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The Ultimate Guide to Insurance for Tradesmen

Rhino Trade Insurance 20 December 2021

Here at Rhino, we speak to tradesmen and women every day of the week. We understand the many risks and hazards different trades face every day. We hear countless stories of injury, damage and potential death occurring regularly. Have you ever wondered what would happen if you couldn’t work due to an injury? Or how you would pay for a hefty compensation bill if you damaged a customers property?

That’s why we are here today. To talk you through many of our most popular options for Trade Insurance, what they cover and how they can help every day, self-employed tradesman. Let’s get to work and get your business financially protected now!

What Is Tradesman Insurance?

Tradesman Insurance is a blanket term. It’s not a one-size-fits-all. The team at Rhino Trade Insurance deal with a vast array of different trades, all presenting themselves with varying levels of risks. Whatever your trade is, investing in a good Tradesman Insurance policy is of vital importance to your fledgling trade business. It makes perfect sense to have yourself covered if an unfortunate situation occurs. 

Taking the time to get the right level of indemnity cover for your business means that down the line, you can focus on the more important things. Be it growing your trade business, finding different suppliers or planning the next works outing - ours will be a pint of lager, please. 

We have insured thousands of tradesmen and women across the UK. We offer several different cover options such as our popular Public Liability Insurance, Employer’s Liability Insurance, Tools Insurance, Income Protection, Van Insurance and many more

What Does Tradesman Insurance Cover?

Tradesman Insurance offers a broad scope of coverage. You can get different types of cover depending on whatever your trade is, and trust us when we say - we cover the lot. To name a few, we offer trade insurance for:

But what does Trade Insurance cover? We hear you saying. Well, let’s give a few examples of where our Insurance policies have you covered. You might have your examples of these scenarios yourself:

Accidentally Injuring a third party. 

Imagine a situation where you are a painter and decorator up on a ladder painting a landing. You are listening to the festive tunes and accidentally drop your paint tin that lands on a customer’s arm, causing a trip to the hospital. Having Public Liability Insurance in place can protect you and your business from any potential incoming compensation claim. 

Damage to a customer’s property

The same painter and decorator (he’s having a bad day). When he drops the tin, it lands on the customer’s marble flooring, which causes the tile to crack. Sadly, these tiles are imported and cost a bomb! Thankfully, having Rhino’s proper level of cover, you will not have to lose any sleep at night and can expect our legal costs to be covered. 

Damaging a crane on-site

Suppose you are a building contractor working on a large construction site and have hired various machinery to get the job done. If you just so happened to damage one of the cranes that are lifting vital supplies and equipment into place, then you might find yourself in a sticky situation. In this situation, having Rhino’s Contractor’s All Risk Insurance would immediately cover you for any loss or damage caused whilst on the building site. That includes any machinery or equipment used to complete the job. 

Injuring yourself whilst working a job 

If you are working on a job and suddenly cause yourself an injury through no fault of your own, you might not be able to work. Whether you pull your back or break a leg, losing time from work as a self-employed tradesman only hits you in the pocket. That’s where Personal Accident and Income Protection can save the day. These cover policies will pay out the appropriate indemnity level if you are injured and cannot physically work for some time. This could be seen as a vital add on to your Trade Insurance as if you cannot work, you won’t get paid - so it’s best to keep yourself covered for any eventuality. 

What Does Tradesman Insurance Include?

Public Liability Insurance

By far and away, our most popular trade insurance policy is Public Liability Insurance. This bad boy is there to protect your business if you come into contact with members of the public or third parties. Should your line of work cause some form of injury, damage or accidental death, you may be liable to pay a beefy compensation bill. 

At Rhino Trade Insurance, we offer a fantastic package for various levels of cover. You could protect yourself with £1 million, £2 million or £5 million worth of indemnity. What’s more, our policies are very straightforward, with a standard £500 excess for any claim to isn’t a result of the use of direct heat. You can also upgrade your policy at any time without facing any daft admin fees! 

Situations when public liability insurance is needed:

Imagine Dave the Plumber is contracted to work on a customer’s home. He has fantastic reviews and comes with plenty of experience. Anyone can have a bad day, and sadly Dave forgets to turn the water off before ripping out the old bathroom. He damaged a pipe and caused a massive leak that could impact the property’s structural integrity. 

As long as Dave has Public Liability Insurance at a good level of coverage, he will be covered for any oncoming claim or compensation to fix the damage caused at the property. 

Is Public Liability Insurance Compulsory?

The simple answer is no. It isn’t legally required. However, you will be taking a gigantic risk without having this type of cover. As a tradesman, you will face mounting threats almost daily. What’s more, to work your trade on many jobs and building sites will require you to have some form of Public Liability Insurance. Not to beat a dead horse, but this policy makes sound financial sense for any self-employed tradesman out there looking for the right cover. 

What is Employers’ Liability Insurance?

This is a very common add-on to a tradesman’s insurance policy. It is a legal requirement for any business that employs staff members and covers the employer if an employee wants to launch a claim against them. These claims will result from injury or death caused by the work undertaken for your business by the staff member. 

Situations when employers’ liability is needed:

Imagine one of your employees fits a kitchen and has a unit fall on their foot, causing it to break. A claim could be coming your way, so having this type of insurance on your policy won’t cause you any sleepless nights. After a thorough investigation from your insurer, the fault would be found, and if your business is in the firing line, Employee’s Liability Cover will protect you from paying compensation. 

Is Employers’ Liability Insurance Compulsory?

The answer to this is a resounding yes. It is a legal requirement to have Employee’s Liability Insurance if you employ any staff. What’s more, you should have your insurance certificate hung up in a place that your employees can see this document. If you choose to take the risk and avoid taking out this insurance, you could be fined up to £2,500 every day you go uncovered. 

What is Professional Indemnity Insurance?

This type of Tradesman Insurance is a popular policy add-on if you or your business provide any design, advice or expertise as part of your services. This type of insurance often goes unnoticed but can save your bacon if it’s ever needed. 

Situations when professional indemnity is needed:

If your business does offer advice, guidance, expertise or designs as part of your work, then having this cover is vital. You could, for example, accidentally lose a set of sensitive drawings for a building, leak some company data by mistake or give bad advice to a client on their property which ultimately turns out bad. We can all make errors of judgement, and Professional Indemnity Insurance keeps you safe in case you have a terrible day on the job. 

Is Professional Indemnity Insurance Compulsory?

The quick and easy answer is no, it’s not compulsory. However, with an industry filled with risks, hazards and shoddy advice, we don’t want you to be left in the lurch if you face a claim. Professional Indemnity cover is the perfect add-on to any tradesman who offers advice or designs. Save yourself the hassle and get covered now. 

What is Tool Insurance?

It cannot be said enough. Shout it from the rooftops if you have to: A tradesman without their tools is like a fish without water, Batman without Robin and Del-boy without Rodney. You are like modern-day superheroes saving us all from electrical, water or gas problems. But you need your trusty equipment to get you through the day. That’s why Tool Insurance is so critical to any tradesman in the UK. 

If your tools are stolen or damaged, you won’t be able to do your job, and as a self-employed tradesman, you’ll most likely lose money. Rhino Trade Insurance’s fantastic policy allows you to cover tools whilst they are either ‘in transit’, ‘whilst loading’ or ‘in your parked vehicle’. Meaning your tools are covered for most situations you will find yourself in!

To get a grip of what this trade insurance has to offer, we can cover your tools up to a value of £10,000. Included with this is the cost of replacement, servicing, and reinstatement of lost, damaged, or destroyed equipment. You are even covered if your tools are in your van and that’s stolen!

Is Tradesman Insurance worth it?

Tradesman Insurance with Rhino is an absolute must. We offer some of the best policies on the market. Having spent the last 20 years honing our craft, we have developed some excellent insurance options for various tradespeople at amazing prices. For example, you could save up to 40% on your Public Liability Insurance and get an even better price adding on other types of cover… That Tool Insurance sounds even better now, right?

Our team is based right here in the UK and is ready to speak to you and answer any questions. If you want to get a quick and easy quote without the fluff, then head to our quote system now. We can’t wait to start working with you! 


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