Can I customise my Public Liability Insurance policy?

When you’re running a trade business, you must accept that your line of work brings various risks. On any given day, you may find yourself on building sites, interacting with clients, liaising with suppliers and the public or entering customer’s homes. Risks are everywhere, which is why trade insurance is so important.

Tradespeople often ask us if they can tailor their trade insurance policies to suit their individual needs. 

You can with Rhino Trade Insurance. We explain how understanding your business's risks and liabilities will help you determine whether you need to update your current policy, and how your policy can be built to match your business’s needs.

Understanding Your Business Risks and Liabilities:

Because of the protection it offers, Public Liability Insurance is one of the most widely purchased types of business insurance.

Why is it so invaluable to businesses? Put simply, if a third party successfully files a legal case against your trade business, having Public Liability Insurance could mean the difference between your company remaining in operation or not as it will step in to financially protect you from the costs involved, 

When taking out a new policy or wondering whether to update your current insurance package, you need to consider the following:

Assessing Your Business Needs

Think about how your business works and what could potentially affect it. 

Remember, every business needs insurance, no matter how good your health and safety policies are or how small the scope of your operations. Examples of claims include things like slips, trips and falls, water damage and accidental damage to possessions. These tend to be unanticipated and sometimes unavoidable.

Every tradesman or woman, whether operating as a limited company or sole trader, needs insurance. The only question is - which policies suit your business best, and how much should the cover limits be?

Identifying Your Liabilities

You might think your business is relatively ‘safe’ if you’re not doing obviously risky things like working at height or wielding power tools. However, even injuries brought on by trips, slips, and falls can result in some seriously costly compensation claims. Depending on the severity, this might cost thousands in compensation in addition to legal fees, which can often add more zeros to the bill. That is, of course, unless you have the appropriate level of insurance in place.

Writing regular risk assessments and training yourself and any employees in health and safety will allow you to identify potential liabilities within your area of expertise. On top of having sufficient insurance protection, you can plan for crisis management, which will see you and those around you ready to spring into action if trouble occurs on-site. 

Understanding the Risks Associated with Your Business Activities

A good trade insurance policy should reflect any special circumstances within your business. For example, if you are a Bricklayer, you could pose a danger to the customer due to the types of tools and equipment you use. Likewise, as a Plumber, you could damage a customer's home because you are dealing with mains water supplies.

Claims can result from various situations, but there are some common occurrences which we as insurers see time and time again. Commonly, liability claims arise when customers or visitors to your company premises hurt themselves - typically by slipping or falling. The liability of such an incident would fall on you, the business owner. Other extremely common reasons for claims include property damage, device damage and breakage of possessions.

Tailoring Your Policy to Meet Your Needs

Coverage Options to Consider

We hope it’s clear by now that there is no one-size-fits-all policy. Businesses are different and policies should be different to reflect that. Luckily, you can customise your trade insurance policies with Rhino Trade Insurance. Our policy experts have spent countless hours designing and implementing tailored solutions for various trades in the UK. 

For example, a choice of indemnity limits (limits of protection) are available with our Public Liability policies. Rhino Trade Insurance offer three indemnity limits: £1 million, £2 million, and £5 million. The greater the risk your business activities pose, the higher the cover limit should be. You’ll have a good idea of which cover limit is right for you after using our almost-instant online quote engine or speaking to one of our friendly trade insurance experts at Rhino HQ.

You can also personalise your cover limit on the other types of insurance we offer. For example, for Employers' Liability Insurance, trade companies can take out up to £10 million in indemnity, which helps protect you if an employee becomes ill or injured as a result of your work and will cover you financially if your staff members take legal action. 

With Rhino, you can also add extra policies on top of your main Public Liability Insurance or Employers Liability Insurance cover. 

Common additions for tradesmen and women include:

• Tool Insurance: this cover offer protections for lost, stolen or damaged tools up to £50,000
• Legal Expenses Insurance: This option will safeguard your business legally by up to £50,000 with defence costs, court costs, compensation fees and more. 
• Professional Indemnity cover: A popular addition which allows you to select up to £2 million in cover, which will protect your business if you offer advice services, expertise and designs which go wrong and leave a client out of pocket. 
• Tax Enquiry Insurance: In the event of an inquiry or dispute with HMRC, Tax Enquiry Insurance will pay up to £50,000 of the costs paid by our professionals or your accountant.
• Contractors' All Risks Insurance: Provides up to £250,000 worth of defence against damage or loss of a construction site or project. This covers harm done to the structure itself, any extensions currently being built, and/or any equipment, materials, or machinery that have been brought in to help with the construction. 

Factors Affecting the Cost of Customising Your Policy

So, how much is your trade insurance going to cost you? As there is no one-size-fits-all approach to trade insurance, Rhino Trade Insurance has developed a user-friendly online quotation engine that gives you an instant quote in just a few seconds. 

Your estimate will be affected by a few factors.

Your line of work, your business’s turnover, the size of your business, the equipment you use, whether you have staff and how many staff you have are all factors that will affect the price of your premium. All of these variables will affect the cost of your insurance, but don't worry - trade insurance shouldn't empty your bank account; we take extra steps to keep our prices low.

You must be sure to inform your insurer about changes to your business. For example should you move home, change business address or add a new company director, you should let them know as such changes may impact the level of insurance you may require. Further, if your business has grown in turnover or operations, it’s crucial to update your insurer so you’re not underinsured in case of a claim. 

You can learn more by reading our blog on why you should review your trade insurance here. 

How Rhino can help you

Rhino Trade Insurance will assist you in choosing the right level of Public Liability Insurance for your company and can guide you regarding any necessary add-ons for your particular line of business.

For additional details, contact Rhino Trade Insurance today. You can reach our staff by calling 0116 243 7904 or visiting our website to quickly discover all the information you need. Then, in a matter of minutes, you can receive a quick online quote.