Labourer insurance

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Why do you need labourer insurance?

Getting out and about to put your manual skills to use is one of the perks of being a labourer. It also brings its fair share of risks. Lifting heavy loads, digging trenches, preparing foundations for construction – you can’t always stop accidents from happening, but with labourer insurance, you can cover yourself against the cost.

  • Peace of mind for what matters to you, from power tools to personal accidents
  • Protection from big claims like accidental injury and property damage
  • Help to get you back on track if an unexpected event sets back a project

What does labourer insurance cover?

We’ll help you structure your policy. There’s a range of options and you might not need them all. Got people working for you? Then employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement. Want to protect yourself against serious accidents on a building site, or legal expenses you face as a business owner? That’s possible too – and more besides.

  • Public liability insurance

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

  • Employers’ liability insurance

    In case an employee gets sick or injured while working for you.

  • Tools insurance

    In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

  • Contract works insurance

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

  • Legal expenses insurance

    In case you’re faced with legal costs as a self-employed labourer.

  • Personal accident insurance

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

  • Public liability insurance

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

    What’s typically covered by labourers public liability insurance?

    • damage to someone else’s property as a result of your work as a labourer
    • injury to someone else as a result of your work
    • damage or injury caused by a member of your team, including casual workers (remember, if you employ people, you’re legally required to have employers’ liability insurance)

    For example:

    • you’re preparing foundations at a construction site, and in the process, you accidentally drill into some pipework
    • your employee is trying to use a crowbar to take out a fitted kitchen but they slip and damage the washing machine

    What you’ll need additional cover for

    • if you do other sorts of specialist work, such as building work or using a construction plant, this would need to be covered as a separate trade in your policy

    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?

    • employees suffering illness while working for you, or as a result of working for you
    • employees getting injured due to carrying out work 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 apprentice slips and fractures their ankle while digging a pit
    • your employee falls and breaks their back as they’re trying to lift a heavy load

  • Tools insurance

    In case your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.

    What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

    • theft of the specialist tools you use as a labourer while you’re on a job
    • accidental damage to your tools

    For example:

    • you’ve parked your van on your boss’s drive, and later that day, somebody breaks into it and steals all your power tools
    • you accidentally break your drill by dropping it onto a concrete patio, so it breaks and you need to buy a new one

    What you’ll need additional cover for

    • your tools when they’re locked in a vehicle overnight (you can add this in by selecting tools overnight cover)

    Read more about tools insurance

  • Contract works insurance

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

    What’s typically covered by contract works insurance?

    • damage to your ongoing labourer work at domestic or commercial sites
    • damage to the tools and equipment left on site that you need to complete a job
    • theft of the tools and equipment left on site

    For example:

    • vandals set fire to a building site you’re contracting for, causing damage to the foundations you’ve prepared and the trenches you’ve dug so far – this then sets back the completion date for the project
    • a fire destroys the majority of the materials you need for a job, delaying the completion date

    Read more about contract works insurance

  • Legal expenses insurance

    In case you’re faced with legal costs as a self-employed labourer.

    What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?

    • legal costs you’re responsible for dealing with, including resolving disputes with your employees, tax and compliance disputes, and claims to do with property damage, nuisance or trespass
    • a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis communications support if you find yourself in the news

    For example:

    • you fired your apprentice labourer after finding out they were stealing power tools from you, but they’re denying it and accusing you of unfair dismissal, so you need to defend your legal rights
    • you need help responding to enquiries from HMRC because your personal tax affairs are being investigated

    Read more about legal expenses insurance

  • Personal accident insurance

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

    What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

    • injury or death – outside of work, as well as at work – for anyone covered on the policy
    • lost income, medical costs and hospitalisation benefit

    For example:

    • you get your hand trapped in a pile of rubble at a construction site and end up losing a finger
    • your apprentice breaks their leg on a night out, leaving them unable to work for two months

    Read more about personal accident insurance

This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

How much does labourer insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £4.74 per month

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The price is for up to £2 million of public liability insurance – 10% of customers paid £56.82 or less annually between 1st Jan – 31st May 2024. Equivalent to £4.74 a month (and excludes the extra costs for paying monthly). 76% of customers have a £1 million limit and 24% £2 million. If you complete a quote, more types of cover will be available. These all have additional costs.

Example labourer insurance quotes, real prices

£10.30 /month

£82.95 /year

Self employed general labourer

  • 3-4 years’ experience
  • Sole trader
  • No employees
  • Based in Newport

Public liability

£1,000,000

Tools

Not included

£21.52 /month

£191.33 /year

Sole trader with over 5 years experience

  • 5+ years’ experience
  • Sole trader
  • No employees
  • Based in Chelmsford

Public liability

£2,000,000

Tools

£3,000

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 12/10/2020). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover

Lowest excess

Highest excess

Public liability

£100

£2500

Employers’ liability

No excess

No excess

Tools

£60

£500

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

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Only pay for what you need

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How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

  • Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

  • Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

  • Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

  • Does labourer insurance cover my work correctly?

  • Do I need cover for other types of work?

  • Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

  • 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 labourer 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 carpenter insurance or groundworkers insurance?

  • Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

    Other types of 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.

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am – 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am – 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am – 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am – 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am – 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am – 02.00pm

Call our team

0333 043 8527

Online

Contact us on our website whenever suits you

Phone

Call our insurance experts during office hours (calls are charged at a local rate)

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive.

£51 million in claims paid out in 2023

83% of claims were settled in 2023.

The figure above is rounded across our range of products. “Settled” covers paid, declined or withdrawn. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis. Our specialist partner Sedgwick will pay the claims on behalf of the insurer. Reviewed on 24/04/2024.

Example claim

Having labourer insurance through Simply Business has saved labourers thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Mark saved more than £14,700

When Mark (name changed for privacy) fractured his back, he found himself unable to do any work as a labourer until he’d recovered. This meant he was missing out on his usual self-employed income. Luckily his personal accident insurance made up the shortfall, so he didn’t have to suffer financially as well as physically.

Insurance payout

£14,790.19

Covering the cost of lost income due to injury following an accident

Insurance payout

Covering the cost of lost income due to injury following an accident

Covering the cost of lost income due to injury following an accident

Chosen by nearly 1 million small businesses and landlords

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then, with nearly 1 million customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

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Labourer insurance FAQs

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about labourer insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

This depends on how you operate as a self-employed labourer. Generally speaking, it’s up to you whether to buy insurance – but some sites you’re working on may stipulate that you must have certain covers in place.

As with any physical trade, there’s a higher-than-average risk of causing accidental injury or damage – and you could be held responsible for the costs. For more information, check out our guide on assessing the risks in your business.

Do you have people working for you? It’s important to know that you’re legally required to have employers’ liability cover – even if you only employ casual workers to help you out now and then.

And because you come into contact with other people over the course of your work, public liability insurance is worth thinking about too. It steps in to cover the cost of accidental damage to somebody else’s property or accidental injury.

Do you want extra protection against financial hardship due to injury – whether from lifting heavy loads, digging, and other labourer tasks, or outside of work? That’s what personal accident insurance is for.

Other types of cover that labourers may find useful include:

You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

  • one-off credit or debit card payment
  • BACS payment
  • Direct Debit

If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

Yes. It’s important to make sure you have the right type and level of insurance for the different types of work you do. For example, if you’re a plumber, you may also do building work on certain jobs – you’ll need additional cover for this, but you can have it all on the one policy.

When you start your quote, you’ll have the option to add another trade or profession to your policy. If you need to add a third trade, give us a call on 0333 043 8527 and one of our insurance experts will help you set up your policy in minutes.

This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

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