Builders insurance

Builders public liability insurance

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

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

• accidents while working at your premises, or on a commercial or residential building site
• accidents while building new structures, or altering, converting or extending existing ones
• accidents that happen because of your work, or faulty materials, equipment or parts

For example:

• a wall you’re building accidentally falls on a member of the public
• your employee accidentally puts a ladder through someone’s window

What you’ll need additional cover for

• if you do work other than building on some standalone jobs – for example, electrical work, plastering, or plumbing

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?

• employee illness or injury caused by working for you
• medical bills and legal fees due to employee illness or injury
• some temporary or casual workers may be covered – find out which ones

**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 bricklayer develops a repetitive strain injury in their shoulder
• your apprentice gets an electric shock from a faulty power tool

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for builders tools insurance?

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

For example:

• a flood at your workshop causes water damage to your Stihl saw
• you turn your back on site for a minute and your tool box is stolen

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tools left in your van, hired plant, machinery, stock or contents

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?

• loss, damage or theft of materials like bricks and cement

For example:

• your bricks are stolen from your business premises

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?

• loss, damage or theft of things like your work laptop

For example:

• you take your laptop on site and drop an electric drill on it
• your work laptop is stolen from your home

What you’ll need additional cover for

• your tools, materials and machinery

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?

• loss, damage or theft of things like excavators, rollers, cement mixers etc. you’ve hired in

For example:

• a bulldozer you’ve hired is stolen from the site you’re working on
• you damage a cement mixer you’ve hired by dropping a saw into it

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tools and plant machinery you own

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?

• loss, damage or theft of things like excavators, rollers, cement mixers etc. you’ve hired in

For example:

• your bulldozer is stolen from the site you’re working on
• you damage your cement mixer by dropping a saw into it

What you’ll need additional cover for

• plant machinery you hire in

Read more about own plant insurance

Contract works insurance

In case your building work in progress is damaged by something like a fire, flood or vandalism.

What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?

• repair costs for the work you have in progress on a building site or job if it’s damaged or destroyed
• 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 fires, floods, storms, vandalism or theft

For example:

• a fire partially destroys a house extension you’re in the middle of building
• high winds rip the roof off a summer house you’re in the middle of putting up in a customer’s garden

What you’ll need additional cover for

• existing structures already on the site you’re working on

Read more about contract works insurance

Legal expenses insurance

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

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• 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, and tax and compliance disputes
• includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your business’s reputation

For example:

• if an employee is injured at work and brings a case against you
• if your site is vandalised and you bring a case against the vandals

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 outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you lose a finger while working on site
• your casual labourer breaks his leg while on a night out

Read more about personal accident insurance

Professional indemnity insurance

In case a client loses money because of your advice, services or designs.

What’s typically covered by builders professional indemnity insurance?

• legal costs of defending yourself if you give bad advice that causes a client to lose money

For example:

• you design an extension to a house and it collapses within the first year
• you advise a customer to use superglue to hold up kitchen cabinets and they fall off the wall

Read more about professional indemnity insurance