Insurance for trades Insurance for trades

Customisable insurance for independent tradespeople and trades businesses with five-star customer service and claims support, if you need it.

Be quote confident. We'll beat the price of any like-for-like quote. T&Cs apply.

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Trades insurance quote from £5.86 a month

10% of tradespeople paid £5.86 a month or less for their Superscript business insurance between January and March 2023.

Why is insurance for tradespeople important?

No matter how skilled you are in your chosen trade, mistakes and accidents can still happen. If you work on construction sites or in clients' homes around members of the public and employees, having the right business insurance can provide vital protection if an incident occurred.

At Superscript, you start with public liability insurance and build your policy from there, only adding the relevant covers you need for your business. If you only need to cover your tools, we offer standalone protection for your equipment – no strings attached.

  • Choose from £1m, £2m, or £5m public liability cover
  • Add employers' liability if you need it
  • Enjoy 5-star customer service and claims support
  • Add or remove covers and adjust your limits, with no extra fees
  • Pay monthly or annually, it’s your choice

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.

Pick your trade

We offer insurance for loads of different trades. If yours isn't featured below, that doesn't mean we don't cover it! Simply click 'Start your quote' and search for your trade.

What insurance do tradesmen need?

Public liability insurance

Public liability insurance is a common cover for businesses that involve contact with members of the public, and is designed to cover any claims made against you for injury or property damage as a direct result of your work.

As an experienced tradesman, you could probably operate many of your tools and maybe even navigate a building site in the dark - no problem. But this certainly isn’t the case for a layman, for whom your tools and work area present a host of dangers!

You may find that some clients demand that you have public liability and trade associations will also often require it as a prerequisite to membership.

Employers' liability insurance

Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for employers in the UK. If you hire any employees at all, including apprentices, part-time, or even temporary workers, you’ll need to make sure you’re covered and that you have an employers' liability insurance certificate to prove it. Not having it can result in a fine of up to £2,500 per day for each uninsured day.

Our employers' liability cover offers a £10 million limit as standard. It also includes 50 days’ cover for temporary employees, who do not need to be registered with us, each year.

Contract works cover

Sometimes, things don’t go to plan. Contract works cover insures you for things beyond your control, like fire, theft, water damage and wind damage - and accidental mishaps that occur while on a job - and we can offer you limits of up to £500,000.

Tools and equipment insurance

A misplaced spanner is one thing, but damaged, lost or stolen specialist equipment is expensive and can be difficult to replace. And tool theft is no joke - it’s one of the biggest concerns for tradesmen in the UK.

Our cover includes: up to £10,000 cover for portable tools and equipment (maximum value of £1,000 per item); up to £25,000 cover for construction plant and machinery owned by you; and up to £50,000 cover for hired in plant. Just be sure to keep everything in a securely locked building or compound when not in use. We can also offer additional cover for tools stored in vehicles overnight.

Stock cover

It’s not all about the tools! You can’t get a job done without the right materials either. Our business stock covers materials such as wood, paint and tiles, up to £5,000. It’s important that your stock is securely stored at your business premises, or in securely locked conditions elsewhere - even when in transit.

Personal accident cover

Unfortunately, the physicality demanded by manual labour means that if you get injured, you may find yourself unable to work in the same capacity for some time - perhaps even permanently. Our personal accident cover pays a cash benefit of up to £10,000 in the event of certain injuries.

Read more in our guide to tradesman insurance

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. Read our guide to understanding your policy documents.

Just need to insure your tools and equipment?

At Superscript, we offer special cover for just the tools and equipment of your trade. You won't be tied into taking out any other covers in your policy so you only pay for what you need.

As a tradesman, you can get simple, standalone cover for vital tools and items of business equipment such as:

  • Power tools
  • Laser level
  • Step ladder
  • Work bench
  • Laptop and phone

Read more about our tools-only cover.

Tradesmen claims examples

Insurance claims are different for every type of trade, but here are a few examples of the types of claims that could involve legal or compensation costs and, as always, terms, conditions and exclusions apply:

Improper training

An employee lifts a heavy piece of construction material and injures their back. They claim they weren't trained on how to lift heavy items properly. Employers' liability insurance can cover legal fees and compensation costs associated with the claim.

An injured passerby

You're putting up some scaffolding and accidentally let go of one of the mid rails. It falls and lands on a member of the public, injuring them enough to require hospitalisation. Public liability insurance can cover any legal fees and compensation costs associated with the claim.

Stolen drills

While working outside a client's house on some external building you step inside for a minute, putting your tools in a hidden place. You return only to find that your set of expensive drills has been stolen. Tools insurance can cover the cost to replace them.

Water damage

While working on a construction site, a mains water pipe bursts, causing water damage to the many of the surrounding materials and major project setbacks. Contract works insurance can cover the cost to replace the damaged materials up to a limit of £500,000.

How do claims work?

1

You make a claim

Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.

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.

2

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.

3

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.

Tradesman insurance FAQs

What trades do you cover?

We can cover a wide range of trades. If you can’t see your trade as an option when you get a quote, please don’t hesitate to contact our customer success team via chat, email or phone - we may be able to offer you cover!

Will I be covered to work abroad?

Our cover gives you the freedom to work temporarily (up to 180 days) anywhere within the European Union, knowing you’re covered as per usual.

Do you cover tools stored in a vehicle overnight?

Our standard cover does not include this. It specifically excludes theft of tools and equipment from any vehicle left unattended between the hours of 9pm and 6am. However, we do offer the option to insure your tools stored securely in your van overnight, if the vehicle is parked in a locked compound, at an additional cost.

Do I need to tell you each time I get a new employee?

If you have employers' liability insurance with us, you will need to let us know each time you get a new permanent employee. For temporary workers, however, we’ll automatically cover you for up to 50 days in any one period of insurance.

What will affect the cost of my insurance?

The cost of your cover will vary depending on the work you carry out. Jobs that could more easily cause harm to the public, or tools of high value, present more risk and a bigger payout in the event of a claim. This typically means the cost of your insurance will be higher than it would be to cover a lower work, or less valuable equipment.

What excess would I need to pay?

This will vary depending on the nature of your claim. For example, the excess on a public liability claim, or a tools claim, would be £250, while the excess on a hired-in plant claim would be £500.

The only cover that is a legal requirement is employers' liability insurance, for businesses with employees. However, you may want to consider insurance for other reasons, such as: your trade association may require it; your clients may require it; you may decide that the risk of a claim against you - or tools theft - is too high a price to pay, not to insure.

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