The Benefits of Having Trade Insurance for Tradesmen with Small Businesses

Tradesmen and their trades are regarded as highly important when you look at the important industries that we need to keep our lives ticking over. In a world where a lot of people are turning to the internet and trying to change their skills to suit the ever growing technical world, it’s key to know that we need tradesmen more than ever, and quite frankly would be at a loss without such a skilled trade.

If you think about it, without the skilled tradespeople that we have in the UK, so many areas of our lives would be affected. Our homes, buildings and cities. Safety. Our travels and transport. We need skilled tradesmen for more areas of our lives than we can possibly think of – and potentially take for granted – as tradesmen span a lot further than just construction workers alone.

Skilled labourers who works as tradesmen will usually train up in both hands-on, physical jobs, but this goes alongside technical and theory too. If this is something that you are wanting to do, or it’s the route you have already taken, it can be a lucrative future to go down the self-employed route, or setting up a small business and hiring other skilled workers to join your team. There is always going to be a need for fixing a plumbing problem or installing carpet into a house. Building houses, fixing transport, plastering, painting, or attending to wiring problems. We need tradesmen, and we need their small businesses on a daily basis. These tasks make a huge difference in our everyday lives.

Why tradesmen need trade insurance

Tradesman insurance is something that all tradesmen should have, as it is a type of business insurance that provides specialised cover associated with their trade, for the risks that trades professionals can face in their job. It can include a variety of cover types, including tradesman public liability insurance. By having tradesman public liability insurance in place, it helps to protect you if any damage is caused by your business, while you are carrying out a business activity. It’s depressing to think of the negatives, but a customer or member of the public could sustain an injury or death due to the nature of your work. No matter how skilled you are in your trade, no one can predict the future and accidents can happen. You can’t call what risks and hazards could present themselves on an daily basis when you are carrying out your work.

From a legal perspective, when you look into it, tradesmen are only required to have employers’ liability cover (if they have employees). However, for safely running a business and protecting yourself and your trade, this really is the bare minimum requirement. There are a lot of professional bodies and trade associations who will demand that you have other insurance policies in place to become a member.

When you are looking to take on clients, they may want to see that you have a public liability insurance policy in place. It’s becoming more known to customers and the public, and by not having it could mean that you could be missing out on work and opportunities.

It’s important to read up on the insurance policies you should be taking out for your trade, as neglecting to take out insurance could be more severe. No one can predict the future, and no matter how skilled and experienced you are, mistakes are not avoidable for people. In certain trades, mistakes can lead to serious injury, accidents and even death, which makes having the right insurance in place crucial.

Some examples include plumbers – if they incorrectly fitted a boiler and ended up causing carbon monoxide poisoning, that could mean facing a professional negligence claim. These always come with high legal fees and compensation costs too. If a roofer wasn’t to follow protocol properly, and a roof fell down, or if an electrician was to cause a fire by making an error when installing a system, the results can be fatal – and expensive.

Could you afford to cover these costs out of your own pocket? The answer is most likely to be no.

Another area to consider is theft, which is rife when you carry expensive tools with you to do your job daily. It doesn’t matter how vigilant and careful you are, loss and damage sometimes cannot be avoided. By insuring your tools and trade materials, you can enjoy peace of mind that you don’t have to be completely out of pocket should something go wrong.

Who needs tradesman insurance?

If you’re self-employed, or setting up a small business, and you work in the manual, skilled industry in a particular field, you could benefit from having tradesman insurance in place.

The term ‘tradesman’ is often used to market this type of insurance, and it’s key to understand that it covers a wide array of job roles, all of which include manual and skilled labourers. Those who should be looking into tradesman insurance include: