BUSINESS GUIDE
Tradesman insurance: what you actually need
A trade policy is really four or five separate covers bolted together. Knowing which sections you have, and which you only think you have, is the difference between a claim paid and a bad week.
Last reviewed August 2026
Public liability: the one you'll be asked for
This covers injury to third parties and damage to their property, plus the legal costs. It is what a homeowner, main contractor, council or site manager wants evidence of before you start.
Two wording points matter for trades. First, damage to the specific property you are working on is often excluded or limited. Second, property in your care, custody or control may be treated differently from other third-party property.
Employers' liability: the legal one
Required by UK law once you employ anyone, at a compulsory minimum level of £5 million. Labour-only subcontractors you direct and supply materials for are usually treated as employees for these purposes, even if they invoice you.
Bona fide subcontractors who carry their own liability cover are treated differently, so be clear on the call which arrangement you use.
Tools, plant and van contents
Your own kit needs its own section, and the conditions are strict.
- Tools kept in a van overnight, usually subject to locks and sometimes an alarm
- Overnight vehicle-parking conditions, such as off-street or a locked compound
- Hired-in plant, where the hire agreement makes you responsible
- Owned plant and larger equipment, listed by value
- Tools kept at home or in a lockup
Contract works
Contract works covers the job itself while it is in progress: the extension half-built, the bathroom mid-installation, the materials on site waiting to go in. Until the work is handed over it is generally your risk, not the client's insurer's.
For extensions, refurbishments and new builds this is often the largest single exposure a small trade carries.
Product liability and professional indemnity
If you supply or install goods, product liability responds to a fault in what you supplied. If you advise, specify or design, professional indemnity responds to a mistake in that advice. Design-and-build trades frequently need both alongside public liability.
What to have ready
Bring these and a specialist can usually place the whole package in one call.
- The trades you carry out, including any side of the business you do less often
- Turnover, split between domestic and commercial if relevant
- Whether you work at height, on roofs, or with heat
- Employees and subcontractors, and which type
- Tools and plant values, and where they are kept overnight
- Any limit your contracts specify, and your renewal date
Get your trade covered properly
Answer three questions in about 60 seconds and a UK insurance specialist calls you back — usually the same working day. No obligation.
Request my callback →Common questions
- What insurance does a tradesman need in the UK?
- Public liability is the cover clients and contractors ask for. Employers' liability is required by law once you employ anyone, including most labour-only subcontractors. Tools, contract works and van cover protect your own kit and work.
- What limit do main contractors ask for?
- It varies by contract. Domestic work often sits at a lower limit while construction, council and utility contracts commonly stipulate a set minimum. Always check the contract wording rather than guessing.
- Are my tools covered by public liability?
- No. Public liability covers other people's injury and property. Your own tools need a separate tools cover, and cover for tools left in a van overnight is usually conditional on the van being locked and sometimes alarmed.
- Do I need cover for the work in progress?
- If you are building or installing something that is not finished and not yet handed over, contract works cover deals with damage to that work. Many trades discover the gap only after a fire or flood on site.
Keep reading
General information only, written for UK readers. It is not insurance advice and does not take account of your circumstances. Cover Sorted collects your enquiry and passes it to an FCA-authorised insurance specialist. Cover Sorted does not provide quotations, comparisons or recommendations.