Tradesman insurance

Tradesman public liability insurance covers you if you accidentally injure a member of the public or damage their property. For example, if someone trips over your toolbox and gets hurt or if you're renovating someone's house and you accidentally damage the existing fixtures and fittings.

If someone makes a claim against you, public liability insurance will cover the legal and compensation costs you are required to pay. 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 have employees, including apprentices and casual labourers, it is a legal requirement to hold employers' liability insurance. This covers you if an employee is injured or becomes ill due to the work they do for you. For example, if an apprentice injures themselves on site due to inadequate training and makes a claim against you.

If you take out this insurance, we will cover you for £10 million, as standard. If you purchase employers' liability with Direct Line for Business, you are required to take out public liability insurance with us as well.

Read more about employers' liability

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.

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.

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, and the incident is covered by an insured event, e.g. a fire or theft, 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 limit of £100,000 per claim and a single article limit of £50,000.

Excess per claim - £250

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 due to an insured event e.g. fire. 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

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 due to an insured event, such as accidental damage, fire, flood or storm, 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

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'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.

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 have commercial premises, you can extend your cover, for an additional premium, to include property damage as a result of an Act of Terrorism. We'll cover you up to the maximum sum insured on your policy for buildings, contents, and business interruption (depending on which covers you have taken).

This includes:

• the rebuild of buildings damaged beyond repair
• cover for damage or loss of your business contents, stock, and computer equipment, to help you get back up and running.

If you choose business interruption cover, you can extend this to include cover for reduced turnover and the costs of setting up elsewhere, due to damage to your premises resulting from an Act of Terrorism. It will also cover you not being able to access your premises as a result of an Act of Terrorism within 1 mile of your business.

Acts of Terrorism are defined as damage caused by someone acting on behalf of, or in connection with, any organisation which uses force or violence to overthrow or influence the UK government.

Terrorism cover is only available for properties located in England, Wales and Scotland.

Terrorism insurance is optional, so an additional premium will apply.

You can include Terrorism cover on your policy by adding it online or by calling us on 0345 301 5066 when you take out your policy or at renewal, as it cannot be added to your policy mid-term.

Professional indemnity insurance covers the compensation costs and legal fees your business is required to pay if a client accuses you of negligence and makes a claim against you.

At present we only offer professional indemnity cover to electricians, electrical and electronic engineers, electrical contractors and electrical goods repair (domestic only) businesses. This may change over time, as we continually review our policies.

Cover is only for claims because of professional services provided by the business as defined in the policy wording.