Roofers 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 roofers insurance?
Flat roofs, pitched roofs, green roofs. Fixing a leak in the eaves or replacing the fascia. The quality of your roofing work speaks for itself – and so do your safety credentials. With roofers’ insurance, you’ll have confidence that you’ve taken steps to safeguard your business and your customers against the cost of things going wrong.
- Protection against big claims due to accidental injuries or damage
- Help to keep going when an unexpected event gets in the way
- Reassurance for you, your employees and your equipment
What does roofing insurance cover?
It covers what you decide you need it to cover. Public liability insurance is an important consideration for roofers, and if you employ people, employers’ liability is a must. There are a range of other options available too – as the person who knows your business best, you’re in control of your policy.
Public liability insurance
In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.
Tools insurance
In case your roofing tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case your business and office equipment is lost, stolen or damaged.
Contract works insurance
In case your roofing work in progress is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs from running your business.
Public liability insurance
In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for roofers?
Claims against your business for:
- damage caused by you to someone else’s property while you’re carrying out your work as a roofer, or as a consequence of your roofing work
- injury you’ve caused to another person while you’re doing your roofing work, or as a result of your work
- accidental damage or injury caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you're required by law to have employers' liability insurance)
For example:
- rain comes through the roof after you’ve carried out a full roof re-slate. The water damages the customer’s laminate flooring, so the floor needs replacing
- a ladder you’ve placed falls over and dents the customer’s car, which has to be repaired
- your employee accidentally overloads the skip you’re using for a roofing job, cracking the paving stones on the customer’s driveway
What you’ll need additional cover for
- if you do any work other than roofing, such as building work, fitting bathrooms or garden maintenance – this requires separate trade-specific cover
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 falling ill as a result of the work they do for you, so they’re suing you for damages
- an employee suing you for damages after they suffer an injury due to the work they do for you
- “employee” includes temporary staff and casual workers
**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 falls off a ladder and breaks their arm while they’re working with you on a roofing job
- your apprentice accidentally shuts their hand in the door of your van, breaking two of their fingers
Tools insurance
In case your roofing tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by roofers tools insurance?
- the tools you use to carry out your roofing work (especially handheld tools and portable electronic tools), whether on site or stored at your business premises
- theft of your roofing tools
- flood, fire, or accidental damage to your roofing tools
For example:
- your box of tools, including your roofer nail gun, is stolen from your van while it’s parked outside a customer’s house
- your hammer stapler falls off the roof, causing damage to some of your other tools that are on the ground
What you’ll need additional cover for
- roofing tools stored overnight in your vehicle – these would need to be covered by tools overnight cover, which you can select as an optional extra
Read more about tools insurance
Business and office equipment insurance
In case your business and office equipment is lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?
- the equipment you use to run your business (mainly operational equipment rather than roofing tools) while stored at your business premises
- theft of your equipment
- flood, fire, or accidental damage to your equipment
For example:
- there’s a flood at your business premises that damages your work computer
- there’s a burglary at your business premises, and the laptop and printer you use to invoice and quote customers for roofing jobs are stolen
What you’ll need additional cover for
- your specialist roofing tools – these would be covered under tools insurance instead
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Contract works insurance
In case your roofing work in progress is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.
What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?
- damage to roofing works in progress on a construction site or domestic premises
- damage or theft of the tools and equipment left on site that are needed to complete a job
For example:
- you’re working at construction site and a fire destroys the roof you’re in the process of putting up, which sets back the completion date of the contract
- there’s a fire at a customer’s house where you’re replacing the roof – it damages the tiles required for the job, causing the completion date to be set back
Read more about contract works insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- the injury or death of anyone you've chosen to cover in your policy – either at work or outside of work
- lost income, hospital bills, or other medical costs associated with the accident
For example:
- your hand gets crushed between the ladder and the roof while you’re working on site, so your finger has to be amputated
- your casual labourer breaks their leg at a party at the weekend
What you’ll need additional cover for
Read more about personal accident 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 that arise from your day-to-day business activities, including disputes with members of staff
- the cost of legal claims related to property damage, nuisance or trespass
- HMRC investigations, and tax and compliance disputes
- a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your business’s reputation
For example:
- your tax accounts are being investigated and you need a hand dealing with the enquiries – both for the business and for your personal tax affairs
- you need to defend your legal rights following the dismissal of an employee
- a client is over two months late on payment for a roofing contract, so you want to take legal action against them to recover the money they owe you
Read more about legal expenses insurance
How much does roofing 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
*How we work out example prices 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 roofer insurance quotes, real prices
£32.89 /month
£292.33 /year
A self-employed roofer who works without the application of heat
- 1-2 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Leicester
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Tools insurance
Not included
£60.91 /month
£541.43 /year
A small roofing business that has two field-based staff and one office-based - does not work with heat
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 3 employees
- Based in Swansea
Public liability
£2,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Tools insurance
£5,000
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 |
Tools | £60 | £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
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How do I choose roofers 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 public liability cover limit should I choose?
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?
Can I just cover my most expensive tools?
Does roofing insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
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.
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.
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 tools cover.
Does roofing 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 Roofers including the application of heat or Roofers excluding the application of heat?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
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 roofers insurance 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 claim
Having roofing insurance through Simply Business has saved roofers thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Mohammed £5,400
Mohammed (name changed for privacy) was carrying out repairs on a flat roof. As he was working, some bitumen fell off the roof and blocked the neighbour’s downpipe, causing water damage to the property. Thankfully Mohammed had taken out roofing insurance to cover the expense in a situation like this.
Insurance payout
£5,473.40
Covering the cost of accidental damage
Mohammed’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Mohammed’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.
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Based on 39,717 reviews
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Roofing 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 roofing insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
As a roofer, you’re often coming into contact with third-party property and working around members of the public. This means there’s a risk that you could injure someone or cause accidental damage to someone else’s house. So although it may not be a legal requirement, it’s a good idea to protect yourself and your business with public liability insurance.
Bear in mind – some clients may insist that you have public liability insurance as a question of safety and trust.
And remember if you have people working for you, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability cover.
Yes – but it’s important to note that when you use heat producing equipment, you’ll need to ensure you meet the safety conditions governing its use. Otherwise your insurance will be invalid, and you’ll be unable to claim for the cost if something goes wrong.
You’ll find detail about this in the terms and condition of your roofing insurance policy. It’s also worth double-checking the guidance provided by the manufacturer of the equipment.
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 plumber, you may also do building work on certain jobs – 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.
Yes. You may start offering additional services that require you to use different skills or carry out different tasks. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to give us a call on 0333 0146 683 to update your policy before you take on this new work. If you don’t have the correct type of cover in place for the work you do, you may be unable to claim on your policy if something goes wrong.
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 0146 683. 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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