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Public liability insurance
In case your business and products cause an injury or property damage.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- injuring someone else while you’re working, or afterwards as a result of your work
- damaging someone else’s property while working, or afterwards because of your work
- injury or damage caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you must have employers’ liability insurance – it’s a legal requirement)
For example:
- your employee damages a neighbouring business’s property while bringing equipment into your premises
- you accidentally knock a client’s laptop onto a hard concrete floor, damaging it beyond repair
- you accidentally knock your client’s car when parking up outside their house, causing damage to the paintwork on one side
**If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.**
Read more about public liability insurance
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Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your fencing contractor business.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- an injury that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)
- an employee, including a contractor or casual labourer, suing you after falling ill because of 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:
- an employee cuts their hand on a damaged countertop and sues you for operating an unsafe workspace
- a member of staff trips over while unloading business equipment, injuring their knee
- a temp worker scratches their arm on one of your tools, and the injury becomes infected
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Contents insurance
In case something happens to your fixtures, fittings, or operational equipment.
What’s typically covered by business equipment insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage and destruction caused by flood, fire, vandalism, or theft
- cover for your contents and the equipment needed to run your business
For example:
- a flood spreads to your office floor and means you need to replace several desk chairs
- your photocopier and fax machine are badly damaged during a break-in
- four business smartphones are stolen from your premises
Read more about business equipment insurance
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Stock insurance
In case something happens to your products and consumables.
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to (and loss of) stock, following fires, floods, or vandalism
- theft of stock following a break-in
- costs involved with replacing the stock you need to operate
For example :
- someone forces entry to your business premises and steals from your stockroom
- an important stock order falls from the back of your van and is never recovered
- you’ve taken a stock delivery, which is stolen while you’re speaking to a neighbour
Read more about stock insurance
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Tool insurance
In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by tool insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- accidental damage to specialist business equipment
- theft of the tools you use to do your job
- loss of your fencing tools and equipment
For example:
- your business tools are damaged in a fire or flood
- your equipment is stolen while you’re on the job
- you lose your tools and equipment while travelling
Read more about tool insurance
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Own plant insurance
In case plant machinery, like excavators, you own is lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- replacement of own plant machinery should yours be damaged or stolen
- water damage to your own plant machinery
- accidentally injuring someone else while you’re working, or afterwards as a result of the work you’ve done
For example :
- an excavator is stolen during an overnight break-in at your works site
- you drill through a water pipe while working on a construction site, causing extensive damage
- your storage unit is flooded, damaging your cement mixer and generator beyond repair
Read more about plant machinery insurance
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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?
Claims against your business for:
- expensive costs and charges, if hired equipment gets damaged, lost, or stolen
- equipment that’s on-site or in transit
- causing injury or property damage while you’re working, or afterwards following your work
For example :
- there’s an overnight break-in at your work site and an excavator is stolen
- you cause damage to a water pipe by drilling through it while working on site
- a flood damages a hired cement mixer and generator beyond repair
Read more about plant machinery insurance
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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?
Claims against your business for:
- repair costs for work that’s been damaged or destroyed while on the job
- labour, materials and tools that’ll get your work back to the stage it was in before the damage
- damage caused by fires, floods, storms, vandalism, or theft
For example :
- there’s a fire at your place of work, setting back the completion date of the job
- a flood destroys your specialist fencing equipment
- someone breaks into your site and steals your tools
Read more about contract works insurance
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Business interruption insurance
In case something is stolen or damaged and you lose income.
What’s typically covered by business interruption insurance?
- you can’t trade because of stock, contents, or building damage
For example:
- your inventory is damaged and you lose income because you’re unable to sell
- your work laptop is stolen or damaged and you can’t run your business
Read more about business interruption insurance
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Business legal insurance
In case you’re hit with legal expenses connected to your business.
What’s typically covered by business legal insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- costs and expenses for contractual disputes arising from an agreement
- cases relating to civil action taken against you for compensation under data protection legislation
- employment disputes and compensation, for both employees and volunteers
For example:
- a client says that your work wasn’t delivered on time and that you didn’t meet your contractual obligations, and they’re refusing to pay
- your employee leaves their laptop unattended in a coffee shop, and a third party is able to lift a customer’s data
- you need to dismiss an employee following client complaints, and they threaten to file an unfair dismissal lawsuit
Read more about business legal insurance
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Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or away from work.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- compensation if you or an employee are injured in an accident, including weekly payments if you or they are unable to work for two weeks or more
- virtual Medical Care service with unlimited 24/7 access to medical advice, consultations, referrals and prescriptions
- 24/7 access to myStrength emotional health support app
You can buy this cover for:
For example:
- imagine one of your employees breaks their leg in an accident and is out of work for six weeks. Personal accident insurance would provide £300 for the broken leg diagnosis. After the employee’s second week off, you’d receive four weekly payments to assist with costs during their absence. You could use the money as you wish – whether for loss of earnings, hiring a temporary replacement, or compensating the injured employee.
What’s not covered?
- issues caused by sickness, illness, or disease
- conditions that develop over time without a direct connection to an accident
- mental illness, even if triggered by an accident
- self-inflicted injuries
- accidents that occur under the influence of drugs or misuse of medication
- deliberate exposure to danger, except when attempting to save a life
- injuries caused by taking part in a professional or semi-professional sport
Read more about personal accident insurance