Groundworkers insurance

Public liability insurance for groundworkers

In case someone is injured or their property gets damaged, because of your groundwork business.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property, caused by your work
• injuries caused by your business activities
• accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

For example:

• you drill through a water pipe while working on a new build development site
• while working on a client’s extension you leave your digger on their drive but forget to switch it off properly, causing damage to some fencing and the front garden

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, including a temp or casual labourer, suing you after falling ill because of working for you, or
• making a claim for an injury they’ve had while 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:

• a contractor working for you is injured while digging foundations for a new build development, and needs to take a month off work
• a casual labourer is climbing down some steps you built and breaks their ankle – they need two operations and three months off active work

Tools insurance

In case your groundwork tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance for groundworkers?

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

For example:

• someone breaks into your locked garage overnight, stealing £2,000 worth of tools and equipment
• a leak in your garage causes water damage to some of your digital thermometers and oil sprayers, which will need replacing

What you’ll need additional cover for

• larger plant items you use to carry out your work – you’ll need to add our specific plant cover for these

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case the groundwork materials you keep in stock are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance for groundworkers?

• loss, damage or theft of the materials and supplies you keep in stock

For example:

• you stop for breakfast on your way to work and someone breaks into your van. The alarm system scares them off, but two boxes fall out, damaging the contents and delaying the day’s work

Read more about stock insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case things like your phone or laptop are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• theft, flood, fire or accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your business
• operational equipment like your laptop, rather than specialist tools of the trade

For example:

• someone breaks into your home office annex, stealing your laptop, phone and printer
• a burst pipe in your home office causes water damage to your laptop and printer

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 concrete mixers, mobile access towers and pressure washers which you’ve hired in

For example:

• a digger you’ve hired gets damaged while you’re moving it into your secure garage
• you’ve hired a lift to give your team street level access, and it gets damaged by a reversing vehicle

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tools and plant machinery which you own yourself – you’ll need to add our specific own plant insurance for this

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 your own dumper or forklift

For example:

• an overnight break-in on your works site leaves your digger badly damaged
• while digging a hole in the road your barrier fencing falls and damages your trailer

What you’ll need additional cover for

• plant machinery you’ve rented – you’ll need to add our specific hired-in plant cover for this

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 for groundsworkers?

• repair costs for the work you have in progress 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 fire, flood, storm, vandalism or theft

For example:

• a fire caused by a cigarette damages materials and works on site, setting your job back back by a few weeks
• vandals break into the site and damage the work you have in progress, meaning you’ll need to buy in new materials, extend your plant hire, and start from scratch

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, or tax and compliance issues
• includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis support to help you protect your reputation, as a trusted tradesperson

For example:

• you’ve agreed a three-month contract with your client but the job runs over, delaying their shop opening. The client claim against you for breach of contract
• after letting a contractor go you’re sued for unfair dismissal, and need to cover associated legal costs

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 elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you drill through your boot while on a job, causing severe bruising to your foot which needs elevation and rest for at least three weeks
• while out with friends, your employee trips over a pub bench, breaking their wrist and signing them off work for a month

Read more about personal accident insurance

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.

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 tool 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 groundworkers 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 builders insurance or gardening insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Plumbers insurance
• Roofers insurance
• Scaffolding insurance
• Labourer insurance
• Steel erection
• Handyman insurance

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance