Greymare:I am a one man band doing flagging, block paving, walling, decking etc. Any ideas on what insurance I need to cover me for any possible claims against me. I wonder if any one out there has any ideas which companies give the best deals?
Hi Grey,
In addition to the advice given, you may want to try a few brokers on this one. Direct Line are doing a good deal, but I don't think it will last too long and the claims experience is not desireable. Trade Direct are doing a cheap deal with £1000 tools cover. The tools cover 'benefit' is absolutely useless after you read the Terms and Conditions - it's simply a clever marketing ploy. The price is attractive, but I cannot comment on the claims experience at this stage. What I can say is that this is in association with Kerry London who are one of the largest liability insurers around, so I imagine there will be no problems.
Public Liability for this Property Maintenance & Repair should cost you a maximum of £120.00 from most insurers, although if you are working as a paving contractor for drives/patio's etc, this may be slightly more as the risk is slightly more increased and more specific.
You may want to consider Contract Works cover but I can't see this being TOO beneficial to you as the jobs you are doing don't sound like they could take weeks or months.
Finally, if you have ANY employee or Labour Only Sub Contractor, you MUST declare these by Law. If you are in doubt as to whether you should have somebody covered, speak to the insurer or the broker. A Bona Fide subcontractor need not be covered under your insurance if they have their own public liability policy equivalent to your level of indemnity, if they use their own tools and work without supervision. It's always good practise to ensure they hold this type of cover and that it also includes "Indemnity to Principle"!
Hope this helps :)
Coyote