Contractor insurance
Flexible and customisable business insurance for UK-based contractors who want quick and comprehensive cover. Get a quote in 4 minutes.
Be quote confident. We'll beat the price of any like-for-like quote. T&Cs apply.
Why do you need contractors insurance?
Whether you're working in an office as an IT contractor or as a building contractor on a construction site, being a contractor in any form comes with its own risks. These can range from accidents and injuries, damaged or stolen equipment or mistakes that cost money. Customisable business insurance for your particular trade will provide you with the specific cover you need to protect you from the risks that could most affect you.
We have a range of covers that you can pick and choose from, including public liability, employers' liability, business contents and cyber. As well as tools insurance, hired-in plant machinery and construction plant and machinery cover for those who mainly work on construction sites.
- Choose £1m, £2m, or £5m public liability cover
- Optional employers' liability, cyber and business contents cover
- Change or cancel any time, for no fee
- Tailor your cover to your specific needs
Be quote confident
We're big on fairness. So if you find a lower price for a comparable quote, we won't just match it – we'll go one better and beat it.
So even better than apples to apples, apples to better apples. We're talking Galas to Braeburns.
As you'd expect, T&Cs apply.
Get a contractor insurance quote in less than 10 minutes
Adapt or cancel your cover at any time. No penalties.
What insurance should contractors have?
Public liability insurance
Our public liability insurance for contractors will protect you if you accidentally cause injury or property damage to a third party, either at your home office, at a client's home or office, or out on a construction site.
It's also worth bearing in mind that some of your clients, or even suppliers, might ask you to have public liability cover, so make sure your minimum cover limit meets their requirements as well as your own.
Professional indemnity insurance
Clients pay for your knowledge and expertise, but what if you make a mistake? If your misplaced advice causes a client to lose money, you could face a lawsuit, with legal costs and compensation to pay.
If that happens, professional indemnity insurance may offer protection. This is also another cover that some clients may insist you have.
Employers' liability insurance
If you employ people, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers' liability insurance is required by law.
Employers' liability (EL) insurance protects you for claims made by employees for accidental injury or property damage. If they want to make a claim, EL insurance would cover the legal and compensation fees.
Business equipment insurance
Whatever kit you rely on, having it lost, stolen or damaged could leave you with large unexpected costs. Business equipment cover, gives you peace of mind that if this does happen, you'll be able to replace your gear and be back up and running in no time.
Cyber insurance
If your work involves handling large amounts of client data, then you could be at risk of a cyber-attack or data breach. Cyber insurance offers protection and expert support in the event of a breach of data protection laws (where insurable by law) and your liability for handling data, as well as cover for extortion, system rectification costs, plus PR expenses and financial loss due to system downtime.
Legal protection insurance
Unlike large companies with in-house legal teams, self-employed professionals don't have the convenience of specialist legal support. Legal protection insurance gives you access to specialist commercial legal support, a lifeline if you ever face a legal dispute or have questions about tax issues, such as IR35.
Tools insurance
If you're a contractor who relies on tools to do your job, our stand-alone tools insurance can protect this equipment from damage or theft.
We offer up to £5000 worth of portable tools and equipment cover, which can include cover for theft from a vehicle if left overnight.
Construction plant and machinery cover
Sometimes you need extra equipment to get the job done. If you own plant and construction machinery, we can cover this against accidental damage for up to £10,000. This includes caravans, trailers, site huts and construction plant.
Contract works cover
While you're working on a contract, things can occasionally go wrong, which means your work is disrupted, delayed or even destroyed. This can lead to extra costs for you, and if you've already invested a lot, is not ideal.
Contract works cover protects you in the event that these things happen.
If an accident on a job site led to your work being damaged, contract works cover would ensure you're paid the value of the property that was damaged.
If the contract or development you’re working on increases in value, we’ll give you additional cover (up to 20% of the estimated original value).
Or if an accident happens on your building site, putting you behind schedule and causing you to work extra hours, we’d cover necessary costs for overtime, night work, work on public holidays and more.
Hired-in plant machinery insurance
If a job requires specialist equipment that you have to hire, we offer up to £50,000 of cover to protect it.
Hired-in plant machinery insurance covers your liability under any hire conditions for damage to hired construction plant, machinery, tools, equipment, site huts or caravans.
As an added extra, we also offer continuing charges cover. If the hired in plant is damaged or unusable, you still have to pay the hiring charges. That’s where we come in. We cover your lost hire charges you are liable to pay in the event of damage or breakdown of the plant.
Business stock insurance
Hauling your stock repeatedly to and from a job site isn’t always feasible. That’s why we offer up to £5,000 of cover for stock that is left either on your premises, or in a secure location closer to the job site - as long as it’s locked away and securely stored.
Once you've completed a quote, you'll be able to view a summary of cover. Please always refer to your policy documents for full details around exclusions, terms and limits of your customised cover.
What is contractor insurance?
Contractor insurance is business insurance that aims to provide financial help if a claim is made against you for compensation, or if the equipment you use to do your job is stolen or damaged.
Contractor insurance is suitable for anyone who services their clients through a contract. This could mean that you work in office as an IT contractor or an advertising contractor, or you could mainly work on construction projects as a building contractor or electrical contractor.
We have covers to suit both types of contractor. To see if we service your particular field, simply click 'Start a quote'.
Contractor insurance claims
Insurance claims for contractors are different for every type of industry, but here are a few examples of claims where your business could be liable:
Damaged electrical items
You're working as an electrical contractor and a power surge causes accidental damage to your client's household machines. Public liability insurance could cover the legal and compensation costs.
A fallen ladder
A subcontractor who is working for you on a ceiling project accidentally falls from a faulty ladder and injures their arm and head. Employers' liability insurance could cover the legal and compensation costs.
Mistakes in your work
A mistake has been found in a report that you created on for a client and needs to be re-done, causing a delay in the project and an extra expense to the client. Professional indemnity insurance could cover the costs.
Clients' details are stolen
Your computer system is hacked and your valuable clients' personal details are stolen. Cyber insurance would cover the legal and compensation costs, including any fines.
How do claims work?
You make a claim
Log in to your online account and go to the ‘Make a claim’ section. There, you can make a claim directly – there's no need to call us.
We'll ask you for some details about your claim, including a crime reference number (if applicable), the date of loss or claim made against you, type of claim and its detailed description.
In the portal, you can also attach any relevant supporting documentation like proof of loss, proof of purchase, a letter of demand or a statement of claim.
We'll get on the case
Once submitted, your claim will be assessed by our experts.
If the claim is large, we may need more information from you. If it's small, however, our team may be able to settle it within a couple of days (or hours, in some cases).
Either way, we'll keep you regularly updated and you'll be able to see the status of your claim on our customer portal.
Your claim is settled
After it's been assessed, we'll let you know if your claim has been successful or not.
If items have been lost, stolen or damaged, we might arrange for the items to be replaced or make a payment to you.
If you’re liable for something we will assist you with legal support.
Contractor insurance FAQs
What insurance do you need as a contractor?
As a contractor, you'll want to think about a combination of covers, including:
Other covers that may also be relevant to contractors, depending on the work that you do, are:
How much is contractors insurance?
The cost of business insurance for contractors varies depending on the types and level of cover you need, the industry you work in and the place you work. For some specialist contracting industries it will also depend on details such as whether you work from a height, or the types of tools you use.
All of these factors alter the risk level, which in turn alters the premium.
Do contractors need professional indemnity insurance?
Even though professional indemnity insurance isn’t a legal requirement for contractors, clients will often require you to have it. Furthermore, the potential cost of a claim against you could be devastating, so you may decide that it's therefore worth having for this reason alone.
Do contractors need public liability insurance?
Although public liability insurance isn’t a legal requirement for contractors, it’s a popular choice for a two key reasons: 1. Incidents leading to accidental injury and property damage cannot be predicted and can result in costly claims against you. 2. Some clients may expect you to have it.
Boost your cover with legal protection insurance
Covers compensation awards, professional fees and legal costs associated with a range of legal disputes.
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Our insurance products are underwritten by Standard & Poor’s A-rated financial strength or higher. This means the underwriter has been independently assessed by the world’s leading credit rating provider and found to have a strong capacity to meet financial commitments (pay claims).
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