Simply Business homepage
  • Business insurance

    • Business Insurance FAQs

    Business insurance covers

  • Support
  • Claims
  • Sign In
Call Us0333 0146 683
Our opening hours

Bricklayer insurance

Join over 5,300 bricklayers like you with PL cover from £3.19 per month*

Get tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote
Bricklayers building a wall

Compare quotes from leading brands

  • Hiscox insurance
  • Axa insurance
  • Zurich insurance
  • AIG insurance
  • Churchill insurance
  • RSA insurance
Liked icon

Rated 4.7/5

Based on 39,755 reviews

Precise icon

Claims paid in 24 hours

For 80% of settled claims

What's on this page

  • Why is insurance important?
  • What does it cover?
  • How much does it cost?
  • How do I choose insurance?
  • How do claims work?
  • FAQs
  • Helpful articles

Why do you need bricklayers insurance?

From property damage to equipment theft, your work comes with specific risks. Would you be ready, if an expensive claim hit the business? Starting at £3.19 a month, we cover thousands of tradespeople every year. Whether it’s a bricklayers’ public liability case or equipment theft, our 24/7 claims team are UK-based and know your trade.

  • public liability insurance for self-employed bricklayers starting at £1 million
  • protection from big claims for accidental injury or damage
  • optional personal accident cover for your own accidents and injuries

Start your quote

What does bricklayers insurance cover?

We’ll start with public liability insurance for bricklayers, built to keep you covered against claims for accidents and injuries. We provide between £1 million and £5 million public liability cover for self-employed bricklayers, and you can add employers’ liability cover if you need it too, plus things like tools and plant machinery protection.

Public liability insurance for bricklayers

In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • property damage, caused by your work
  • injuries caused by your business activities
  • accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

For example:

  • you drop a brick from three storeys up, damaging your client’s car
  • a member of the public trips and falls over machinery you’ve left on the pavement, injuring their wrist

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • an employee, including a temp or casual labourer, suing you after falling ill because of working for your bricklaying business, or
  • making a claim for an injury they’ve had while working 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:

  • you fail to provide a trolley for your contractor to move bricks around the site – as a result, they injure their back carrying the bricks around
  • a casual labourer falls off a ladder while working for you, injuring their back and shoulder – they need an operation, time off work and ongoing physio

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.

Tools insurance

In case your bricklaying tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance for bricklayers?

  • loss, damage or theft of your hand tools, power tools and specialist bricklaying equipment

For example:

  • your tools are stolen from an alarmed garage while you’re on holiday and need replacing
  • a contractor drives over your toolbox while on site, damaging some of your kit

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • larger plant items you use to carry out your work – you’ll need to add our specific plant cover for these

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case materials you're responsible for, like bricks, are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance for bricklayers?

  • loss, damage or theft of your work materials, or items you’re planning to sell

For example:

  • you’re in a minor road accident while driving back from the wholesaler’s and some of your stock gets damaged
  • the bricks you’ve ordered for a new contract are stolen from your locked garage

Read more about stock insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case things like laptops or office filing cabinets are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

  • theft, flood, fire or accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your bricklaying business
  • operational equipment like your laptop, rather than the trade tools you take out and about

For example:

  • you spill water from the kettle onto your laptop at lunchtime, damaging the keyboard
  • the printer and expensive ergonomic chair you’ve bought are stolen in a break-in at your home office

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Hired-in plant insurance

In case your rented plant machinery, like a cement mixer, is lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by hired-in plant insurance?

  • loss, damage or theft of things like diggers and mortar-making machines which you’ve hired in

For example:

  • a cement mixer you’ve hired gets damaged while you’re moving it onto your your works site
  • you’ve hired an extra mixer for a bigger job and it gets stolen during a site break-in

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • tools and plant machinery which you own yourself – you’ll need to add our specific own plant insurance or tools cover for this

Read more about hired-in plant insurance

Own plant insurance

In case your own plant, like a mortar-making machine, is lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?

  • loss, damage or theft of things like your own brick-making or dry mortar machine

For example:

  • vandals break into your works site and put dirt and soil in your cement mixer, causing serious damage
  • your small digger is stolen from the client’s driveway

What you’ll need additional cover for

  • plant machinery you’ve rented – you’ll need to add our specific hired-in plant cover for this

Read more about own plant insurance

Contract works insurance

In case your bricklaying gets damaged by disasters like fire, flood or vandalism.

What’s typically covered by contract works insurance for bricklayers?

  • repair costs for the bricklaying you’re doing, if it’s destroyed or damaged
  • labour, materials and tools to get the job back to the stage it was at before it was damaged or destroyed
  • damage caused by things like fire, flood, storm, vandalism or theft

For example:

  • while you’re laying bricks for a new house, an electrician working on the same site makes a mistake resulting in a fire – your work is destroyed and the project gets delayed by a month

Read more about contract works insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs from running your bricklaying business.

  • legal expenses resulting from your day-to-day business activities, like disputes with employees
  • the cost of legal claims relating to property damage, nuisance or trespass
  • HMRC investigations, or tax and compliance issues
  • includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis support to help you protect your reputation, as a trusted tradesperson

For example:

  • your customer is refusing to pay an invoice, disputing your work on his extension which ran over deadline by two weeks
  • an employee raises a dispute with you over his contracted hours and breaks

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or outside of work.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

  • injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on your bricklaying policy
  • lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

  • you’re away with friends at the weekend and slip in a bar, spraining your ankle and forcing you to take three weeks off work
  • your casual labourer drops a brick on their foot while working, breaking a toe

Read more about personal accident insurance

This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

How much does bricklayer insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £3.19 per month

Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.

Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote

10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.

Example bricklayer insurance quotes, real prices

zurich insurance

£9.66 /month

£76.59 /year

A self employed bricklayer working on residential builds in the local area

  • Less than 1 years' experience
  • Sole trader
  • No employees
  • Based in Leicester
  • Public liability

    £1,000,000

  • Employers liability

    Not included

  • Tools

    Not included

maltings insurance

£76.83 /month

£682.92 /year

A small family run bricklaying business with 2 employees and 1 temporary worker

  • 5+ years' experience
  • Limited company
  • 2 employees
  • 1 bona fide subcontractor
  • Based in Cardiff
  • Public liability

    £2,000,000

  • Employers liability

    £10,000,000

  • Tools

    £8,000

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 11/01/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover

Lowest excess

Highest excess

Public liability

£100

£2500

Employers' liability

No excess

No excess

Tools

£60

£500

Stock

£100

£500

Business and office equipment

£50

£750

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

  • Pick what goes into your policy

    Only pay for what you need

  • Get prices from a range of insurers

    Choose the best fit for you

  • Buy online in minutes

    Get your documents the same day

Start your quote

Simply Business

Direct to
insurer

Highstreet
broker

Compare policies from a range of trusted insurers

Buy online or over the phone in minutes

How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

Is public liability enough for third party property damage?

In some situations you may need more than public liability to cover certain kinds of property damage. Learn about Gardening insurance and Plasterers insurance.

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does groundworkers insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It's important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider builders insurance or groundworkers insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

Other types of insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm

Call our team

0333 043 8527

Online

Contact us on our website whenever suits you

Phone

Call our insurance experts during office hours (calls are charged at a local rate)

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How does a bricklayer insurance claim work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.

£39 million in claims paid out in 2022

Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022

Example claim

Having bricklayers’ insurance through Simply Business has saved professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Ash saved more than £2,600

While working on a client’s property Ash’s (not his real name) employee fell from some incorrectly supported scaffolding, causing multiple injuries. The claim was covered by Ash’s employers’ liability cover, set up as part of his bricklayers’ public liability insurance policy.

  • Insurance payout

    £2,626.70

    Covering the cost of accidental damage

  • Ash’s costs

    £100

    The excess amount stated in Ash’s policy terms

Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

  • Compare and buy in minutes

    Documents arrive today

  • Rated 4.7/5

    Based on 39,755 reviews

  • Here to help

    Help from UK-based experts

  • 24/7 claims

    Make a claim any time

Bricklayers insurance FAQs

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about public liability insurance for bricklayers, along with other popular covers. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

  • Public liability insurance is a popular cover for many bricklayers and other trades – it’s designed to cover you for accidental damage and injuries to people outside of your business, if they claim that you were at fault. Is there a risk that a client’s property might get damaged for example, or a passer-by could get injured, because of your work?

    Alongside public liability insurance for self-employed bricklayers, you may want to add cover for things like your tools and machinery, plus personal accidents that could take you away from your business. And if you employ anyone (including contractors or casual labourers), employers’ liability cover is usually a legal requirement.

  • Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. For example, if you’re a bricklayer, you may also do the odd groundworking job – you’ll need additional cover for this, but you can have it all on the one policy.

    When you start your quote, you’ll have the option to add another trade or profession to your policy.

    If you need to add a third trade, give us a call on 0333 0146 683 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.

  • Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.

  • You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

    • one-off credit or debit card payment
    • BACS payment
    • Direct Debit

    If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

  • If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 043 8527. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Helpful articles for bricklayers

Close up of a pile of red bricks

3 Apr 2018 • 4-minute read

How to become a bricklayer – a step-by-step guide

Keep up to date with Simply Business. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on social media.

Subscribe to our newsletter
Bricklayer insurance

Insurance

Public liability insuranceBusiness insuranceProfessional indemnity insuranceEmployers’ liability insuranceLandlord insuranceTradesman insuranceSelf-employed insuranceRestaurant insuranceVan insuranceInsurers

About

About usOur teamAwardsPress releasesPartners & affiliatesOur charitable workModern Slavery ActSection 172 statementSocial mediaSite map

Customer support

Contact & supportPolicy renewalMake a claimProof of policyComplaintsAccessibility

Address

6th Floor99 Gresham StreetLondonEC2V 7NG

Northampton 900900 Pavilion DriveNorthamptonNN4 7RG

Careers

Careers at Simply BusinessTech careersCurrent opportunities

Benefits

BenefitsRefer a friendFinance

Legal

Terms & conditionsPrivacy policyCookie policyVuln Disclosure policy

Knowledge

Knowledge centreOpinionsMicrosites

© Copyright 2024 Simply Business. All Rights Reserved. Simply Business is a trading name of Xbridge Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Registration No: 313348). Xbridge Limited (No: 3967717) has its registered office at 6th Floor, 99 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7NG.