Tilers insurance

Public liability insurance

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

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for tilers?

Claims against your business for:

• accidental property damage like a scratch or spill (not your workmanship)
• someone being injured while you’re working, or because of your work
• accidental damage or injury caused by an employee (remember, if you employ anyone you’re legally required to have employer’s liability insurance)

For example:

• you’re in a client’s home, on a bathroom tiling job. You run out to the van and drop a box of tiles on the floor, causing cracks
• you go back to your van for lunch, leaving your radio and toolbox on the client’s floor. Their toddler trips over your toolbox, banging their head and injuring their wrist

What you’ll need additional cover for

• your tools and equipment – make sure you add this specific cover when setting up your policy

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance for tilers?

Claims against your business for:

• an employee, including a temp or casual worker, suing you after falling ill because of working for you, or
• making a claim for an injury they’ve suffered through 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:

• your subcontractor is working on a large job with you at a commercial premises. While removing some old tiling, she slips and makes a hole in the client’s new cabinets
• you send a contractor to a separate job, while you finish up with a client. The contractor slips and falls down the stairs on his way out, breaking his wrist

Tools insurance

In case something happens to your tiling tools.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance for a tiler?

• theft of your tiling tools – most claims are for handheld tools and portable electric devices
• flood, fire or accidental damage

For example:

• you keep your tools locked in your garage overnight. It’s alarmed and has CCTV installed, but someone breaks in and steals £2,000 worth of tools
• a leak in your garage causes damage to some of your tools, which will need replacing

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to the products or materials you keep in stock.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

• loss, damage or theft of the materials you use for tiling, or the items you’re planning to sell

For example:

• you stop at the wholesalers to pick up tiles for tomorrow’s job. While unloading the van that night, a box of tiles falls out, smashing the contents. You’ll need to replace these, before your job tomorrow

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 of the equipment you use to run your operations, while it’s stored on your business premises or out and about
• accidental loss of your operational equipment
• flood, fire or accidental damage

For example:

• you’re working on some invoices over the weekend, when your teenage son spills juice all over your laptop

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Hired-in plant insurance

In case plant machinery, like excavators, you’ve hired in is lost, stolen, or damaged.

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

• accidental damage to bigger items and equipment you’ve hired (known as ‘plant’)
• hire charges you still owe even though you’ve damaged the plant

For example:

• your contractor knocks a hired-in tile cutter onto the floor, jamming it and delaying the job

Read more about hired-in plant insurance

Own plant insurance

In case plant machinery, like excavators, you own is lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?

• the bigger items and equipment (known as ‘plant’) you use in your tiling jobs
• accidental or malicious damage to your own plant items

For example:

• you’re cutting down tiles for Monday morning’s job. While stopping for lunch, your dog knocks the cutter off the workbench and breaks it
• your tile cutter is stolen during a weekend break-in

Read more about own plant insurance

Contract works insurance

In case the work you’re doing is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.

What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?

• damage to your ongoing work at domestic or commercial sites
• theft or damage to trade tools and equipment left on site

For example:

• you’re the lead contractor on a big commercial job. As the project comes to an end, the premises collapse, causing damage to the ongoing work, tools and stock. You estimate the damage will cause a three week delay, preventing the client from opening

Read more about contract works insurance

Legal expenses insurance

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

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• day-to-day legal costs that come with your business activities, like employee disputes
• HMRC tax and compliance issues, if they come up
• claim costs from property damage, nuisance or trespass
• includes a tax advice helpline, 24/7 confidential legal helpline and crisis PR support to help you protect your reputation

For example:

• you’ve agreed a three month client contract, but due to unforeseen circumstances the project will take longer, delaying the client from opening. They make a claim against you for breach of contract
• after ongoing issues and several warnings, you’ve had to let a contractor go. They raise an unfair dismissal claim against you

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 of anyone covered by your policy, at work or elsewhere
• lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you cut your wrist while working on site and have to take two weeks off
• you sprain your ankle playing football with your kids, and can’t drive to work the next day

Read more about personal accident insurance