation claim is heading your way. With public liability cover the claim would be covered, meaning we’d pay the customer’s costs for repairs.
Damaged equipment
If you use a generator to power tools on site and it’s damaged, it means your work has to stop. Whether it’s a case of repairing or replacing it, time matters and portable tools cover would cover the costs. The sooner your essential equipment is back up and running, the quicker you can get back to business.
If you’re not sure what you need, tell us a little more about your business. We’ll help you to build your quote and explore any other insurance needs.
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Key types of tradesman insurance
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is essential as a tradesman because it protects you if a client or a member of the public claims they’ve been injured or their property was damaged because of your professional services. Even if it wasn’t your fault, your own actions or those of your employees could see you landed with a claim if someone believes you’ve done them harm. Trades public liability cover is there to help with the costs of compensation and the legal expenses of the claims process.
Employers' liability insurance
For tradesmen, employers' liability insurance means you’re covered if someone claims they’re injured because of the work they do for you. It could be a full-time employee, but it could just as easily be a contractor, an apprentice or even just someone helping you out at the weekend. If they injure themselves on site, or anywhere else on your time it may mean they miss out on further work and earnings. If that happens, they could blame you and seek compensation.
Portable equipment insurance
You rely on the tools of your trade and in many cases you can’t do the agreed job without them, so what what happens if they’re damaged or stolen? Whether it’s your own specialist equipment that goes missing, or you’ve hired something special in just for a particular project, portable equipment insurance as part of your business insurance for tradesmen policy from Hiscox makes sure you’re covered for replacements or repairs so you can get back to work as quickly as possible.
Who is covered?
Tradesman insurance covers professionals in numerous different lines of work. These include, but are not limited to:
- Builders and construction workers
- Painters and decorators
- Plumbers
- Carpenters
- Electricians
If you'd like to see all the skilled trades professions we cover, visit Trades, Design & Construction Insurances
These are just some of the types of business insurance for Tradesmen that we can offer. We can provide other specific types of cover and build them into a policy that’s tailored to the exact needs of your business.
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