A-Z of Tradesman Insurance

When you're searching for tradesman insurance, many confusing and frankly foreign-sounding words can sneak their way onto your policies. Never fear, cause just like Batman in Gotham City, Rhino Trade Insurance is here to help you better understand your policy documents with a handy A-Z guide of tradesman insurance. 

From tongue-twisters to overall cover options 

We've heard from our mates on the tools. They've said that sometimes it's difficult to understand different tradesman insurance, sometimes the words don't make sense, or the overall cover option can be a bit grey. So we have written an A-Z glossary for you to read, decipher and take away when considering what cover you need. Let's get started:

A - Arbitration: A system of deciding legal disputes between an insurer and the tradesman by use of a private tribunal outside of the court system.

B - Broker: An intermediary who acts on behalf of a person (tradesman) who is applying for insurance. They earn a commission from the insurer; however, they have a responsibility to obtain cover appropriate to the insured's needs. In some circumstances, a broker can also act as an agent for the insurer to issue a policy or collect a premium.

C - Contractors All Risks Cover: An essential upgrade to a Public Liability or Employers Liability Policy for any building contractor or developer. It protects against the loss of or any physical damage to a construction project or site, including damage to the actual building or extension under construction and/or any plant, materials, and machinery on-site for the construction.

D - Damage/Damages: Compensation for loss suffered, awarded by courts and endeavours to place a tradesman in the position where they would have been had the loss not been suffered.

E - Employees Liability Cover: If you have any employees or subcontractors / temporary workers working for you under your direction, you may also need the employer's liability insurance. This policy will cover for injury or death of an employee whilst performing duties for your business. It may be a legal requirement depending on your circumstances. We can provide you with employer's liability insurance alongside our public liability insurance.

F - Fraud: The term "fraud or dishonesty" encompasses all those risks of loss that might arise through dishonest acts or omissions.

G - Gadget Insurance: Mobile gadget insurance covers the cost of replacing or repairing your portable electronic devices where they are damaged, lost or broken down. This single policy can be used to insure all of your gadgets, giving a tradesman the protection they need in one place.

H - Home Foreign Policy: This is when an insurance policy is bought in one country, but the risk or event would happen in a different country (Rhino Trade Insurance policies only cover the UK). 

I - (Professional) Indemnity Cover: Professional Indemnity Insurance protects businesses and individual tradesmen who provide designs, advice or expertise as part of their service. This tradesman insurance covers costs incurred if a customer alleges that you provided faulty advice and they have suffered a loss as a consequence.

J - N/A

K - Key Facts Document: A document that the regulator requires insurance and investment firms to produce. It includes the main features of a policy. (Also known as a key features document).

L - Legal Expenses Insurance: As a self-employed tradesman or business owner, you may come up against a range of legal risks and disputes. Legal Expenses Insurance will give you access to legal assistance and advice to help avoid such issues. Where issues can't be avoided will provide you with the defence you need without the worry of incurring expensive legal expenses.

M - Misrepresentation: Misrepresentation occurs when a tradesman has provided information to an insurer, but that information is incorrect.

N - Negligence: Failure to use a degree of care which an ordinary reasonable person would use under the given or similar circumstances. With Tradesman insurance, an individual may be negligent by acts of omission or commission or both.

O - Outstanding Claims: The aggregate liabilities (total case reserves less amounts paid) faced by an insurer under lodged claims that at any point in time have not been finalised. Rhino Trade Insurance endeavours to settle claims within 24hours. 

P - Public Liability Insurance: Probably the most popular tradesman insurance. Public Liability Insurance protects you if a client, member of the public or visitor suffers an injury or accidental death or damage to their property because of your business. It will cover legal expenses and/or compensation owed by your business (up to your chosen level of cover).

Q - Quote: A statement of the premium that an underwriter requires to underwrite an insurance/ reinsurance risk based on the information supplied by the person seeking cover, either directly or via their broker. A quotation may be conditional, e.g. it may be subject to the provision of further information or not.

R - Risk Management: Management of the risks to which a tradesman might be exposed. It involves finding all exposures to the possibility of loss and determining how to handle them through things like avoidance, reducing the risk, retaining the risk, or transferring the risk, e.g. see reinsurance.

S - Statute of Limitations: A law that specifies a time limit for which a person/ tradesman can bring a legal action for a claim.

T - Tool Insurance: Tradesman Tool Insurance will cover the cost of repair/replacement for your tools if they are lost/damaged whilst being loaded/unloaded, carried by, or temporarily housed in your vehicle.

U - Underinsurance: A condition in which not enough insurance is held to cover the value of what is being insured. This is particularly common with van insurance for tradesmen who run a small business with more than one van.

V - Van Insurance: Van Insurance is vital as, without cover, people cannot travel to perform their work. Getting the best van insurance rates means that you are not paying above the odds for your insurance.

W - Waiting period: A period of time outlined in a policy must pass before some or all coverage begins. It can be thought of as a time excess. It is sometimes referred to as a deferment period.

X - N/A

Y - N/A

Z - N/A

Last thoughts

So there you have it, a handy guide to help any tradesmen confused by legal words or some of the more comprehensive policies we offer at Rhino Trade Insurance. If you are coming up to renew or are looking to switch your tradesman insurance provider, simply give our team a call on 01162437904. You can easily purchase it yourself online.