Contractor insurance
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Why do you need contractor insurance?
We insure contractors of all business types, from builders to accountants to IT contractors. Whatever your profession, most contractors face similar dangers in their work – including accidents and injuries, unexpected events leading to missed deadlines, or damage to the equipment you’ve hired or invested in. To get a quote, you’ll need to choose insurance that’s targeted to your trade, but this page gives you an overview of the top reasons contractors need cover.
- Cover against big claims, such as legal and medical costs
- Protection against the expense of repairing your work or redoing it from scratch
- Peace of mind for you, your business, your employees and your customers
What does contractor insurance cover?
You know what matters to you most in how you operate as a contractor, so you’re in charge of your policy. Whether you want to cover yourself or your team for accidents on site, legal disputes with clients, or the tools you rely on, you tell us what you need and we’ll tailor your insurance around you.
Contractor public liability insurance
In case someone gets injured or their property gets damaged as a result of your business.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case your employee gets sick or injured while they’re working for you.
Tools insurance
In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
Professional indemnity insurance
In case you've made a mistake in your work or provided a service that didn't meet the expected standards.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case your business and office equipment is lost, stolen, or damaged.
Hired-in plant insurance
In case your hired-in plant items are lost, stolen or damaged.
Own plant insurance
In case your own plant items are lost, stolen or damaged.
Contract works insurance
In case your work in progress is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs while running your business.
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
Contractor public liability insurance
In case someone gets injured or their property gets damaged as a result of your business.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- accidental damage caused by you or an employee to someone else’s property while you’re working, or as a consequence of your contracting work (remember, you must have employers' liability insurance if you employ people – it’s a legal obligation)
- accidental injury caused by you or an employee to someone else while you’re working, or as a consequence of your contracting work
For example:
- you’re working as a flooring contractor and you catch a pipe by accident, which damages your customer’s underfloor heating
- you’re a plumber who’s been subcontracted by a builder to work on the customer’s bathroom, and while you’re draining down the tank in the loft, you accidentally trigger a leak, resulting in water damage to the oak floor
- you’re an IT contractor installing network cabling for a client, and your employee trips and puts their hand through a wall, so the damage needs to be repaired
- your employee spills a glass of water over a laptop at your client’s office, causing it to break
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case your employee gets sick or injured while they’re working for you.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- employees, temporary staff or casual workers becoming unwell or suffering an injury over the course of their work 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 employee trips over some boxes of equipment that have been left on the ground at your place of work and breaks their wrist
- your employee gets food poisoning after eating a team lunch that you’ve had brought in by a caterer
Tools insurance
In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by tools insurance?
- the tools you use to carry out your profession (especially hand-held tools and portable electronic tools), whether on site or stored at your business premises
- theft of your tools
- accidental damage, flood damage, or fire damage to your tools
For example:
- you’re a building contractor, and your employee drops your electric screwdriver down a flight of stairs, smashing it to pieces
- you’re a design contractor, and your graphics tablet gets run over by a car as you’re carrying it through the car park to a client’s office
- you’re an electrician who’s been contracted to rewire a customer’s house, and your power tools are stolen from your van while it’s parked outside
Read more about tools insurance
Professional indemnity insurance
In case you've made a mistake in your work or provided a service that didn't meet the expected standards.
What’s typically covered by contractor professional indemnity insurance ?
Claims against your business for:
- professional negligence that causes your customer or client to suffer financial loss
- advice you’ve given that turns out to be incorrect
For example:
- a client alleges that your work has not met the description in the brief they gave you, so you need to pay legal costs to defend yourself
- due to unforeseen circumstances, you run over the deadline for a contract you’re working on – and this delay ends up costing your client money, which they’re holding you responsible for
Read more about professional indemnity 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?
- theft of your operational equipment (e.g. laptops and printers that you use for admin purposes) while stored at your business premises
- theft of your operational equipment
- flood damage, fire damage, or accidental damage to your operational equipment
For example:
- a spare business laptop is stolen from the stationery cupboard at your office
- a fire at your office damages your computers, printers and projectors
- your employee knocks a cup of coffee over your laser printer, so it stops working
What you’ll need additional cover for
- trade-specific tools that you use to carry out your profession as a contractor – these would be covered under tools insurance instead
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Hired-in plant insurance
In case your hired-in plant items are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by hired-in plant insurance?
- accidental damage to items of the plant that you’ve hired from a third party
- loss or damage to hired-in plant items
- legal liability for loss or damage to hired-in plant items
- ongoing hiring charges
For example:
- you’re a construction contractor, and your employee uses the wrong key for a hired digger, so the digger breaks
- a concrete mixer is stolen from the construction site you’re working on, and the hire charges still apply while a replacement is source
Read more about hired-in plant insurance
Own plant insurance
In case your own plant items are lost, stolen or damaged.
What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?
- theft of your own plant items that you use to complete your day-to-day activities
- accidental or malicious damage to your own plant items
For example:
- you’re a sound engineering contractor, and your generator is stolen from the site when you’re on your lunch break
- you’re a landscape gardening contractor, and your employee crashes a forklift into a door, so the door needs to be repaired
What you’ll need additional cover for
- wear and tear of your own plant items (which may already be covered under warranty)
Read more about own plant insurance
Contract works insurance
In case your work in progress is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.
What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?
- works in progress for both domestic and commercial sites
- damage or theft to the tools and equipment left on site that are required to complete a job
For example:
- vandals set fire to your construction site overnight, causing damage to the ongoing works and setting back the completion date that was agreed by the main contractor
Read more about contract works insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs while running your business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs that you’re responsible for within your contracting business
- property damage, nuisance or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
- tax and compliance disputes and investigations that you need assistance with
- access to expert advice – such as a tax advice phone line, a confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis PR support to help you limit the damage to your brand reputation
For example:
- your company is selected at random for an audit or you’re investigated by HMRC, so you need a hand dealing with the tax enquiries – either for the business itself, or for you as an individual and any other directors
- you need to defend your legal rights following the dismissal of a member of staff
- you need to engage a lawyer to help you resolve a dispute with a client or a current employee
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’re visiting a client at their office and you trip over the office dog, causing you to fall over and break your wrist
- you trip over a toolbox while working on site for a customer and break your ankle
- you’re on a morning run before work and you stumble over a log in the woods, causing you to fall and break your arm
- you sprain your ankle on a night out with your friends at the weekend
Read more about personal accident insurance
How much does contractor 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 £4.78 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 We take the highest price from the bottom 10 per cent of all our customers paying in monthly instalments (based on data from 1 Jan 2021 - 31st August 2021). Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.
Example contractor insurance quotes, real prices
£8.29 /month
£62.94 /year
A fencing contractor working on residential properties
- 4-5 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Telford
Public liability insurance
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability insurance
Not included
Tools insurance
Not included
£76.58 /month
£680.71 /year
A small commercial flooring contracting company working in the local area
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 2 employees
- Based in Norwich
Public liability insurance
£5,000,000
Employers’ liability insurance
£10,000,000
Tools insurance
£8,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 23/09/2020). 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 |
| Professional indemnity | No excess | £2500 |
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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We handle claims, so you can get on with business
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.
Is public liability enough for third party property damage?
Can I just cover my most expensive tools?
Which type of workers do I need insurance for?
Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?
Does contractors insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
Is public liability enough for third party property damage?
In some situations you may need more than public liability to cover certain kinds of property damage. Learn about hired-in plant cover and contract works cover.
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.
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.
Does contractors 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 freelance insurance or it consultant insurance?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide these services alongside building work, 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 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. The figure below is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
£30 million in claims paid out in 2019
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2019
Example claim
Having contractor insurance through Simply Business has saved contractors thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Bruce saved more than £9,100
As he was fitting a fence for a customer, fencing contractor Bruce (not his real name) needed to dig some holes. He followed the main contractor’s advice about where to use a digger and where to dig by hand, but the power company alleged a hit to a 15000v cable, which had to be repaired. Fortunately Bruce’s insurance stepped in to cover the cost.
Insurance payout
£9,156.90
Covering the cost of accidental damage
Bruce’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Bruce’s policy terms
Chosen by 800,000 small businesses
We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 800,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,252 reviews
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Contractors insurance FAQ
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 contractors insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
The answer to this question varies from trade to trade, so it’s a good idea to start with an assessment of the risks your business might face.
If you have people working for you, you’re legally required to have employers’ liability cover.
If you come into contact with members of the public in your work, public liability insurance is an important one too.
If you make recommendations as part of your contracting work and you want to protect yourself against claims to do with negligence or incorrect advice, you may see professional indemnity insurance as essential.
If you use any specialist equipment, you might want to think about getting tool cover. This is a key type of insurance for lots of contractors.
If you agree to deadlines and deliverables as part of a contract, you’ll want to look into contract works insurance so you’re covered in case your work in progress is destroyed, delayed or disrupted.
Other covers for contractors to consider include:
Although insurance is often similar for different contractors, there’s no such thing as general contractor insurance. It’s always specific to the type of work you do.
Prices for contractors start from £6.77 per month, and some of the factors that influence what you’ll pay include:
- your claims history
- how long you’ve been in business in this particular trade
- if you work in dangerous environments
- if you work with dangerous materials
- the number and type of covers you want to include in your policy
- the value of your tools, equipment or materials, if you’re choosing to cover them
A useful rule of thumb is that the higher the risk of things going wrong – and the higher the cost of putting things right – the more your insurance will cost.
Simply Business lets you compare insurance from trusted brands. It takes just a few minutes to see your personalised prices.
Remember, if you have employees, you must have employers’ liability cover in case they get sick or injured through working for you – it’s a legal requirement.
Other than that, expectations vary from industry to industry. For example, in construction, some trade associations insist that you have public liability insurance before you can become a member. And your clients may expect you to have public liability insurance from the perspective of safety and trust.
Many contractors consider public liability insurance to be essential. Especially those who carry out physical work around other people and third-party property.
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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