Plumbers insurance

Plumbers public liability insurance

In case you or your employees injure someone or damage their property.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

• accidents while working at your premises, or on a commercial or residential job
• accidents that happen because of your work, or faulty materials, equipment or parts

For example:

• you fix a tap and after you’ve left, the customer reports a major leak because of your work
• you pipe up a house and one of the fittings blows, causing water damage to the wood floor

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tool cover
• bedroom, bathroom and kitchen fitter insurance, if you fit the fixtures and fittings rather than just doing the plumbing work
• if you do work other than plumbing on some standalone jobs – for example, gas fitting or electrical work

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?

• employee illness or injury caused by working for you
• medical bills and legal fees due to employee illness or injury
• some temporary or casual workers may be covered – find out which ones

**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 apprentice develops a repetitive strain injury through working for you
• your casual labourer gets badly scalded by the hot water supply at a customer’s property

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

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

For example:

• a flood at your workshop causes water damage to your plumbing tools
• you turn your back on site for a minute and your tool box is stolen

What you’ll need additional cover for

• tools left in your van overnight, hired plant, machinery, stock or contents

Read more about tools 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 your employee is injured at work and brings a case against you
• if you bring a case against someone who vandalises your workshop

What you’ll need additional cover for

• submitting tax returns late
• VAT
• using your own lawyer

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 outside of work, for anyone covered on the policy
• lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

• you’re working on a house renovation and a builder drops a hammer on your foot breaking your big toe, so you can’t work for a few weeks
• you’re fixing some pipework under a customer’s sink and your trainee leaves a toolbox behind you. You trip over it when you stand up and break your arm, so you can’t work for a month

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 plumbers 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 bathroom fitter insurance or kitchen fitter insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

• Gas fitters insurance
• Refrigeration engineers insurance
• Plumbers merchant
• Bathroom fitter insurance
• Kitchen fitter insurance
• Air conditioning installation
• Insurance for electricians

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 cover – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.