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Who needs decorator insurance?

No matter how many years’ worth of experience you have, accidents happen when you least expect them to, which is why it’s essential to have cover you can rely on. At Quotezone.co.uk, we work with a panel of trusted UK based insurers to bring you choice so that you can find a policy that suits you – here’s what to think about.

What is decorator insurance?

It’s a type of tradesman insurance aimed at covering you for the specific risks you face as a painter and decorator. Policies can compensate you for a number of events, for instance if your tools were stolen or if your office or workshop was vandalised.

Painter and decorator insurance can also cover legal fees and compensation claims if you accidently damage a client’s property or if one of your own employees becomes ill.

What does painter and decorator insurance include?

Like many business insurance plans, policies for decorators combine a number of different types of insurance with the aim of giving you all round protection, for example:

• Painter and decorator public liability insurance – covers legal fees and compensation if a member of the public blames you for an accident or damage to their property and decides to make a claim against you. For example, if you needed to replace a carpet you accidently spilt paint over. Levels of cover vary from £1 million all the way up to £10 million so think about what you might need – as a general rule of thumb, the greater the risk of an accident, the higher the level of cover you’ll need.
• Employers’ liability insurance – pays out compensation to staff members if they become ill or are injured because of work. If you have any employees (even part-time or temporary workers) you’ll need a minimum of £5 million worth of cover by law.
• Business buildings and contents insurance – covers the cost of repairing, rebuilding or replacing your business premises and contents if they’re damaged or destroyed by an event you’re insured for (like a fire or flood).
• Tools and equipment insurance – replaces stolen or damaged tools and equipment.
• Legal expenses insurance – covers legal fees and compensation if you need to settle a dispute in court.
• Personal accident insurance – compensates you for lost income and can cover medical expenses if you can’t work because of injury.
• Contract works insurance – compensates you for unfinished work that you have to re-do because it’s been damaged or destroyed by an insured event, for example if a fire damaged a building you hadn’t finished painting.

Do I really need self-employed painter and decorator insurance?

If you have employees, then you must have employers’ liability insurance by law. If you’re caught without it, you can expect to face a hefty £2,500 fine for every day you go without insurance.

If you don’t have employees (or your business is exempt from employers’ liability) then you don’t legally need any other type of business insurance but it can be in your business’ interests to ensure that you do. If something did go wrong and you didn’t have insurance, you’d be expected to foot the bill for any damage or replacement materials yourself.

It’s easy to assume you won’t need insurance, but all it takes is for someone to trip over tools left lying around or for you to accidently drill into an electrical cable or water pipe for an expensive claim to be made.

How much does insurance for painter and decorators cost?

Cost can vary considerably depending on the policy itself and the number of features it has, as well as the levels of cover you need. Your premium is also based on your own unique circumstances such as:

• The size of your business.
• The number of employees you have.
• The type of decorating you do – for example do you only work in private homes or do you work on commercial buildings and projects too?
• The number of past claims you’ve made – lots of previous claims can mean higher premiums so think carefully before making one.

Search for decorator insurance

At Quotezone.co.uk, we understand how hard it is to run your own business and how limited your time is which is why we make searching for cover quick and easy. Just tell us what you’re looking for and we’ll bring the quotes to you – all you need to do, is choose the one that fits your needs and your budget, it’s as simple as that.