Does Builders Insurance Cover Public Liability?

You may have already heard of public liability insurance, as well as how important it is for builders and tradespeople to have. But does standard builders insurance include this cover?

Yes. Any builders insurance you purchase will always cover public liability.

This is extremely important as you’ll be working with members of the public in their own homes. Public liability insurance is a requirement for all tradesmen who operate in Ireland.

In this article, we’ll answer questions such as:

• What is public liability insurance?
• What risks does public liability insurance cover?
• Will public liability insurance cover accidents on site?

This kind of builders insurance is widely available for builders, tradesmen and contractors. But what it covers exactly isn’t always clear, so read on to find out more.

What is public liability insurance?

Public liability insurance is meant to protect the customers of the tradesmen or any member of the public in the event that a claim should arise and the tradesmen are responsible.

As a tradesman, you need public liability insurance. If you don’t have it and an accident happens, you may find yourself having to pay out of pocket for a costly accident.

For example, if you’re working in your client’s home and accidentally drop a heavy hammer on their floor tiles and crack them, your public liability insurance will cover the cost of the labour and materials involved in the replacement.

Or, if a member of the public or your client injures themselves on-site while you’re working, your public liability insurance should cover those costs. For example, loss of income while they heal, hospital costs, etc.

Public liability insurance and builders

Part of our service is to offer advice on what is the widest cover available to builders for the lowest cost. With this in mind, we have negotiated with an A++ rated insurance company to include up to five occupations on a builders policy.

Why do you need more than one occupation on a builders insurance policy? Well, it’s because your work will mean you often fill many roles at once. When you call up and tell us you’re a builder, before we arrange an insurance policy we’ll have a chat with you about your work. We need to find out what type of work and job you do.

This is because we find that very often builders do plenty of other jobs that are not necessarily all to do with building. In between larger projects you may find yourself insulating a house, or replacing a radiator. Maybe you are doing a larger building project but it involves a bit of electrical work which you are happy to fix yourself. Sometimes it’s just not cost-effective or practical to hire in other tradespeople for these quick fixes, even though they don’t fall under your job description.

Through chatting with you, we can find out exactly what you need. As an insurance broker, it’s our job to go and find you the widest cover available in Ireland at the lowest price.

Employers liability

As useful and essential as public liability is, it will not cover additional workers you bring on site for those larger jobs. If you can’t rewire a socket or don’t have the time or skills to plumb in a central heating system, you need to hire other people.

If you employ anyone, other than yourself and family members, then it’s a legal requirement to have employers liability cover. This could cover you for compensation claims if your employee suffers an injury or illness as a result of working for you.

Employers liability comes at no additional charge, but it’s a great extra to have. It will give you extra peace of mind when working on site.

If you need builders insurance, give us a call today and we can help you work out your options.