Why do plasterers need tradesman insurance?

Plastering requires a great deal of skill and expertise to ensure a smooth even spread on the most uneven of surfaces, but it’s also a manual profession that comes with a certain element of risk.

Personal injury, property damage, and even potential theft are just some of the dangers that can disrupt your plastering business. Without the correct insurance for plasterers in place your business could experience a bit of a rough patch if it was deemed that you were liable for damages, repairs, costs, or replacements, and compensation.

With tradesman insurance, you can rest easy that should you suffer one or more of these risks you’ll be covered and any interruption to your business will be kept to a minimum, meaning you’ll be ‘spreading’ again in no time.

We take a look at the potential risks that plasterers face and how certain types of insurance can help.

Mitigating risks with public liability insurance for plasterers

If you’re running your own trades business, then you need to be prepared to deal with problems such as accidents and accidental damage.

Plastering walls may appear to be a fairly straightforward profession, but accidents happen and you could damage a customer’s property by dropping plaster mix onto carpets or a rug, or you could inadvertently knock over and break an item such as a lamp or painting, or whilst plastering you could possibly put a hole in a wall where a hole isn’t meant to be. There are many possible scenarios where accidental damage can occur.

This is when public liability insurance can help, as it protects your business if a claim is made against you or one of your employees for injury or property damage.

Many self-employed plasterers work with assistance, so one person is spreading whilst the other is mixing. If you employ staff, include apprentices, need to carry Employers’ Liability insurance by law, with a with a minimum of £5 million of cover.

Insurance for alleged negligent work and mistakes

Mistakes occur, especially where there is human intervention, that’s why professional indemnity insurance is so important to ensure your business is protected. You can find yourself on the receiving end of a negligence claim even if you feel you have done nothing wrong.

Plaster bursting and cracking can result in a claim from a customer in which you could be liable to return to the job and, in the worst-case scenario, have to redo the job from scratch. If you were not holding the correct insurance at the time of the claim, then the extra materials and work time would have to be paid for out of your own pocket.

You could also be subject to a claim if you fail to impart proper advice to your customers. Assuming your customers know how long plaster takes to dry before they can decorate could leave you subject to a negligence claim if your customer starts decorating too soon and the plaster bursts, or the wallpaper they hang starts bubbling.

Professional indemnity insurance will respond to cover you in the event of a negligence claim and could potentially save you a lot of money and stress.

Cover for personal injury or illness while working

Working in a manual profession can pose a risk of a personal injury, some of which could be more serious than others. Plasterers lift heavy goods, use bladed mixing equipment, and even work at certain heights. These instances can result in a strain injury, cuts and bruises, or even a fall from height, each of which can be painful and cause you to be unable to work for a period of time.

Occupational personal accident insurance offers cover for certain work-related injuries and illnesses sustained during the course of your job which impact your ability to work and your earning potential.

Insurance cover for your tools and trade materials

With tool theft being so common, it pays to have your tools insured. According to research by Powertools2U, the average tool theft claim in the UK is now estimated at £1,692.

Tools insurance could save you a lot of money, eliminate stress and help you get back to work quicker. Tools insurance can also cover you if your tools/equipment are lost or damaged.

Our trades insurance offers tools insurance protection starting from £1,000 up to £5,000. In the event of a claim, the policy will pay you the amount of to replace your lost equipment.

3 tips to help you to easily identify what has been taken:

• Keep all your tool receipts in case you have to make a claim.
• Keep a log of all the tools you have in your van.
• Note down the serial number of each item where possible.

Why would a plasterer need contract works insurance?

When you work in the trade, it’s important to ensure your work is covered, especially against circumstances that are potentially beyond your control.

If work you’ve carried out is damaged by fire, a flood, a storm, vandalism, theft or damage to materials, then you will benefit from holding contract works insurance. Contract works insurance will cover the cost of having to re-do any of the work that is part of a contract, including the cost of the tools, materials and the labour required for the work.

How plasterers can benefit from legal expenses insurance

Legal expense insurance has grown in popularity as an essential form of cover on the back of IR35 and other HMRC tax investigations being undertaken.

The policy costs £75.00 for the year and provides up to £100,000 of cover in any one claim for costs incurred from legal instances including: tax investigations, court attendance, employment disputes, contractual disputes, regulatory compliance and more.

Legal expenses insurance provides extra benefits to small business owners by also providing access to the Markel Law Hub, where policyholders can access legal advice in the form of business contract templates, policies, forms and guidance sheets for topics including invoicing, debt collection, employing staff, health and safety at work, cyber security, and much more!

Plasterer insurance is designed to protect you against the unexpected so you have peace of mind that your covered. Our trades insurance policies can be tailored to protect your business against a wide range of scenarios and provide cover for the legal fees and compensation awards that are involved with a claim.

Click here for a quick online quote for your plasterer insurance.

Or call 0333 242 9053 to speak to one of our team.