29/04/2010 - Tradesmen damage bill hits £500m
Dodgy tradesmen are costing homeowners more than half a billion pounds every year, with up to £118 million of damage not covered by public liability insurance, a study has found.
With homeowners leaning towards the 'don't move - improve' trend that has become the norm throughout the economic downturn, experts have renewed their calls for public liability insurance to be made compulsory.
According to the new research, carried out by Sainsbury's, one in five tradesmen are thought to be operating without public liability insurance, which covers the customer in the event of damage or injury during work.
The research suggested that a combination of customer ignorance about public liability insurance and a minority of tradesmen operating without cover was costing homeowners millions of pounds each year.
Of the 25 million adults that have employed tradesmen in the past five years, only 16% have asked for evidence of the insurance. Of the remaining 84%, nearly one in five said they did not ask because they did not know what it was.
The average bill for damage caused by tradesmen stands at £1,136, while 11,000 people suffered damage valued at more than £10,000.
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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