Public liability insurance

In case you or your employee injure someone or damage their property.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance for roofers?

Claims against your business for:

• damage caused by you to someone else’s property while you’re carrying out your work as a roofer, or as a consequence of your roofing work
• injury you’ve caused to another person while you’re doing your roofing work, or as a result of your work
• accidental damage or injury caused by your employee (remember, if you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance)

For example:

• rain comes through the roof after you’ve carried out a full roof re-slate. The water damages the customer’s laminate flooring, so the floor needs replacing
• a ladder you’ve placed falls over and dents the customer’s car, which has to be repaired
• your employee accidentally overloads the skip you’re using for a roofing job, cracking the paving stones on the customer’s driveway

What you’ll need additional cover for

• if you do any work other than roofing, such as building work, fitting bathrooms or garden maintenance – this requires separate trade-specific cover

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 falling ill as a result of the work they do for you, so they’re suing you for damages
• an employee suing you for damages after they suffer an injury due to the work they do for you
• “employee” includes temporary staff and casual workers

**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.**

For example:

• your employee falls off a ladder and breaks their arm while they’re working with you on a roofing job
• your apprentice accidentally shuts their hand in the door of your van, breaking two of their fingers

Tools insurance

In case your roofing tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by roofers tools insurance?

• the tools you use to carry out your roofing work (especially handheld tools and portable electronic tools), whether on site or stored at your business premises
• theft of your roofing tools
• flood, fire, or accidental damage to your roofing tools

For example:

• your box of tools, including your roofer nail gun, is stolen from your van while it’s parked outside a customer’s house
• your hammer stapler falls off the roof, causing damage to some of your other tools that are on the ground

What you’ll need additional cover for

• roofing tools stored overnight in your vehicle – these would need to be covered by tools overnight cover, which you can select as an optional extra

Read more about tools insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case your business and office equipment is lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

• the equipment you use to run your business (mainly operational equipment rather than roofing tools) while stored at your business premises
• theft of your equipment
• flood, fire, or accidental damage to your equipment

For example:

• there’s a flood at your business premises that damages your work computer
• there’s a burglary at your business premises, and the laptop and printer you use to invoice and quote customers for roofing jobs are stolen

What you’ll need additional cover for

• your specialist roofing tools – these would be covered under tools insurance instead

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Contract works insurance

In case your roofing work in progress is destroyed, disrupted or delayed.

What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?

• damage to roofing works in progress on a construction site or domestic premises
• damage or theft of the tools and equipment left on site that are needed to complete a job

For example:

• you’re working at construction site and a fire destroys the roof you’re in the process of putting up, which sets back the completion date of the contract
• there’s a fire at a customer’s house where you’re replacing the roof – it damages the tiles required for the job, causing the completion date to be set back

Read more about contract works insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

• the injury or death of anyone you’ve chosen to cover in your policy – either at work or outside of work
• lost income, hospital bills, or other medical costs associated with the accident

For example:

• your hand gets crushed between the ladder and the roof while you’re working on site, so your finger has to be amputated
• your casual labourer breaks their leg at a party at the weekend

What you’ll need additional cover for

Read more about personal accident insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs from running your business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal expenses that arise from your day-to-day business activities, including disputes with members of staff
• the cost of legal claims related to property damage, nuisance or trespass
• HMRC investigations, and tax and compliance disputes
• a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis PR support to help you protect your business’s reputation

For example:

• your tax accounts are being investigated and you need a hand dealing with the enquiries – both for the business and for your personal tax affairs
• you need to defend your legal rights following the dismissal of an employee
• a client is over two months late on payment for a roofing contract, so you want to take legal action against them to recover the money they owe you

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tools cover.

Does roofing insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you’re picking the right cover to protect you properly. It’s important to know that if you have another trade or job, you’ll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider roofers including the application of heat or roofers excluding the application of heat?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

• Builders insurance
• Tradesman insurance
• Handyman liability insurance
• Plumbers insurance
• Carpenter insurance
• Joinery insurance
• Labourer insurance
• Window cleaners insurance
• Cladding insurance
• Driveway installers insurance
• Dry liners insurance
• Ductwork installers insurance
• Fencing contractors insurance
• Solar panel installer insurance

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader insurance