Is Electrician’s Insurance A Legal Requirement?

We all know tradesman insurance is generally a good idea. But do you need it to start work as an electrician?

No. Electrician’s insurance is not a legal requirement to trade, however if you want to become a registered member of professional organisations such as the governing body Safe Electric then it is a requirement.

Electrician’s insurance is basically public liability insurance, which protects members of the public in case of a claim made against you.

In this article, we’ll go over the following questions:

• What insurance do I need as an electrician?
• Does electricians’ insurance cover public liability?
• How do I arrange electricians’ insurance?

While insurance is not a legal requirement, it is good to have. Read on to find out more.

What insurance do I need as an electrician?

If you want to be registered with the electricians’ governing body, Safe Electric, then you will need to have electrician’s insurance in place.

Not being a registered electrician means it will be much harder to find customers who will trust you with the dangerous work of modifying their homes’ electrics and wiring.

Electricians need specialist insurance for their line of work, different than builders’ or plumbers’ insurance. Having insurance in place will allow you to work in others’ homes safely, and will cover the costs of repairs if an accident happens. This applies not only to your clients’ property, but also members of the public and their property.

As an electrician, you work with life-threatening electric currents and are responsible for preventing harm coming to the homeowners and the general public. As such, your profession comes with higher risks.

Always be upfront with your insurance provider about what kind of work you undertake. If you are a builder, for example, but do the odd electrics job on the side, we need to be informed.

Does electricians’ insurance cover public liability?

Yes. Public liability is standard with all forms of tradesmans’ insurance, and is the bare minimum you need to be registered with Safe Electric.

This liability cover is the single most important part of any tradesmen’s insurance. It protects your clients – or any member of the public – in the event that a claim should arise and you are responsible.

Public liability premiums start at only €520 for a Domestic Electrician. Given this low price and the ease of arranging cover, it is not worth risking the potential cost of a public liability claim being made against you without insurance.

While purchasing electricians’ insurance, you may be offered other kinds of insurance products as well. Consider these carefully, as it’s just as bad to be overinsured as underinsured. “All risks” insurance covers everything, as you might imagine. This kind of insurance covers anything that could happen to contract works such as damage to the project being worked on, own plant, hired-in plant and employee’s tools.

How do I arrange electricians’ insurance?

Just give us a call. We will not only find you the very best quotes for electricians’ insurance, we can help to organise your policy and even notify Safe Electric of your new insured status.

All you need to do is give us some details about who you are, what you do and how you operate in your work. We need to know what kind of electrics you work on, the risks involved, what kind of premises you visit, and whether you employ other people.

Once we know all of this, we can give you an accurate quote that fits your needs.

For example, do you need extra insurance to cover your van? How about tools and materials? Products liability insurance will cover you in the event of a claim relating to parts and materials you install. So, if you bought a faulty dimmer switch, this is the policy you’d need in place if the job suffers delays as a result.

Pick up the phone today and give our experts a call to arrange your electricians’ insurance. We look forward to helping you.