Public liability insurance for kitchen 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:

• a customer injures their foot on a nail you’ve missed while cleaning up, and claims against you
• you damage a client’s stairs and front door while moving goods during a fitting – both will need to be repaired

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 kitchen 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 after suffering an asthma attack, brought on by working on site under your supervision
• a contractor you’ve brought in slips on some site debris, falling down a flight of steps and breaking several ribs

Tools insurance

In case your trade 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 combi drill gets stolen from your lock-up while you’re away on holiday
• you’ve ordered five new drills for a large commercial job, which get damaged during a flood over Christmas

What you’ll need additional cover for

• larger plant items you use to carry out your kitchen 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:

• you’ve just picked up a new stock order and stop at a takeaway on your way home – while you’re queuing, the stock is stolen from your van
• a flood in your workshop destroys the materials you have in stock, delaying two commercial jobs

Read more about stock insurance

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 kitchen fitting business
• operational equipment like your laptop, rather than the specialist trade tools you take out and about

For example:

• your laptop is damaged during a break-in at your home office
• someone steals your phone from your pocket while you’re out having coffee with a potential client

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Hired-in plant insurance

In case your rented plant machinery, like a dust extractor, 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 in more dust extractors for a large commercial job and one gets stolen during a site break-in
• the plunge saw you’ve hired breaks while you’re using it and needs fixing – you can’t use it, but are still liable for hire charges

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 mitre saw, 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 mitre saw gets damaged when someone drops it on site, and needs replacing
• a fire breaks out on site and damages your two dust extractors

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:

• during a commercial fitting, a fire on site damages tools, materials, and the work you’ve done so far. This sets the job back by a few months, delaying the launch date for several businesses

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 kitchen 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 different elements of their contract – you need to pay for legal advice
• an employee you’ve dismissed raises a claim against you, which ends up going to court and costing you money

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:

• you cut your hand on a saw while working, laying you off for at least three weeks
• an employee falls down some stairs while on holiday – they’ve injured their back and will need at least two weeks off work

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. Learn about contract works cover and owned plant.

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 kitchen fitters 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 builders insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

• Plumbers insurance
• Handyman insurance
• Joinery insurance
• Glazier insurance
• Carpet fitter insurance
• Painter and decorator insurance
• Bathroom fitters insurance
• Bedroom fitters insurance
• Electrical contractors’ insurance
• Locksmiths’ insurance
• Plasterers’ insurance
• Roofers insurance
• Tilers’ insurance
• Bathroom & kitchen design
• More tradesmen and construction 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.