Public liability insurance bedroom fitters

In case an injury or property damage is blamed on your fitting business.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• damage to someone’s property, caused by your work
• injuries caused by your business activities
• accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

For example:

• you’re fitting out some new-build wardrobes and accidentally damage an internal wall while bringing stock upstairs
• you forget to remove your nail gun from a child’s bedroom and they injure their hand while playing with it

What you’ll need additional cover for

• if you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee gets sick or injured because of 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 your bedroom fitting business, or
• making a claim for an injury they’ve had while working for you

**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 ends up in hospital with an eye injury after some debris from the job you’re on falls on their face
• a contractor you’ve brought in falls down some wet stairs on the work site, breaking their wrist

Business and office equipment insurance

In case things like your laptop or phone are lost, stolen, or damaged.

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

• theft, flood, fire, or accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your bedroom fitting business
• operational equipment like your laptop, rather than the fitting tools you take out and about

For example:

• you leave your work phone in the van while on a job, along with a tablet you bought last week as an alternative to your laptop – both are stolen while you pay for parking
• a leak while you’re on holiday causes water damage to your office equipment

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Tools insurance

In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of your hand tools, power tools, and specialist equipment

For example:

• your tool kit and drill are stolen from your locked garage, and everything needs replacing
• there’s a fire on site and some of your tools are damaged, including three new circular saws you’ve ordered for a large commercial contract

What you’ll need additional cover for

• larger plant items you use to carry out your bedroom fitting work – you’ll need to add our specific plant cover for these

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to the trade materials 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:

• there’s a fire in the university residence you’re working on and your stock is destroyed
• after buying stock in bulk to save multiple trips on a big job, there’s a break-in at your garage and almost everything is stolen

Read more about stock insurance

Hired-in plant insurance

In case your rented plant machinery, like a wood cutter, is lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by hired-in plant insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of things like drilling units and saws which you’ve hired in

For example:

• you hire a larger circular saw for a commercial job and it gets damaged while being moved to a different site
• the heavy duty machinery you’ve hired for a big hospital accommodation contract is stolen overnight

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

Own plant insurance

In case your own plant machinery, like a wood bandsaw, is lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by own plant insurance?

• loss, damage, or theft of things like your own larger saws and machinery

For example:

• your wood cutter gets damaged on site, and you can’t work until a replacement arrives
• two wood cutters and a work bench are vandalised during a break-in on your new build development site

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

Contract works insurance

In case your work in progress is damaged by disasters like fire, flood, or vandalism.

What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?

• repair costs for the work you have in progress if it’s damaged or destroyed
• labour, materials, and tools to get the job back to the stage it was at before it was damaged or destroyed
• damage caused by things like fire, flood, storm, vandalism, or theft

For example:

• while you’re working on a new build development site for over fifty houses, vandals break in and destroy your work in progress – the damage sets your job back by over a month

Read more about contract works insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you have to pay legal costs connected with your fitting business.

What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

• legal costs attributed to your bedroom fitting 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 support to help you protect your reputation as a highly-rated trade professional

For example:

• one of your clients is refusing to pay an invoice, disputing delays in the works carried out – you need to pay legal costs for this
• an employee raises a dispute over her contracted hours and breaks, which ends up going to court

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at work or off-duty.

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:

• while away with friends at the weekend you slip on a wet floor and sprain your ankle, forcing you to take three weeks off active work
• your apprentice drops a wood cutter machine on the foot, breaking two bones

Read more about personal accident insurance

Is public liability enough for third party property damage?

In some situations you may need more than public liability to cover certain kinds of property damage.

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 tool cover.

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.

Does bedroom fitter 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 builders insurance or carpenter insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

• Handyman insurance
• Bathroom fitter insurance
• Glazier insurance
• Carpet fitter insurance
• Flooring contractors insurance
• Painter and decorator insurance

Other types of insurance

• Limited company insurance
• Self-employed insurance
• Freelance insurance
• Consultant insurance
• Contractors insurance
• Sole trader 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.