Public liability insurance
In case you’re blamed for an injury or property damage.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for a sole trader?
Claims against your business for:
damage to someone’s property, caused by your business
injuries caused by your business activities
accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any
If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.
For example:
a client trips over a piece of machinery you’ve left out, falling and breaking his collarbone
you damage a client’s bike while moving it into your garage for repairs
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance
In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
an employee, including a contractor or casual labourer, suing you after falling ill because of working for you, or
making a claim for an injury they’ve had while working for you
For example:
an employee is struck by a moving forklift truck while working for you, and suffers a head injury
one of the contractors you’ve hired traps their foot under a piece of equipment in your garage, breaking their ankle
**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**
Professional indemnity insurance
In case there’s a claim for loss-causing errors or issues with your work.
What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?
Claims against your business for professional negligence or a loss-causing breach of contract. This can include:
advice which turns out to be incorrect
mistakes in your work that cost others money to fix
For example:
a client raises a negligence claim against your small accountancy firm, because of a mistake you made which has cost them money to fix
one of your employees publishes a blog post which infringes your client’s intellectual property rights, and you’re sued for compensation
Read more about professional indemnity insurance
Contents and office equipment insurance
In case something happens to your fixtures and fittings or operational equipment.
What’s typically covered by contents and office equipment insurance?
accidental damage to your fixtures and fittings, or the equipment you use to run the business
theft, flood, and fire damage
For example:
a flash flood damages your office equipment, including your laptop and multifunction printer
your employee leaves their company laptop on a train, and it’s never recovered
Read more about business and office equipment insurance
Tools insurance
In case your trade tools are lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by tools insurance?
loss, damage, or theft of your hand tools, power tools, and/or specialist equipment
For example:
your electrical company tool kits are stolen from your locked garage over the weekend
Read more about tools insurance
Stock insurance
In case something happens to the materials and products you keep in supply.
What’s typically covered by stock insurance?
loss, damage, or theft of your work materials, or items you’re planning to sell
For example:
you take delivery of a big summer stock order, which gets stolen while you’re speaking with a supplier
the carpet you keep in stock for your fitting business customers is destroyed in a fire
Read more about stock insurance
Building insurance
In case something happens to your business premises.
What’s typically covered by building insurance?
the cost of repairing damage to the structure of your building (or rebuilding it from scratch)
damage to fixtures and fittings
damage to underground pipes and cables you’re responsible for
For example:
a fire causes serious damage to the fixtures and fittings in your flooring contractor premises
you need to temporarily close your freelance design business studio, after a storm causes damage to your large front windows
What you’ll need additional cover for:
tenants’ improvements – changes to the property’s structure which you’ve organised and paid for yourself, like partition walls or wooden flooring
Read more about business buildings insurance
Own plant insurance
In case your own plant machinery, like an excavator, is lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?
loss, damage, or theft of larger equipment like skips and sanding machines
For example:
your excavator is stolen from the client’s works site, and needs replacing
your sanding machine is jammed and damaged by an employee
What you’ll need additional cover for:
plant machinery you’ve rented – you’ll need to add our specific hired-in plant cover for this
Read more about own plant insurance
Hired-in plant insurance
In case your rented plant machinery, like a drilling unit, is lost, stolen, or damaged.
What’s typically covered by hired-in plant insurance?
loss, damage, or theft of things like excavators and saws which you’ve hired in
For example:
you hire a skip for a job and your employee reverses into it, causing damage
the excavator you’ve hired for hospital works contract is stolen from your locked business unit
What you’ll need additional cover for:
tools and plant machinery which you own yourself – you’ll need to add our specific own plant insurance or tools cover for this
Read more about hired-in plant insurance
Legal expenses insurance
In case you have to pay legal costs connected with your business.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
legal costs attributed to your business
property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
tax and compliance disputes, and investigations you need help with
includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your professional reputation
For example:
a former employee raises a discrimination claim against you, and you need to hire legal support
you need to raise a breach of confidentiality claim against a contractor working for you, and incur legal costs
Read more about legal expenses insurance
Personal accident insurance
In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or away from work.
What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?
accidental injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit
For example:
you break your foot while playing football, and need time away from your personal trainer business for physio and recovery
an employee, who you’ve covered on the policy, suffers a head injury while reaching for a file on your office shelf, and needs time off work for hospital treatment
Read more about personal accident insurance
