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The building trade can be tough and juggling projects and managing clients probably doesn’t leave you much time for sorting out admin or your tradesman insurance. But having the right cover is vital when it comes to protecting your business, so here’s what to think about when it comes to searching for builders insurance.

Who needs builders insurance?

Whether you work alone or run a small construction business, builders insurance can help cover the cost if things go wrong – for example if your tools were stolen or you had an accident and couldn’t work.

What does builder insurance cover?

Policies combine a number of different types of insurance that cover a range of insured events. Most insurers start off with a basic package, but you’ll be able to add on extra features to give yourself all-round protection based on your business’ needs, such as:

• Public liability insurance for builders – covers the cost of legal fees and compensation if a member of the public decides to sue you for injury or damage to their property. Levels of cover range from £1 million up to as much as £10 million. Generally speaking, if you work on large projects in public spaces, the more cover you’re likely to need. As a guide, contractors working for local authorities are usually expected to have at least £5 million worth of cover.
• Employers’ liability insurance – covers compensation if an employee is injured or becomes sick because of work. By law, you must have a minimum of £5 million worth of cover if you have any staff, including part-time and temporary workers. If you don’t have employers’ liability, you could be fined £2,500 each day you go without it.
• Tools and equipment insurance – pays to repair or replace damaged or stolen tools or equipment.
• Personal accident insurance – covers lost income and medical costs if you have an accident and can’t work.
• Legal expenses – meets the cost of legal fees and court expenses if you need to settle a dispute in court.
• Business buildings and contents insurance – if you have commercial premises, this covers the cost of repairing, rebuilding or replacing your office or its contents if they’re damaged because of an insured event (like a fire, flood or attempted theft).
• Contract works insurance – compensates you for any unfinished work you have to re-do because it’s been damaged; for example, if a flood damaged part of an extension you were working on.

How much does builder insurance cost?

Cost can vary considerably depending on the number of features you add to your policy as well as the levels of cover you need.

While it’s tempting to cut back on cover to bring down your premium, it could prove a false economy in the long run as you’ll need to make up any shortfalls yourself. Worse still, you might discover you’re not actually covered at all for some events which could leave your business seriously out of pocket.

If you’re looking for ways to lower your premium without compromising on cover, try:

• Paying for your policy in one go.
• Increasing your voluntary excess.
• Securing business premises, tools and equipment as best you can.
• Claiming only when you really need to – the more claims you’ve made, the higher you can expect your premium to be.

Choosing the best insurance for builders

Finding builders insurance that gives you what you need doesn’t have to be time consuming – and policies needn’t break the bank. At Quotezone.co.uk, we work with dozens of leading insurance providers to bring you great choice and value so you can feel confident about protecting your business – start your search right now.