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Getting out and about to put your manual skills to use is one of the perks of being a labourer. It also brings its fair share of risks. Lifting heavy loads, digging trenches, preparing foundations for construction – you can’t always stop accidents from happening, but with labourer insurance, you can cover yourself against the cost.
We’ll help you structure your policy. There’s a range of options and you might not need them all. Got people working for you? Then employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement. Want to protect yourself against serious accidents on a building site, or legal expenses you face as a business owner? That’s possible too – and more besides.
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 tools 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 as a self-employed labourer.
Personal accident insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.
For example:
What you’ll need additional cover for
Read more about public liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured 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:
In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
For example:
What you’ll need additional cover for
Read more about tools insurance
In case your work in progress is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.
For example:
Read more about contract works insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs as a self-employed labourer.
For example:
Read more about legal expenses insurance
In case you or anyone you've covered has an accident.
For example:
Read more about personal accident insurance
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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.
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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.
£10.30 /month
£82.95 /year
Self employed general labourer
Public liability
£1,000,000
Tools
Not included
£21.52 /month
£191.33 /year
Sole trader with over 5 years experience
Public liability
£2,000,000
Tools
£3,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 12/10/2020). 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.
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 |
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.
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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.
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 labourer insurance cover my work correctly?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
Which public liability cover limit should I choose?
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.
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.
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.
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 groundworkers insurance?
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
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.
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
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 above is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
Having labourer insurance through Simply Business has saved labourers thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
When Mark (name changed for privacy) fractured his back, he found himself unable to do any work as a labourer until he’d recovered. This meant he was missing out on his usual self-employed income. Luckily his personal accident insurance made up the shortfall, so he didn’t have to suffer financially as well as physically.
£14,790.19
Covering the cost of lost income due to injury following an accident
£100
The excess amount stated in Mark's policy terms
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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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 labourer insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
This depends on how you operate as a self-employed labourer. Generally speaking, it's up to you whether to buy insurance – but some sites you're working on may stipulate that you must have certain covers in place.
As with any physical trade, there’s a higher-than-average risk of causing accidental injury or damage – and you could be held responsible for the costs. For more information, check out our guide on assessing the risks in your business.
Do you have people working for you? It’s important to know that you’re legally required to have employers’ liability cover – even if you only employ casual workers to help you out now and then.
And because you come into contact with other people over the course of your work, public liability insurance is worth thinking about too. It steps in to cover the cost of accidental damage to somebody else’s property or accidental injury.
Do you want extra protection against financial hardship due to injury – whether from lifting heavy loads, digging, and other labourer tasks, or outside of work? That’s what personal accident insurance is for.
Other types of cover that labourers may find useful include:
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:
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 instalments.
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 043 8527 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.
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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