Scaffolding insurance
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Rated 4.7/5
Based on 39,717 reviews
Claims paid in 24 hours
For 80% of settled claims
Why is scaffolders insurance important?
From the equipment you rely on to any employees you have on site, scaffolding work comes with specific risks. Erecting and checking, or a site assessment with potential customers – people rely on you for the highest level of care and attention. Choose from public liability cover, employers’ liability insurance, and tool protection, plus personal accident insurance for your own injuries.
- scaffolding contractors’ insurance options including your own kit or hired plant
- public liability insurance, scaffolding risks covered from £1 million to £10 million
- optional personal accident cover, in case an incident stops you working
What does scaffold insurance cover?
We’ll start with options for scaffolders’ public liability insurance, designed to cover third-party accidental injuries and property damage. Our policies provide between £1 million and £10 million public liability cover, and you can add equipment and plant machinery protection too, plus employers’ liability insurance for your team – it’s usually a legal requirement.
Scaffolding public liability insurance
In case someone is injured or their property gets damaged, because of your scaffolding business.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.
Business and office equipment insurance
In case things like your laptop or phone are lost, stolen, or damaged.
Tools insurance
In case your scaffolding tools are lost, stolen, or damaged.
Stock insurance
In case something happens to the scaffolding stock you keep in supply.
Hired-in plant insurance
In case your rented plant machinery, like a tower, is lost, stolen, or damaged.
Own plant insurance
In case your own plant machinery, like a scaffold tower, is lost, stolen, or damaged.
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs from running your scaffolding business.
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or away from work.
Scaffolding public liability insurance
In case someone is injured or their property gets damaged, because of your scaffolding 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
For example:
- while erecting a customer’s scaffolding, you accidentally damage a window which will need to be removed and reinstalled
- you leave some equipment out while on lunch, causing a customer to trip and cut their head – they’ll need stitches and a day off work with mild concussion
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 contractor or casual labourer, suing you after falling ill because of working for your scaffolding business, 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:
- your apprentice falls off a ladder while working with you – he fractures his elbow and needs six weeks off work
- a contractor working for you drops heavy equipment on their foot, breaking two bones
Business and office equipment insurance
In case things like your laptop or phone 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 scaffolding business
- operational equipment like your laptop, rather than the trade tools you take out and about
For example:
- your employee drops your laptop while getting into your van, and it develops a fault
- a flood in your home office damages some equipment you’ve just installed, including an expensive alarm system
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Tools insurance
In case your scaffolding tools are lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by tools insurance?
- loss, damage, or theft of your hand tools, power tools, and specialist scaffolder equipment
For example:
- tools you’ve just bought in for a larger job are stolen from your garage during a break-in
- a flood in your site static unit causes damage to the three wrenches you’ve just ordered, which will need replacing
What you’ll need additional cover for
- larger plant items you use to carry out your scaffolding – you’ll need to add our specific plant cover for these
Read more about tools insurance
Stock insurance
In case something happens to the scaffolding stock you keep in supply.
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
- loss, damage, or theft of your work materials, or items you’re planning to sell
For example:
- you’re keeping materials in the back of your van for next week’s job, but these get lost when your employee empties it at the dump
- the materials you’ve ordered for a new contract are stolen from your client’s site
Read more about stock insurance
Hired-in plant insurance
In case your rented plant machinery, like a tower, is lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by hired-in plant insurance?
- loss, damage, or theft of things like mobile towers which you’ve hired in
For example:
- the lift machine you’ve hired for a big housing development contract is damaged by vandals
- a scaffolding tower you’ve hired is stolen from your works site over the weekend
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 or tools cover for this
Read more about hired-in plant insurance
Own plant insurance
In case your own plant machinery, like a scaffold tower, is lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?
- loss, damage, or theft of things like your own scaffold tower
For example:
- your tower is damaged in transit by an employee and needs a new part, delaying the contract by over a week
- all six of your mobile towers are stolen during an overnight site break-in
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
Legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs from running your scaffolding business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs attributed to your scaffolding business
- property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
- tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
- includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis support to help you protect your reputation as a trusted trade professional
For example:
- your client is disputing their contract with you, and you need pay for legal services
- an apprentice sues you for unfair dismissal, and you begin to incur legal costs which need to be recovered
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or away from work.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
- accidental injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
- lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit
For example:
- you fall off your ladder and dislocate your shoulder, keeping you off active work for three weeks
- your employee breaks their arm while playing rugby and needs a month off work
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
How much does scaffolder 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 £3.19 per month
Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.
Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes
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.
Example scaffolding insurance quotes, real prices
£120.43 /month
£1070.45 /month
A self-employed scaffolder working in the local area - with full health and safety risk assessments carried out at site
- 1-2 years' experience
- Sole trader
- No employees
- Based in Coventry
Public liability
£1,000,000
Employers’ liability
Not included
Tools
Not included
£605.48 /month
£5382.08 /month
A scaffolding ltd company working on residential locations - with full health and safety risk assessments carried out at site
- 5+ years' experience
- Limited company
- 1 employee
- Based in Southampton
Public liability
£2,000,000
Employers’ liability
£10,000,000
Tools
£4,000
How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 09/06/2021). 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 |
Stock | £100 | £500 |
Business and office equipment | £50 | £750 |
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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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 scaffolders 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 tools insurance and own plant 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 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 scaffolders 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 groundworkers insurance or builders insurance?
Do I need cover for other types of work?
If you provide other services, 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.
£39 million in claims paid out in 2022
Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022
Example claim
Having scaffolding insurance through Simply Business has saved trade professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.
Ian saved more than £121,400
Ian (not his real name) slipped and fell from a height while subcontracting, suffering multiple fractures to his collarbone and shoulder. He needs surgery and significant time off work. The personal accident cover in his scaffolders’ insurance policy covered Ian’s medical costs and lost income.
Insurance payout
£121,412.78
Covering the cost of personal accident
Ian’s costs
£100
The excess amount stated in Ian’s policy terms
Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords
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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Scaffolding 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 scaffolders’ liability insurance and other key covers. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
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.
Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.
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:
- one-off credit or debit card payment
- BACS payment
- Direct Debit
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.
If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 043 8527. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.
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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