Insurance for carpenters

Public liability insurance for carpenters covers you if you or an employee causes injury to a member of the public, for example, if someone trips over tools left on the floor and gets hurt.

Public liability also covers you for accidental damage to property that you don't own. For example, if you accidentally cut through a water pipe when installing a customer's new worktop.

If someone decides to pursue a claim against you, public liability insurance will cover your legal fees and compensation costs. We can offer cover from £1 million to £10 million, depending on your business activities and requirements.

Many trade associations often require members to have public liability insurance. Similarly, many clients will also ask to see proof of your cover before hiring you for a job.

Excess per claim:

• Third party property damage - £250
• Third party property damage, heat & underground work - £500
• Third party property damage, escape of water - £500
• Third party injury - £0

Read more about public liability

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.

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

Own plant covers larger items of machinery owned by the business, such as generators, trailers and temporary site huts. We can cover this machinery for theft and damage due to an insured event, e.g. fire, but not for 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

This covers work that is in progress that is damaged by an insured event, such as a fire, flood, vandalism or theft. We can cover the costs required to repair or redo the work.

For example, if you've been installing a new porch and the work is damaged by a storm before it is completed, we can help you to complete the contract by covering:

• the costs required to buy the materials you need to finish the job
• the costs to redo the parts destroyed by fire
• the costs of labour used 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

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.