Handyman insurance

Handyman public liability insurance

In case you or your team accidentally injure someone or damage their property.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• someone else getting injured as a result of your handyperson work
• someone else’s property getting damaged due to the work you’re doing, or as a result of your work
• injury or property damage caused by your employee (keep in mind, you must have employers’ liability insurance if you have anyone working for you – it’s a legal requirement)

For example:

• you change some taps but you don’t tighten the fixture enough, so the bathroom floods and the ceiling below needs replastering
• the shelves you’ve put up earlier in the day collapse onto your customer while they’re sitting on the sofa, resulting in a concussion
• your employee is helping you replace a ball valve on customer’s toilet and they drop the lid of the cistern tank on the bathroom floor, causing the tiles to crack

What you’ll need additional cover for

• specialist work (such as building a bedroom or fitting a bathroom or kitchen) if you do that sort of work regularly – handyman insurance is intended for general maintenance and odd jobs only

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case your employee is involved in an accident or mistake while they’re working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• your employee (whether a permanent member of staff or a temporary or casual worker) getting injured while they’re working for you
• your employee becoming unwell as a result 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:

• you leave your electric drill on the floor – your employee steps on it and hurts their foot, which then needs stitches

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by handyman tools insurance?

• the tools you use to carry out your profession, 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:

• your power tools are stolen from your van while you’re putting up a blind at a customer’s property
• you drop your drill by accident while you’re hanging a door and the drill breaks, so you need to get it repaired
• the electrics in your vacuum cleaner get water-damaged and you need a new one

What you’ll need additional cover for

• your tools when they’re in transit between jobs
• your tools when they’re locked in a vehicle overnight

Read more about tools insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case your 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 (specifically operational equipment, not tools of the trade) that you keep in the building you operate your handyman business from
• theft of your business equipment
• flood or fire damage to your business equipment

For example:

• your laptop falls off the desk while you’re creating an invoice for a customer and the screen cracks
• your work computer is stolen from your business premises

Read more about business and office equipment 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, and tax and compliance disputes
• includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your business’s reputation

For example:

• if you’re investigated by HMRC (or selected at random for an audit), this cover could help with the tax enquiries – for you and any other directors, as well as for the business
• you need to defend your legal rights following the dismissal of an 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 trap your finger in a door you’ve just hung and it has to be amputated
• your casual labourer breaks their leg while they’re on a night out

Read more about personal accident insurance

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 handyman 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 Carpenter insurance or Painter and decorator insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

• Joinery insurance
• Plasterers insurance
• Tilers insurance
• Tradesman insurance
• Plumbers insurance
• Bathroom fitter insurance
• Garden maint ex tree felling
• Window cleaning insurance
• Insurance for gardeners

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader 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.