Builders' insurance

Public liability insurance covers you if you cause injury to a member of the public or accidentally damage someone's property. An example of this could include a customer slipping on a wet floor in your shop or office and hurting themselves, or causing damage while carrying out building works on a client's house.

This insurance also covers you if a customer or member of the public becomes ill or suffers an injury because of a product you have supplied. For example, if the heel snaps off a shoe someone has bought from you, causing them to fall over, or if a cupcake you sell at an event makes someone sick.

If the people in question pursued legal action against you, public and product liability insurance would cover the costs you are liable to pay. We can offer cover from £1 million to £10 million.

Read more about Public liability

Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement if you have employees. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, which you can read more about here.

We cover you for £10 million, as standard. This covers the legal and compensation costs you are required to pay if an employee gets injured or becomes ill because of the work they do for you.

If you take out public liability or employers' liability insurance with us, you'll automatically get cover for temporary employees, if you use them.

The maximum number of days we cover temporary employees for will vary depending on the number of manual workers in your business.

• 1 - 5 manual workers - 60 days
• 6 - 10 manual workers - 100 days
• 11 - 15 manual workers - 150 days

Please note that the maximum number of days reflects the total number of days worked by all of your temporary employees. So, if you have seven manual workers in your business, we will provide cover for 100 days worked by all temporary employees in total.

We know how important tools and equipment are for tradespeople. So, when it comes to tools insurance, we've nailed it.

Tools and Business Equipment cover

With this you're covered if they're damaged or stolen from:

• your vehicle during the day if the vehicle is securely locked
• a locked building, like your garage or home, anytime of day or night.

Policy limits and excesses apply.

With the Overnight Tools optional add-on (for an extra premium)

You're covered for theft of tools when they're locked in your vehicle overnight that's parked on your drive, the street or if you're working away.

Available on new policies only. Tools removed when the vehicle is not being used for business purposes for more than five consecutive days. Cover excludes electrical items such as laptops, cameras, mobile phones, removable satellite navigation systems, and handheld survey equipment. Cover limits and variable claim excesses apply.

What we cover

We cover power tools such as drills, hammers, screwdrivers, chisels, spanners, saws, pliers, trowels and blow torches. And equipment like ladders, steps, cleaning supplies, lawnmowers, paint trays, brushes, workbenches, and spirit levels.

Read more about Tools, Business Equipment and Overnight Tools.

If you're concerned about your tools getting stolen overnight, you can upgrade your tools and business equipment cover, by adding overnight tools cover for an additional premium.

Our 24-hour tools insurance covers your tools at home or in the van, wherever you are in the EU, as long as you are a UK resident.

In order to obtain overnight cover, when you get a quote online, you will need to answer 'Yes' to the following question: 'Our standard cover excludes theft from a vehicle overnight. Would you like to add cover for overnight theft of your tools and business equipment from a vehicle?'

Cover conditions: your vehicle must be secured at all points of entry and any alarms or immobilisers must be set. Tools must be hidden from view and removed when the vehicle is not being used for business purposes for more than five consecutive days. Cover excludes electrical items such as laptops, cameras, mobile phones, removable satellite navigation systems, handheld survey equipment etc.

Cover limit: there is a limit of £10,000 per claim and a single article limit of £1,500.

Excess: you will be liable for 10 per cent of each and every claim, with a minimum contribution by you of £100 up to a maximum contribution by you of £500.

Read more about 24 hour tools cover

If there is an insured event such as flood or fire at your work premises, buildings insurance will cover the costs of repairing the damage, helping you get back up and running.

Equipment breakdown cover (for items forming part of the building) is included as standard. This would cover the costs of replacing or repairing things like your broken boiler and fire/burglar alarms, as long as the damage is not due to wear and tear.

We can also cover your stock and materials, such as pipes, bricks, and paints. We can cover items that are being temporarily stored between jobs, items in transit and items on-site (until they are installed).

If these items are stolen or damaged, we'll pay the cost of replacing the items so you can continue running your business.

Cover limits:

• Up to 5 workers - £10,000
• Up to 10 workers - £20,000
• Up to 15 workers - £25,000

Excess per claim - £100

Own plant covers larger items of machinery owned by the business, such as cement mixers, diggers, mini-diggers, dumpers, excavators, generators, trailers and temporary site huts and caravans. This does not include regular items in your toolkit, like a hammer.

We can cover this machinery for theft and damage. We do not cover machinery that has been damaged due to wear and tear.

Cover limits:

• Up to 5 workers - £75,000
• Up to 10 workers - £100,000
• Up to 15 workers - £100,000

There is a single article limit of £50,000.

Excess per claim - £250

Hired in plant refers to machinery that you have hired from a third party, either for a short period of time or on permanent hire. The types of machinery we cover include cement mixers, diggers, mini-diggers, dumpers, excavators, generators, trailers and temporary site huts and caravans.

If something happens to the machinery while it is on hire and being used by your business, we can cover the cost of replacing it.

Cover limits:

• Up to 5 workers - £75,000
• Up to 10 workers - £100,000
• Up to 15 workers - £100,000

There is a single article limit of £50,000.

Excess per claim - £250

This covers work that is in progress. We can cover the costs required to repair or redo the work.

For example, if you're a builder working on a house and a fire destroys part of the house five months into a six-month contract, we can help you to complete the contract by:

• covering the costs required to purchase the materials needed to finish the job
• covering the costs required to rebuild the parts destroyed by fire
• covering any labour costs to repair the damage

Cover limits:

Contract value (based on the maximum value for any one contract anywhere within the UK)

• Up to 5 workers - £750,000
• Up to 10 workers - £1,000,000
• Up to 15 workers - £1,000,000

Turnover limit - £1,500,000

Excess per claim - £500

This covers the legal costs of providing specialist lawyers and taking action against many common legal problems, for instance disputes with suppliers or clients. Legal expenses cover can only be used if there is at least a 51% chance that the claim will succeed.

Personal accident cover provides payment if anyone in your business between the ages 16-75 is unable to work because they've been injured in an accident, whether in a business or personal capacity.

We'll pay a lump sum of £50,000 if there is an accidental death, accidental loss of limbs or sight, or if someone in your business becomes permanently disabled following an accident.

If someone in your business is unable to work due to a temporary injury, then after 7 days we'll pay their normal net weekly earnings up to £500 for up to 104 weeks.

You can choose Personal Accident as an add-on once you've completed your quote.