What you need to know about tradesman insurance

March 30, 2016

The area around Westcliff on Sea – indeed, the whole of Essex – has its fair share of skilled and talented tradesmen. They work long and hard hours to earn a livelihood. The businesses they run, however, remain vulnerable to a number of serious risks and perils, which local tradesman insurance is designed to cover.

Here at Alan Blunden Insurance Brokers, we are keen to support that band of local tradesmen by providing the complete range of insurance services which they may need.

It might be helpful to review the principal elements of the typical tradesman insurance package – principally those mentioned in a guide to small business insurance published by the Association of British Insurers (ABI):

Personal liability

• as a tradesman, you do the best job you can with the skills, materials and tools you have;

• even so, it is still possible for mistakes to be made and for you to complete a job to a standard that falls below your customary level;

• if your customer suffers an injury or has their property damaged as a result of the work you have done, you may be held personally liable and ordered to pay hefty damages by way of compensation;

• personal liability cover helps to protect you against such claims;

Environmental liability

• if one of your mistakes or accidents at work leads to sufficient damage or pollution to the environment, you might again be held responsible and liable to pay the appropriate fines or penalties;

• environmental liability insurance is designed to indemnify you against such claims;

Public liability

• it is not only your customers to whom you owe a duty of care;

• if a member of the public is injured or suffers property damage as the result of your business actions – or failure to act – you may also be held liable and ordered to pay compensation;

• public liability insurance protects you against such claims;

Employers’ liability

• if you employ anyone else to help run your business, in the course of your trade or in an administrative capacity you are also – with very few exceptions – legally required to hold employers’ liability insurance as cover against an employee being injured or suffering a longer-term medical condition as a result of their working for you;

• the government website explains that you need a minimum of £5 million cover against such claims and that you face fines of up to £2,500 a day if you do not hold the required employers’ liability insurance;

Motor insurance

• a van, of course, is one of the tradesman’s most faithful workhorses;

• the law requires that it is properly insured, up to a minimum level of third party cover – to ensure that any other road user or member of the public is adequately compensated if they are injured or have their property damaged as a result of your driving;

• fail to arrange that insurance at your peril – the penalties for uninsured drivers are steep and may result in the vehicle on which your business depends being impounded or destroyed;

Tools and equipment

• a tradesman is nothing if not for his tools and equipment;

• you might want to ensure that these are adequately protected against theft, loss and damage by the appropriate insurance.

You may be surprised to discover quite how many liabilities, risks and perils you run as a local tradesman. To ensure that your defences against all of these are adequately maintained you might want to contact us – your local, specialist broker.