Public liability insurance for energy assessors

In case your business causes an injury or property damage.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• injury or damage to someone’s property, caused by you or as a result of your work
• accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

For example:

• an engineer working on the same property as you trips over your tool kit, breaking their knee in the fall
• you cause extensive damage to your client’s property when reversing your van

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 while working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

• an employee suing you because they’re injured or fall ill as a result of working for you (includes temp 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 from a height while conducting an assessment, breaking their leg
• back in the office, your employee is reaching for printer paper on a top shelf and dislodges an old laptop, which falls and causes a deep cut

Professional indemnity insurance for energy assessors

In case there’s a claim for negligence, or breaches in your duty of care.

What’s typically covered by professional indemnity insurance?

Claims against your business for professional negligence or a loss-causing breach of contract. This can include:

• advice which turns out to be incorrect
• mistakes in your work that cost others money to fix

For example:

• you make a mistake when working on a client’s EPC, and they raise a claim against you
• delays in your schedule impact on a client’s shop opening date, and they sue for lost income

Read more about professional indemnity insurance

Business and office equipment insurance

In case something happens to equipment like your office hardware.

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

• theft of the operational equipment you use to run your business, rather than tools of the trade
• accidental loss of your equipment
• flood, fire, or accidental damage

For example:

• you lock your office for the night and someone breaks in, stealing three laptops and a phone
• an employee drops your tablet from a height, damaging it beyond repair

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 trade tools and equipment

For example:

• you stop to get a coffee and your tool kit is stolen from your locked car
• while commuting, your employee accidentally leaves their tool kit on a train platform and it’s never recovered

Read more about tools 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 costs that you’re responsible for, within your business
• property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
• tax and compliance disputes, and investigations you need help with
• access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis support to help you protect your professional reputation

For example:

• an employee raises a discrimination claimt against you, and you need to pay for legal representation
• HMRC begin an investigation into your tax history, and you need to hire a solicitor

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case you or anyone you’ve covered has an accident, at work or off duty.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

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

For example:

• you fall from a height while on site, breaking your elbow and leg
• an office-based employee traps her hand in her car door, and can’t work at full capacity for at least three weeks

Read more about personal accident insurance

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 energy assessor 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 electrical engineer insurance or engineering consultant insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

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

• Engineering business insurance
• Engineers – project management
• Mechanical engineering insurance
• Heating engineer insurance
• Handyman insurance
• Garden design insurance
• Builders insurance
• Joinery 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.