It’s impossible to predict every circumstance, which is why tradesman/public liability insurance is vital for your business, whether you’re a plumber, a builder, an electrician, a glazier or one of the many other types of tradies out there. If you’re on a job and an accident happens – for example a burst pipe ruins a carpet – your customer could decide to take legal action against you to recover the cost of the damage, and if that damage is expensive you may be left in a precarious financial position.
Tradesman insurance is tailored specifically to protect you against this kind of incident. It includes public liability insurance which will not only cover you for damage to your customer’s property, but also for replacing any goods or equipment damaged and for any injury done to a member of the public in the course of your work. It might seem unlikely that this will ever occur, but it only takes one person to trip over a carelessly placed bag of cement and break their arm for you to end up with a lawsuit on your hands, not to mention the loss of earnings, and potential loss of livelihood, that goes with it.
By law, companies must also have employers’ liability cover. This will cover you against compensation claims from employees who are injured on the job, as well as any legal fees that you might incur. We live in the age of ‘no win, no fee’ solicitors and people are actively encouraged to sue for damages after accidents where their employers are held legally liable, so it’s very important that you’re covered for this eventuality.
Finally, it’s a great idea to protect the most important part of your business: your tools. Without them you’d be lost and replacing them can be enormously expensive, especially if they all go at once – if your van is stolen with everything in it, you simply can’t work. Insuring your tools and equipment against theft means that everything can be replaced quickly and without leaving you suddenly out of pocket. It’s unlikely that these disasters will happen but the peace of mind gained from knowing you’re protected if they do will make going to work a happier experience.