The different types of Trade Insurance

As a trade business owner, it is imperative that you understand what insurance is at your disposal and which are legally needed. As a limited company or sole trader, you must protect your business' assets as operating without insurance puts you at serious financial risk.

Finding the most common forms of trade insurance is why we are here today. Rhino Trade Insurance offers various levels of cover, which include Public Liability Insurance, Tool Protection, Professional Indemnity Insurance and Employers' Liability Insurance. 

On top of these standard policies, you can add a range of valuable protections such as:

• Accident and Injury Protection
• Contractors' All Risks Insurance 
• Gadget Insurance
• Legal Protection and more

Let's find out what they all are and how they can protect your business. 

Why take out trade insurance?

Insurance can often be confusing, leaving you wondering whether you got the right cover at the right price. Working as a tradesman or woman opens you up to risk, so protecting your business should be of paramount importance. 

At Rhino, we've left the insurance jargon at the door, allowing you to build insurance packages to protect your business, in a simple and straightforward way. 

We pride ourselves on our service, offering transparent quotes that set out to safeguard your business sufficiently. We cover a list as long as your arm when it comes to trades: Builders, Plumbers, Electricians, Plasterers, Car Valets, Fencing Contracts, you name it, we most likely protect it. Let's look into the insurance you can take out for your business in finer detail. 

Understanding the importance of Public Liability Insurance for trades

When setting up your business, Public Liability Insurance should be high on your list of things to do. Public Liability Insurance protects you should you damage a customers' property, inflict injury on a member of the public or cause accidental death. As we highlight on our quote engine, it's a business' bread and butter when it comes to insurance and all additional policies build on from here. 

Should you ever need to make a claim, your policy will protect you up to the indemnity level chosen at purchase. 

Public Liability acts as a safety net should you ever face difficulties on-site. It keeps you, your clients, and any stakeholders in a project secure in the knowledge that you are financially covered to put it right should something go wrong. At Rhino, we can provide Public Liability Insurance up to £5 million should you need it. 

Find out more from our specific blog post on the subject here. 

How about protecting employees?

As a business owner in the UK, if you employ any staff members, you are legally required to hold Employers' Liability Insurance. If you don't, you could be subject to a fine of up to £2,500 per day that you haven't been covered. The fines can even be backdated. 

Employer's Liability Insurance is a popular add-on to Public Liability. It protects your business should  employees get injured on-site or become ill from the work you set them. 

When working in the trades, accidents and injuries are highly common; it's one of the riskiest industries in the world. That's why as a business owner, you must ask yourself if it's worth gambling your company's hard work on avoiding insurance. Employers' Liability Insurance doesn't just protect your staff; it also protects your business’ finances. . 

Whether they are full-time, part-time or temporary, this cover is needed. What's more, depending on the projects you work on (for example, for a local council), it will be contractually obligated to hold a certain level of employment protection. 

How can Professional Indemnity Insurance protect you from claims of negligence or mistakes?

When working in the trade industry, you may offer certain services like advice on projects, designs for building work or general expertise on regulations. Professional Indemnity Insurance protects individuals and businesses who provide information that costs the main contractor money. 

Any losses incurred due to faulty advice or even a loss of sensitive information can result in a claim. Whatever financial burdens you may face, this insurance will ensure that your business faces no loss due to a claim (up to your chosen level of indemnity). 

Tradesmen and women always strive to give their best service. However, things can go wrong from time to time. A simple error in measurement, a lack of materials, an incorrect property boundary, and more can cause a client to lose money on a project that may be deemed your fault. This insurance will save your bacon and allow you to carry on business as usual without worrying about how you will pay for the mistake. 

Find out more about Professional Indemnity here and how it can help you. 

What else can I do to protect my business?

At Rhino, we offer many beneficial cover options that you can add to your above policies. The options include:

Tool Insurance

Tradesmen and women would have a tough job without their tools and equipment. It's safe to say, your work would take much longer without those power drills, electric saws, cement mixers and more. Our Tools In Transit Insurance is perfect for those who want to protect their livelihood and cover their most important weapons. 

Rhino Trade Insurance experts have concocted a quality policy to protect your tools. We can offer cover up to £10,000 in value and protect against the cost of replacement, servicing and reinstatement. This is because our insurance protects again the loss, damage or theft of any assets you insure whilst carrying out your work. A bonus of Rhino's cover is that your tools will be protected when they are 'in transit', 'in your parked van' or 'whilst loading', ensuring your equipment is covered from point A to point B. 

Find out more about our popular Tool Insurance options here. 

Personal Accident Insurance

Personal Accident Insurance is growing in popularity throughout the trades community. Should you find yourself off work due to injury or illness, our Personal Accident Insurance will payout a lump sum fee up to £50,000 to ensure that your financial health whilst you're unable to work. 

Working in the trades can be high-risk, so protecting your finances should you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where you're off work is a bit of a no-brainer.

Up to your chosen level of cover, you can expect to receive a lump sum in compensation that will help with things like salary, supplier costs and unit rent. With Personal Accident Insurance, there's no need to stress if you cannot work. Rhino's protection will ensure you are seen right until you are back on your feet. 

Contractors All Risks Insurance

When working in construction, ironing out minor details is important before the project begins. It's vital to check your agreement with the main contractor or client to ensure what level of insurance you need and who is liable for the value of the contract. If, for example, your business is contracted to be directly responsible for the value of any unfinished work, you will need to hold of Contractors' All Risks Insurance to protect against the situation in case anything goes wrong. 

Contractors All Risks Insurance protects building contractors or developers against the loss or physical damage to a construction project or site.

This cover protects building contractors and developers should damage be caused to a construction project or site, including the building or extension under construction. This could include damage from a tradesperson, theft, vandalism or an act of god. 

The main reason for holding this insurance is that it will protect you financially if things go south on the site. Without it, you may be held liable and have to pay for the costs of reworking or restarting the project out of your own pocket. 

You can also explore Gadget Insurance, Legal Protection, Tax Cover and more on the Rhino Trade Insurance website. 

Why choose Rhino Trade Insurance?

And that's the end of our article today. Hopefully, you enjoyed everything we shared, and your trade insurance needs are clearer. 

If you need any help with your policy, call our expert insurance brokers today on 0116 243 7904 or head over to the Rhino website and get a super-quick and affordable quote.