Business insurance for Painters and decorators

You select high quality paint with great coverage for your clients’ wall. With Hiscox you can get the same for your painter and decorator business with insurance tailored to your trade. 

You’re always precise with your brushes, paint and ladders. But public liability insurance for painters and decorators can step in when things go awry. Say paint is spilled on a carpet. Or your client slips on your dustsheets. 

If you make your living painting people’s houses, decorators’ insurance can help.

 

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Why choose Hiscox for your painter and decorator insurance?

1

Tailored cover 

Only pay for what you need with Hiscox. Tailor insurance to your painter and decorator business.

2

Public liability up to £10 million

Your work with the public comes with risk, so liability insurance for painters and decorators can help cover you for legal costs up to £10 million. 

3

Award-winning experts

We've been proud winners of the Feefo Platinum Trusted Service award for many years. 

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Why do painters and decorators need insurance?

What insurance is available for painters and decorators?

Painters and decorators may choose to add other types of cover to their business policy too, such as cyber and data cover and legal protection insurance.

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If you’re not sure what you need, tell us a bit more about your work as a painter and decorator. We’ll help you to build your quote and explore any other insurance needs.

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Insurance for painters and decorators: FAQs

How much is insurance for a painter?

How much insurance costs for a painter and decorator will depend on several factors. These will include the size of your business – whether you’re self-employed or have a team of decorators. 

The overall cost of your policy will also depend on where you work and how many types of business insurance you add. Having a suitable level of cover and setting appropriate cover limits can be key, as underinsurance can leave you needing to foot the bill in the event of a claim. 

At Hiscox, insurance for painters and decorators starts at £7.85*. 

*Figures based on an average of all business insurance policies sold to at least 10% of our customer base between January 2025 and January 2026

Do I need insurance if I’m a self-employed painter and decorator?

While insurance isn’t legally required for a self-employed painter and decorator, you may find a need for it. For instance, decorators working alone may find the financial impact of a public liability claim difficult to cover, or recover from, without insurance. 

Cover for tools can prove helpful too. Meanwhile, if you take bookings and communicate with clients digitally, protecting your business with cyber and data cover could also help you bounce back from unexpected breaches.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Tools insurance can help you with the cost of repairs or replacements of your essential decorating equipment if it’s lost, stolen or damaged. 

However, tool insurance doesn’t account for mechanical or electrical failure. So if your electric paint sprayer or heat gun experiences an electrical malfunction, equipment breakdown insurance can step in.

Is there a law for house painters to have public liability insurance?

While there isn’t a legal requirement for house painters and decorators to purchase public liability insurance, many tradespeople choose to take it out. If while painting you damage property or injure a member of the public, public liability insurance could provide financial support should you have to pay compensation and/or legal costs. 

Also, before appointing a business for a job, your client may require a minimum level of public liability insurance as a condition of the contract.

How to become a handyman

If you’re looking to add further services to your repertoire, follow this step-by-step guide from the Hiscox experts on how to become a handyman.

Claims stories: False allegation

Discover why decorators and other public-facing professions might choose to take out public liability insurance by reading this real claims story regarding a false allegation.

What is public liability insurance?

Learn what public liability insurance is and read more about how it may be able to protect painters and decorators with this helpful Hiscox guide.