For any tradesman or woman running their own business, you must be able to multitask and juggle a variety of jobs at any given time. You could be managing staff payroll, customer enquiries or overseeing a project on-site. With this, you could be anxious about what could happen next, and in the event of an accident, it's wise to hold a solid trade insurance policy.
Having insurance is vital and helps protect your business should something go wrong. Whether that's through an error on-site, with a member of the public or a piece of machinery, you will want to have peace of mind knowing you are financially covered. Let's spend some time working out how to choose the right policy for your business.
Analyse your businesses risk
As someone who works in the trade industry, your job carries a certain amount of risk, with some trades being riskier than others. When you first apply for your trade insurance policy, an insurer like Rhino Trade Insurance will weigh up the level of risk posed by your trade.
To better understand this, it's best to think about the operations your business undertakes and how anything you do on a day-by-day basis could be seen as a risk or hazard.
If your line of work is fraught with risk and seen as too much to protect, an insurer may be unable to offer the level of protection you need. This can be apparent sometimes with people who work over a certain height or with specific materials. As always, it's best to get in touch with our lovely UK team to find out what the best policy is for you.
What does the policy cover
After analysing your company's risk, you need to ensure that your insurance provider offers a policy that covers all of your business activities (there's no point in taking the cheapest option if it doesn't cover you for specific actions you undertake). Public Liability Insurance should be the very minimum cover you hold. This protects against any damage you cause to a customer's home or injury inflicted due to your work. From this, you can build your cover to protect your employees, tools, income and more.
After you've received a quote, carefully consider the policy. Pay attention to things that are covered and, more specifically, not covered (you could always add these on later).
Ensuring what is and isn't included in your insurance policy is highly important due to the fact that your business could come under strain should a problem arise from something you aren't protected for.
Rhino Trade Insurance is here to minimise that risk and set your mind at ease. After proposing a policy to you, consider any questions you have. These could include:
- Does this policy cover all my business-related activities?
- Is employee liability also covered by this policy, or is public liability the only coverage?
- What level of cover am I getting?
- Last but not least, who is protected by the policy?
Our advisors are always on hand to help with any questions you have.
Check the requirements in your industry.
When choosing your Public Liability Insurance premium, it's best to keep an eye on the expectations of any industry bodies you sign up for or specific customers you work with.
Suppose you are a trade business that regularly works for a local council or government organisation, for example. In that case, you will be required to hold a certain level of protection to work on their projects - usually £2 million in cover at a very minimum.
Likewise, if you join a trade association to meet and network with like-minded professionals, you will find that during your membership application, a standard requirement may be that you hold a sufficient level of insurance coverage.
Research different options
Going for the cheapest option isn't always the way to go. As a respectable, hardworking tradesman or woman, you want to be safe in the knowledge that you have an adequate level of financial protection should something go wrong on a job.
We offer quality trade insurance at a very competitive price at Rhino Trade Insurance. Our policies range from £1 million in cover to £5 million, so you can be sure that we have the right protection for your trade. On top of this, you can also choose to pay via monthly instalments and enjoy interest-free payments!
Minimise your risk
It's always best to have a plan of action and follow it to a tee when working on a building site. Making every effort to safeguard your business so that you carry out the project in a safe and compliant manner will help to minimise any risks.
Keeping yourself and your employees up-to-date with the latest health and safety initiatives, legislation, and regulations will also go a long way in this instance.
Even after purchasing the right level of insurance for your trade business, the risks will always be there. This is when it's a great idea to conduct regular health and safety assessments on-site. This can and will reduce any risk posed to you and your employees and could save you money on your next policy.
Why choose Rhino Trade Insurance?
Trade insurance is imperative when you run your business and interact with customers. You need to have the right protection, whether you are a one-man band or command a fleet of tradespeople.
Rhino Trade Insurance has developed some of the best trade insurance policies on the market. We have specific policies that will cover your business in various circumstances, including tool theft, income loss, and personal accidents, among many others.
We work hard to make it as easy as possible to take out our insurance policies, and our online quote system takes just a few short minutes to give you that all-important quote.
If you prefer to speak to an actual human, give our lovely UK team a call today. We are available six days a week, can answer any queries you have and can set your trade insurance up in no time. Simply call us on 0116 243 7904.