Public liability insurance
In case someone gets injured or their property gets damaged as a result of your business.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for contractors?
Claims against your business for:
accidental damage caused by you or an employee to someone else’s property while you’re working, or as a consequence of your contracting work (remember, you must have employers' liability insurance if you employ people – it’s a legal obligation)
accidental injury caused by you or an employee to someone else while you’re working, or as a consequence of your contracting work
For example:
you’re working as a flooring contractor and you catch a pipe by accident, which damages your customer’s underfloor heating
you’re a plumber who’s been subcontracted by a builder to work on the customer’s bathroom, and while you’re draining down the tank in the loft, you accidentally trigger a leak, resulting in water damage to the oak floor
you’re an IT contractor installing network cabling for a client, and your employee trips and puts their hand through a wall, so the damage needs to be repaired
your employee spills a glass of water over a laptop at your client’s office, causing it to break
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case your employee gets sick or injured while they’re working for you.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
employees, temporary staff or casual workers becoming unwell or suffering an injury over the course of their work for you
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**
For example:
your employee trips over some boxes of equipment that have been left on the ground at your place of work and breaks their wrist
your employee gets food poisoning after eating a team lunch that you’ve had brought in by a caterer
Tools insurance
In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by tools insurance?
the tools you use to carry out your profession (especially hand-held tools and portable electronic tools), whether on site or stored at your business premises
theft of your tools
accidental damage, flood damage, or fire damage to your tools
For example:
you’re a building contractor, and your employee drops your electric screwdriver down a flight of stairs, smashing it to pieces
you’re a design contractor, and your graphics tablet gets run over by a car as you’re carrying it through the car park to a client’s office
you’re an electrician who’s been contracted to rewire a customer’s house, and your power tools are stolen from your van while it’s parked outside
Read more about tools insurance
Professional indemnity insurance
In case you've made a mistake in your work or provided a service that didn't meet the expected standards.
What’s typically covered by contractor professional indemnity insurance ?
Claims against your business for:
professional negligence that causes your customer or client to suffer financial loss
advice you’ve given that turns out to be incorrect
For example:
a client alleges that your work has not met the description in the brief they gave you, so you need to pay legal costs to defend yourself
due to unforeseen circ*mstances, you run over the deadline for a contract you’re working on – and this delay ends up costing your client money, which they’re holding you responsible for
Read more about professional indemnity insurance
Business and office equipment insurance
In case your business and office equipment is lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
theft of your operational equipment (e.g. laptops and printers that you use for admin purposes) while stored at your business premises
theft of your operational equipment
flood damage, fire damage, or accidental damage to your operational equipment
For example:
a spare business laptop is stolen from the stationery cupboard at your office
a fire at your office damages your computers, printers and projectors
your employee knocks a cup of coffee over your laser printer, so it stops working
What you’ll need additional cover for
trade-specific tools that you use to carry out your profession as a contractor – these would be covered under tools insurance instead
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Hired-in plant insurance
In case your hired-in plant items are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by hired-in plant insurance?
accidental damage to items of the plant that you’ve hired from a third party
loss or damage to hired-in plant items
legal liability for loss or damage to hired-in plant items
ongoing hiring charges
For example:
you’re a construction contractor, and your employee uses the wrong key for a hired digger, so the digger breaks
a concrete mixer is stolen from the construction site you’re working on, and the hire charges still apply while a replacement is source
Read more about hired-in plant insurance
Own plant insurance
In case your own plant items are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?
theft of your own plant items that you use to complete your day-to-day activities
accidental or malicious damage to your own plant items
For example:
you’re a sound engineering contractor, and your generator is stolen from the site when you’re on your lunch break
you’re a landscape gardening contractor, and your employee crashes a forklift into a door, so the door needs to be repaired
What you’ll need additional cover for
wear and tear of your own plant items (which may already be covered under warranty)
Read more about own plant insurance
Contract works insurance
In case your work in progress is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.
What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?
works in progress for both domestic and commercial sites
damage or theft to the tools and equipment left on site that are required to complete a job
For example:
vandals set fire to your construction site overnight, causing damage to the ongoing works and setting back the completion date that was agreed by the main contractor
Read more about contract works insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs while running your business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
legal costs that you’re responsible for within your contracting business
property damage, nuisance or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
tax and compliance disputes and investigations that you need assistance with
access to expert advice – such as a tax advice phone line, a confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you limit the damage to your brand reputation
For example:
your company is selected at random for an audit or you’re investigated by HMRC, so you need a hand dealing with the tax enquiries – either for the business itself, or for you as an individual and any other directors
you need to defend your legal rights following the dismissal of a member of staff
you need to engage a lawyer to help you resolve a dispute with a client or a current employee
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
injury or death at work or outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit
For example:
you’re visiting a client at their office and you trip over the office dog, causing you to fall over and break your wrist
you trip over a toolbox while working on site for a customer and break your ankle
you’re on a morning run before work and you stumble over a log in the woods, causing you to fall and break your arm
you sprain your ankle on a night out with your friends at the weekend
Read more about personal accident insurance
