Insurance programmes for contractors and trades businesses would typically include a combination of the following cover:

• Public liability insurance: Tradesmen are likely to work near other people and their property. Public liability insurance for self-employed tradesman will help to ensure that you’re covered against potential claims, offering protection if your business activities kill or injure a third party (non-employee) or damage their property.
• Product liability insurance: If a product that you have supplied, manufactured, adapted or imported has caused damage or injury to people or property, this will provide cover for any financial losses.
• Employers’ liability insurance: This is a compulsory type of insurance for employers, regardless of whether the member of staff is permanent, temporary, volunteer, contractor or freelancer. The minimum level of protection is £5m, which will cover the cost of compensation claims if staff get injured or fall ill as a result of carrying out their required duties.
• Contractors all risk (CAR) insurance: If damage occurs to site materials and works that you have been contracted to undertake, CAR insurance (also known as contract works insurance) will provide protection.
• Professional indemnity insurance: If your work causes a problem for your client (for example if a construction project is delayed) or you have given negligent advice, this will ensure that you are covered if your client makes a claim against you. Some clients also require construction businesses to have a certain level of cover in place before they start work on a project, so it is worth checking this before you start work.
• Structural warranty: If your construction business is responsible for building or buying new buildings, then a structural warranty will provide you with 10 years’ worth of protection. This includes cover for latent defects that occur during the build period, but which are not discovered until after completion has taken place and is also known as latent defects insurance.
• Tools insurance: Provides cover for the things that your business needs to operate, such as mechanical equipment, tools and materials.
• Plant and machinery insurance: If you use plant and machinery on site (such as diggers, cherry pickers or generators), regardless of whether you own the equipment or you’ve hired it, this will help to cover the replacement or repair costs in the event that it is stolen or damaged.
• Personal accident insurance: This type of cover will provide financial protection in the event of accidental injury or death on site.
• Fleet and commercial vehicle insurance: Do you use a van as part of your work? Then you will need to ensure that you have the correct amount of van insurance in place to cover you whilst driving it.
• Tools in transit: Provides cover for Cover for damage -in the event that tools are damaged whilst being loaded onto, housed upon or unloaded from the vehicle, cover for Theft -you may be covered in the event of your tools being stolen, even when your vehicle is unattended and overnight.
• Legal Expenses: Cover in the event of employment disputes, legal defence costs, contract disputes, Tax, VAT, PAYE and NIC investigations and more.
• Plant and machinery insurance: If you use plant and machinery on site (such as diggers, excavators cherry pickers, or generators), regardless of whether you own the equipment or you’ve hired it, this will help to cover the replacement or repair costs in the event that it is stolen or damaged.
• Engineering Inspection: Ensures that you keep any machinery and equipment in full working order, so that it is safe to use. The insurance ensures that inspections are carried out regularly by a competent engineer and are arranged for you by your insurer.
• Directors and Officers Insurance: Directors’ and officers’ insurance (also known as D&O insurance or management liability insurance) will protect your business if a claim is made directly against the directors and officers of your company. Even if you’re the owner of a limited company, personal claims can still be made against you, and therefore a D&O insurance policy can provide invaluable protection.

These are just examples of some of the types of general contractors and trades insurance policies that we look after at The Yorkshire Broker.