What Insurance Does A Builder Or Contractor Need?
Whether you are a self-employed builder or own a larger contracting company, you will likely encounter risks on the building site. In addition, you will have invested large sums into tools and equipment. This is why it is important to have a bespoke and comprehensive construction and contracting insurance that will protect you whatever the circumstances.
It’s hard to know which types of cover are vital to your insurance policy based on the activities you undertake. We have outlined a few of the covers that we think are the most important for you to include in your commercial insurance for this sector. Doing so may save you a lot of money in the long term, so read on to learn more.
Public Liability
This is the most important element of your construction insurance policy. Although it isn’t a legal requirement for people in the building trade, most contracts you undertake will require it be at a certain level and goes a long way to covering the work you do. Public liability insurance for contractors covers any legal costs and compensation that will be needed if a member of the public, or someone outside of your team, is injured on your site. This is particularly important if you are working on someone else’s property and they are likely to be present during the works. Without public liability insurance for contractors cover, you may also find that you are limited on jobs you can take. Some larger employers, such as local authorities, will stipulate you need at least £5 million or £10 million cover as a requirement of your builders’ insurance before they will even consider hiring your team.
Employer Liability
If you employ other people, or even use volunteers, it is important that you have employers’ liability on your builders’ insurance. The risks associated with building work are high, and so are the costs that come with injury claims. If one of your employees or labour-only sub contractors is injured on site then you are liable for that. By including employers’ liability cover in your construction insurance, you are protecting yourself against major financial loss as employers’ liability claims can be some of the largest claims. To protect yourself further you should also carry out extensive risk management. This includes safety policies, training and equipment maintenance. If you need help with this, speak to our team of risk management brokers. We are more than happy to give quality advice on risk management as well as finding you a construction insurance policy. We have also put together free health and safety templates and a great ‘Ask the Expert’ service that you can use as a starting point for your policies.
Equipment Cover
Like with any commercial insurance cover, you need to protect your assets. As builders and contractors have a lot of expensive tools and equipment, it is important that you don’t have the cost of replacing them in the unfortunate event that they are stolen. This is why you should have equipment cover incorporated into your builders’ insurance police. By doing so, you are also protecting yourself if major machinery breaks down or is damaged as this can impact the contracts you are working on and have knock on financial implications. This cover will act as a safety net, so you can get back to work as quickly as possible without the worry of paying for new tools.
For advice and recommendations on which construction insurance cover to take out, contact us. At Alan & Thomas, we provide a range of covers including public liability for contractors and equipment cover. We also offer risk management at no additional fee to identify a vast range of potential issues which could affect each business. Call us today on 01202 754900 or email info@alan-thomas.co.uk to find out more.