What is business insurance?
Business insurance, also known as trades insurance or more specifically, painters and decorators insurance, is there to protect your business against a range of risks that can often be out of your control. These risks could include accidentally damaging a customer’s carpet, work equipment being stolen or your employee being injured on the job.
A business insurance policy can include different types of insurance cover, for example public liability insurance, tools insurance and employers’ liability insurance, depending on the needs of your business.
If something goes wrong, your business insurance can help to protect you financially by covering potential legal and compensation costs. Having this in place can help to give business owners peace of mind.
Why do painters and decorators need business insurance?
As a painter and decorator, business insurance can help to protect your livelihood and the business you’ve worked so hard to build.
Even with the utmost care, unexpected issues can arise while carrying out painting and decorating work.
Here are some of the key reasons why painters and decorators should consider business insurance:
- Contractual requirement
Many self-employed tradespeople work on-site for general contractors, as well as undertaking their own projects. For example, a painter and decorator may work with a main contractor on a new-build housing estate. Contractors usually require you to hold certain insurance policies before entering the site.
- It’s a legal requirement
If you have an employee, even if it’s on a part-time temporary basis, you are required by law to hold employers’ liability insurance, with a minimum cover limit of £5 million.
- Accidental damage
If you accidentally spill paint onto the floor and it is then walked around a customer’s home, they may expect you to cover the cost of repairing the damage.
- Personal injury claims
Paint spills, turpentine spills, and wallpaper paste splashes can result in slip hazards. Tools and trade materials may also pose risks to customers or others nearby.
- Protecting your tools
Van and tool theft is common and hard to prevent, as determined thieves can bypass alarms and locks. Stolen tools are costly to replace and disrupt your work, especially without insurance.
Whether it’s theft that results in you having to replace expensive equipment or a spilled pot of paint that leads to a customer asking you to pay for a new carpet, accidents in the workplace can be costly. Without the right insurance in place, you may be personally liable for any accidents or injuries you cause during your business activities.
What types of business insurance do I need?
Every painting and decorating business is different, so insurance requirements will vary from business to business. It’s important to consider the unique risks you face day-to-day at work. For example, are you responsible for employees? Do you use expensive equipment that you couldn’t complete your job without?
To help, here are the key types of business insurance for painters and decorators.
Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is often considered the most important type of insurance for painters and decorators.
This cover protects against claims from members of the public who sustain injury or experience property damage resulting from your business activities.
For example:
- Accidentally splashing paint on a customer’s furniture, resulting in them seeking compensation from you to cover the cost of replacing the furniture.
- Leaving your tools in the hallway of a customer’s home, causing them to trip over and break their arm. This leads to a personal injury claim being made against your business.
In these type of circumstances, public liability insurance can cover the legal costs of defending the claim. It can also cover the cost of compensation if you are found to be responsible for the damages.
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Employers’ liability insurance
Employers have a duty to safeguard the health and well-being of their staff. Having employers’ liability insurance is an essential measure to ensure compliance with government legalisation, under the Employers’ Liability Act.
This policy provides cover for claims related to employee injury or illness when your company is found responsible. It can also cover legal defence costs as well as any costs and expenses owed to the employee if your business is found liable.
Here are some employers’ liability insurance claim examples:
- While painting the outside of a house, your employee falls from a height. This causes them to suffer from a head and back injury. Employers’ liability insurance covers the associated medical expenses, wages and legal costs.
- When stripping old paint inside a customer’s work premises, your employee is exposed to lead-based dust. As the room wasn’t well ventilated and your employee wasn’t wearing the right protective equipment, they develop respiratory issues that requires ongoing medical treatment. Employers’ liability insurance covers the cost of a compensation settlement.
Legal expenses insurance
As a painter and decorator, legal disputes can arise from issues with customers, employees and suppliers. Legal expenses insurance can cover the cost of defending or pursuing legal action as well as providing you with expert legal advice on issues such as contract disputes or debt recovery.
For example, if a customer refused to pay you for a job, claiming that the decorating you did wasn’t completed up to the standard they expected, even though you completed all of the work that was agreed on time. Legal expenses insurance could cover the cost of solicitors’ fees and work to recover the unpaid debt, so that you don’t pay the legal fees out of your own pocket.
Occupational personal accident insurance
As a painter and decorator, there are a number of health hazards that could lead to illness and result in time away from work.
Being unable to work can impact your earnings if you don’t have the right insurance cover in place.
Occupational personal accident insurance (OPA) provides cover for injuries or illnesses sustained while at work, or on your way to work, that prevent you from working. The policy may offer either a lump sum or ongoing payments to compensate for lost income.
Tools insurance
If you rely on equipment and tools to do your job and any of these were damaged, lost or stolen, it could prevent you from doing your job and getting paid on time.
With tools insurance, the cost of repairing or replacing your tools is covered in this scenario, allowing you to get back to work sooner.
Contract works insurance
Contract works insurance provides cover for ongoing work on a project, including materials and tools, against risks such as storms, fires, floods, theft and vandalism.
This type of cover can be helpful for those who work on construction projects.
For painters and decorators, it can protect you if, for example, a job you’ve almost finished is ruined by water damage before you’ve completed it. If you have expensive materials on site like luxurious wallpaper rolls or scaffolding equipment, these could also be damaged or stolen.
Contract works insurance can cover the cost of redoing work or replacing materials, so that you aren’t paying out of your own pocket.
Professional indemnity insurance
Providing advice in a professional capacity comes with risks. No matter how careful you are, mistakes can happen. If this mistake affects a client financially, they may expect you to cover the cost of rectifying the damage.
Professional indemnity insurance is designed to protect your business if a customer suffers financial losses as a result of the work you do for them.
For example, if you were working for a commercial client decorating their hotel in specific brand colours that you were responsible for sourcing, but the shade turned out to be wrong – not meeting the client’s requirements – they could accuse you of professional negligence.
The client may request compensation for redecorating the walls or for the delay in completing the project. In this situation, professional indemnity insurance could cover the cost of legal defence fees as well as covering compensation costs if you are found to be responsible.
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This article was put together by Markel Direct, a specialists insurer of tradespeople and the Painting and Decorating Association’s preferred insurance partner.
As an award-winning insurer, Markel is trusted by over 200,000 customers to protect their businesses. As a PDA member, you can benefit from 10%* off business insurance from Markel Direct.
*The 10% discount will be applied to the net policy premium before insurance premium tax is applied. All quotations provided will be subject to meeting underwriting and claims criteria acceptance. All cover will be subject to full policy terms and conditions which are available here.
The Painting and Decorating Association introduces customers to Markel Direct to discuss their trades insurance needs.
Markel Direct is a trading name of Markel International Insurance Company Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority (Firm Reference Number 202570)