Self Employed / Contractor Insurance

If a member of the public is injured or suffers property damage because of you or your company’s negligence this policy will offer protection. Levels of cover can be £1million, £2million, £5million or even £10million, dependent on the nature of the work undertaken or the contractual requirement. It is often wise to seek advice from an insurance broker at this stage to ensure you have the correct level of cover to suit your requirements.

Products are usually defined as anything manufactured, sold, supplied, processed, altered or treated, repaired, serviced or tested, installed, constructed, erected or transported. Should something you supply therefore cause injury or damage to a member of the public due to your business’ negligence Products Liability is there to defend you.

However, often some trades will require efficacy cover. Should the product you supply not perform as intended and this lead to consequential loss or damage to a third party your business may be liable for costs. Examples of contractors that may require this cover include: fire alarm installers, security contractors, and electricians

Under the Employers’ Liability Regulations 1998, employers’ liability is compulsory for any individual or company with employees, labour only sub-contractors or volunteers. You are only exempt if you run your own Limited company, with yourself as the sole employee, and you own 50% or more of the issued share capital.

The policy will deliver protection against claims made against the business due to your negligence as an employer. Cover generally includes legal costs in the event of a Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigation.

A financial payment may be made to the company in the event of a principal or employee suffering an injury making them unable to work or even a lump sum in the event of a fatality.

Insurers make a payment to the insured business but this can be forwarded to the injured party or used as a contribution to the company’s own losses.

This cover is beneficial to all businesses but particularly so for family businesses or sole traders where the cost of being unable to work, due to an injury may be particularly detrimental.

Contract works insurance covers your business for loss or damage to temporary and permanent construction works, plus materials should they be damaged or stolen prior to completion. This policy section can be used to cover new builds, refurbishments, repairs or extensions. Under this element of the policy cover for hired in plant or own plant may also be included.

It is often recommended for contractors to protect the financial cost of replacing their equipment or stock from loss or damage. Without this protection in place it may onerous for a small business to cover the cost of losing equipment which is necessary for them to trade.

When discussing this cover it is wise to consider if the policies extend to loss from a vehicle overnight or indeed if the equipment is covered on an “all risks” basis meaning cover from various locations.

Legal expenses insurance provides cover for legal costs incurred in defending or pursuing specified types of civil actions, such as employee contract disputes, Inland Revenue tax investigations or bad debt recovery. Cover can also be extended to include property protection, prosecution defence for employers, tenancy disputes, statutory licence protection, data protection act and prosecution.