Craft insurance
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Why do you need craft insurance?
When you’re making brilliant creations to sell at a craft stall, the last thing you want to worry about is mistakes, accidents, injury and damage. But what if someone trips over your table? Or hurts themselves on an item you’ve sold? Insurance helps you cover yourself against the costs of things going wrong. (Selling crafts online instead? You’ll need to set your trade as ‘online retailer’, then ‘arts and crafts’, on our quote form.)
- Protection against big claims, including legal costs and medical expenses payouts
- Peace of mind in case something happens to the craft materials and the products in your sales inventory
- Cover what you need, whether you work alone or you have others working with you
What does craft insurance cover?
Your insurance should be as bespoke as your craft. That’s why we give you the choice about what to put in your policy. From the public and product liability insurance for crafters uk to an extra layer of protection against personal accidents, you choose the cover that suits you.
Public liability insurance
In case someone gets injured or their property gets damaged as a result of your craft business.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case something happens to an employee while they’re working for you.
Stock insurance
In case something happens to the craft products and materials you keep in stock.
Legal expenses insurance
In case your craft business is faced with legal costs.
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
Public liability insurance
In case someone gets injured or their property gets damaged as a result of your craft business.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for crafters?
Claims against your business for:
- injury to someone else, or damage to their property, caused by you while you’re working, or as a result of your craft work
- injury to someone else, or damage to their property, caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you're required by law to have employers' liability insurance)
For example:
- you’re exhibiting at a craft fair and an elderly customer trips over some boxes on the floor next to your craft stall, breaking their hip
- a customer suffers a dislocated shoulder when one of your decorative craft display stands falls on top of them
- you’ve sold a ceramic vase to someone at your craft stall, and as they’re unpacking it at home later that day, they slice their hand open on a sharp edge
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?
Claims against your business for:
- injury or illness experienced by your staff as a result of being employed by your craft business
**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 a patch of loose flooring at a craft fair and fractures his kneecap
- your employee accidentally cuts her finger with a metal knitting needle, and she accuses you of failing to provide appropriate safety training
Stock insurance
In case something happens to the craft products and materials you keep in stock.
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
- loss, damage or theft of the materials you use to carry out your craft work
- loss, damage or theft of the craft items you’re planning to sell to customers, whether stored at your registered address or in your vehicle (but not at a craft stall)
For example:
- your finished craft products and craft materials (such as prototypes, fabric, paints, beads, pens, card) are stolen in a burglary at your business premises
- somebody breaks into your car while you’re at a trade fair and steals a box full of extra craft products you’re planning to sell
What you’ll need additional cover for
- your craft items while at your stall – most stock insurance policies for crafters won’t cover you for this due to to the challenge of ensuring minimum security conditions
Read more about stock insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case your craft business is faced with legal costs.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs that crop up in the day-to-day running of your company
- the cost of legal claims relating to property damage, nuisance or trespass
- the cost of resolving disputes, whether to do with tax and compliance or your employees
- a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis communications support to help you protect the reputation of your craft business
For example:
- you fired your trainee craftworker after discovering that they were stealing decorative fabrics from you, but they’re denying it and accusing you of unfair dismissal, so you need to defend your legal rights
- your craft company is being looked into by HMRC, and you (and any other directors) need help responding to HMRC’s enquiries
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 get your hand caught in your sewing machine, and the resulting injury means you can’t create any new craft items for two weeks
- your employee falls down the stairs in a clothing shop at the weekend and breaks their leg
Read more about personal accident insurance
How much does craft 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
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 crafters insurance quotes, real prices
£7.68 /month
£56.82 /year
A new set up self employed crafter who sells online
- Less than 1 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Brighton
Public liability
£2,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Stock
Not included
£23.74 /month
£211.05 /year
A small arts and craft shop with two employees and sells online
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Sheffield
Public liability
£2,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Stock
£20,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 03/03/2023). 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 |
Stock | £100 | £500 |
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
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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.
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Does craft insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
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.
Does craft 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 online retailer insurance or art gallery 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
How do insurance for crafters uk claims 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.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
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.
Example craft cover claim
Having craft insurance through Simply Business has saved crafters thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Marguerite saved more than £1,250
After a heavy storm one day, Marguerite (not her real name) realised the shed where she kept all her stock had been blown away by the wind. She took photos of the damage and the remnants of her crafts strewn all over her garden. Thankfully she had an insurance policy in place, so she was able to make a claim for the value of the items she’d lost.
Insurance payout
£1,250.00
Covering the cost of lost stock
Marguerite costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Marguerite 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.
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
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Crafters insurance FAQs
Whether you’re new to buying business craft business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about craft insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
If you have people working for you in your homemade soap business, you’re legally required to take out employers’ liability insurance.
It also depends on how and where you sell your homemade soap. The T&Cs of your premises’s rental agreement or the online platform you’re using may insist that you have a specific type of cover – for instance, public liability insurance or [building insurance](/insurance/business-buildings] – so it’s always worth checking.
Other types of cover worth looking into include:
Etsy might not require you to have business insurance for your online store, but lots of sellers choose to take out a policy just in case.
The main type of cover to know about is public and product liability insurance. This protects you against accidental damage or injury caused by you in person or by a product you’ve sold.
If you sell craft products online – whether through Etsy or another marketplace – and you’re getting a policy through Simply Business, you’ll want to select “online retailer” as your trade, then “arts and crafts insurance”. Bear in mind, this policy wouldn’t cover you if you sell your products via other retailers, such as distributors and wholesalers.
It’s important to note that some insurers won’t cover the theft of your craft products from a physical stall at a craft fair, because the security measures are difficult to monitor. But your products are usually covered when they’re locked away in your vehicle or at your business premises (provided it’s self-contained, with a lockable entry and exit that’s under your control).
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 installments.
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.
This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.
If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.
There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.
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
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