This can vary dramatically depending on a number of factors such as the type of work undertaken, as well as the turnover, the number of years a business has been trading, what limit they require and if there have any claims. Typically Public Liability Insurance arranged on per capita (person) basis can range from £80 for a trade considered low risk, such as general builder, to £800 for trades such as a scaffolder, roofer or plumber.

There are lots of situations when contractors might find themselves facing a liability insurance claim. For example:

If a member of the public is killed or injured as a result of your work.  This could happen if plant, materials or hoardings are obstructing a path and someone trips over it or if materials fall from above!

Or

If your work damages someone else’s property. You might put a scaffold pole through someone’s window or damage a neighbouring property by going through pipework.

Depending on your policy, it could cover any legal defence costs, third party medical expenses and any compensation that is awarded to a third party.

Nowadays, it is becoming more prevalent for Contractors to be asked to have enhanced limits for their Contractors Liability Insurance and at Clarke Williams can provide Public Liability limits from £1,000,000 to £10,000,000.

This limit is set by you based upon your requirements. When choosing this limit, you will need to decide how much cover you think you will require. This may depend of various factors such as type of clients, works undertaken or the size of contracts being work on. It is worth noting that many local authorities or large commercial clients would expect a limit of £5,000,000 as a minimum.

If you employ anyone other than yourself or a direct family members, then the short answer is yes. It’s also a legal requirement if you employ anyone even temps or labour only subcontractors.

Employers Liability Insurance covers you for liability arising from employees who sustain an injury or illness during the course of their employment with you. It is a legal requirement for all employers within the UK to hold this cover and the minimum statutory limit is £5,000,000 however most insurers provide £10,000,000 as standard

You may need Employers Liability Insurance for someone who works for you if:

• You have the right to control where and when they work and how they do it
• You deduct national insurance and income tax from the money you pay them
• You supply their work materials, a van or equipment
• Your contract states that you are responsible for their actions and supervision

If you’re working on a large building project, you might want to consider Contract Works Insurance.

It covers work in the course of construction before it is handed over to the principal or employer on practical completion. It can pay to repair or to redo the work that is in progress if it is damaged by an insured event e.g. fire, flood, storm, vandalism or theft and includes both the permanent and temporary works.

It can cover the cost of materials, labour and tools to put the site back to the position it was before the loss occurred.

Speak to one of our advisors over the phone and let them do all the hard work. We compare the market on your behalf so that you don’t have to. We will provide a breakdown of the cover with our recommendation of insurance and advise you of which insurers we have approached.

If they carry out any form of design work or give advice, we would recommend it. Construction Professional Indemnity Insurance, which also known as Design and Construct Professional Indemnity, is designed to protect contractors and sub contracted specialists, such as electrical engineers, or façade contractors for allegations relating to errors in their work or incorrect design.

On larger builds the principle contractor may provide the design or contract the services of an architect or engineer. But that doesn’t mean that a builder or air conditioning engineer is off the hook and shouldn’t hold Professional Indemnity to cover themselves for their involvement in a design and build contract.

Most contractors will own a large number of tools and equipment, which they have purchased over a number of years. In the event that they are damaged or stolen they will be expensive to replace.

We can provide cover for tools, plant and hired equipment as well as solutions for items that are left overnight in a van.