Public liability insurance is an extremely important cover for electricians and many other trades due to the potential hazards you may come across during your work. It helps to protect you against any claims made against you by members of the public or third parties who may have been injured, or whose property is damaged as a result of your work.
Having this cover in place is hugely beneficial as an electrician and can also open the door to a wider range of clients as for some contracts, public liability insurance is a requirement to work on the site.
Why public liability insurance is important for electricians
Common claims that can arise against an electrician are fires and electric shock, and if a claim like this was to be made against you and you didn’t have any cover in place, the repercussions could be detrimental to your business and financial situation. Public liability insurance is designed to help protect you as an electrician if faulty or poorly installed wiring caused damage or injury, so you could then potentially afford the costs of the claim whatever they may be.
In the UK in 2016, £8m was paid out to protect businesses by liability insurers per day, so it is certainly not something that should be overlooked as you are legally liable if something you have done or failed to do leads to any form of damage or injury.
Public liability insurance does not cover employees
If you have employees who are normally based in England, Scotland or Wales, you must have employers’ liability insurance to protect you from claims made against you by an employee. This is a legal requirement for most employers in the UK – to find out if you are required to take out this cover, see the Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.
There are a number of factors that go into generating a public liability insurance policy for an electrician. Costs will depend on the size and nature of the business, as well as past claims.
Here at Trade Direct Insurance we offer cover of £1m, £2m or £5m. Tool cover can also be included between £1,000 and £15,000. With our plus cover, we provide a limit of £100,000 professional indemnity insurance to cover claims made against your business for losses a third party has suffered due to work or advice you have provided.
If you would like to find out more about our public liability insurance or speak about how it could help you as an electrician, please don’t hesitate to get in touch!
