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As a specialist insurer, our building services insurance has been designed to offer expert cover to a range of building and property services professionals.
Ensuring that vital utilities such as heating, power and lighting function effectively can carry serious risks. An allegation of an erroneous design, an injury sustained by a visiting client or a fire at your office could cause irreparable damage to your business. Our building services insurance can offer your business tailored cover against these risks and many more, giving you the peace of mind that if something does go wrong you are insured.
We can help you tailor a comprehensive building services insurance policy online and insure you in minutes. Our simple quote system asks about your business activities and offers you covers that may be of interest. You can choose to buy all or just some of the covers quoted, so you will only ever pay for the insurance you need.
Cover at a glance:
- Covers a wide range of risks, including professional liability, injury, accident and fire
- Tailored to fit your business needs
- Tools and equipment cover available
What is building services insurance?
Building services insurance is a type of business insurance tailored for professionals who install, maintain, or repair essential systems within buildings, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. This insurance typically includes coverage for public liability and professional indemnity to help protect against claims from third parties, clients, or property owners. Considering building services insurance can ensure that professionals are financially protected from unforeseen risks, allowing them to operate with confidence and meet contractual and legal requirements.
Cover starting at
£5 a month*
*Price based on a building services professional requiring £1 million of public liability insurance.
Why do I need building services insurance?
Building services insurance helps to safeguard your business against potential risks and liabilities that can arise during installation, maintenance, or repair tasks. Accidents, damage to property, or mistakes in your work could lead to costly claims from clients or third parties–having this insurance provides financial protection, helps cover legal expenses, and gives you the opportunity to demonstrate professionalism to clients and regulatory bodies. Insurance can sometimes be a requirement in contracts and industry regulations, therefore securing insurance helps you to continue working without disruptions or financial setbacks caused by unexpected incidents.
Example policy documents
If you have an existing policy with us, please sign in to view your policy documents.
Below you will find examples of the documents provided.
Tailor your building services insurance policy online with these covers
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Professional indemnity insurance
Professional indemnity insurance covers the cost of defending your business against allegations of professional negligence (such as giving your client incorrect or wrongful advice) and if unsuccessful, the cost of damages awarded against you. This cover is vital for building services professionals, and insurance is available with limits ranging from £100,000 to £5m.
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Public and product liability insurance
Public and product liability insurance covers the cost of defending your business (including damages awarded against you if unsuccessful) if someone is injured, or their property damaged, which arises from you going about your business or supplying products. The legal fees alone could cost your business thousands of pounds. If you regularly come into contact with members of the public, you are likely to need this cover. Limits range from £1m to £5m.
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Employer’s liability insurance
Employer’s liability insurance is a legal requirement if your business has employees. It covers your business against claims for injury or illness suffered by employees arising from their employment. If your business has employees, you need this cover. Cover for £10m.
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Legal expenses insurance
Commercial legal expenses insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided for the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.
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Directors and officers insurance
Directors and officers insurance covers the costs of defending you as a director or officer of your company against allegations of wrongful acts and any damages subsequently awarded against you. Cover is also provided in respect of the legal costs and expenses of defending actions for disqualification as a director, investigations and extradition proceedings. Limits range from £100,000 to £5m.
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Office insurance
Office insurance covers your office buildings, office contents and computer equipment against accidental damage (including theft) whilst on your business premises. You can also choose to cover your business equipment (such as laptops and mobile phones) on a worldwide basis, and insure your business against loss of income and/or additional trading expenses following events such as damage to your property.
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Occupational personal accident insurance
Occupational personal accident insurance provides a weekly payment if you are unable to work due to temporary total disablement (subject to a 14 day deferment period).
It pays a lump sum in the event of:
- Loss of limbs
- Loss of sight
- Loss of speech
- Loss of hearing
- Permanent disablement
- Death
This cover could help you maintain an income if you are unable to work following an accident while working on an engineering contract, and would struggle to maintain a steady income while off work.
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Cyber and data risks insurance
Cyber and data risks insurance pays the costs of restoring data and equipment, informing clients, meeting ransom demands and loss of your net profit following a cyber attack. It also pays your legal defence costs and damages you are legally liable to pay to other parties. If you hold confidential information about your clients' projects (including designs, schedules and other sensitive data) on computers and other internet connected devices, you should give consideration to this cover.
How it works
Choose the cover you require
Get a quote you need in minutes
Buy online or contact one of our advisors
How much does building services insurance cost?
The cost of building services insurance depends on factors such as:
- The size of your business
- The services you offer
- The level of coverage required
Building services insurance policies start from £5 per month* at Markel Direct.
*Based on a building services engineer requiring £1,000,000 public liability cover.
Ready to build your quote?
Our simple quote process will help you to find the right business insurance for your individual needs.
Frequently asked questions
These frequently asked questions are designed to help you and include questions relating to policy cover, pricing and ‘technical’ terms.
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What's the difference between professional indemnity and public liability?
Professional indemnity insurance covers against allegations of professional negligence - which means it would cover you if you were to make an error or mistake in a piece of work (such as a project or report) for a client.
Public liability insurance covers against allegations of injury or illness caused to third parties by your negligence. This includes many of the slips, trips and falls that are associated with personal injury claims. In addition, public liability insurance covers against damage to third party property - for example, if you were to damage a client-owned laptop or smartphone.
As they insure against different scenarios, it's important you consider arranging both types of cover to ensure you are properly protected.
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I need to arrange insurance to start work - do you provide proof of cover?
Yes. We provide a dedicated 'Confirmation of Liability Insurance' document (detailing the cover you have with us) as part of the documents that are emailed to you if you purchase your policy with us. You can present this document to agencies and clients as proof that you are insured.
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What limit of cover should I choose?
Many clients and industry bodies with regulatory requirements will require you to have a minimum level of cover for you to undertake a contract, so it's worth checking this before you arrange cover. If you're unsure, give some thought to a worst-case scenario and the likely costs involved in putting your mistake right. We offer a range of limits on insurance, so you're sure to find the right cover for your business.
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Why should I choose Markel Direct's Insurance
Markel Direct has over 25 years of experience insuring contractors, consultants and self-employed professionals. We insure over 200,000 micro businesses and are highly rated by our customers at Feefo.com.
We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s of London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of £2.4bn in 2023
To talk about your insurance requirements and better understand our cover, call us on 0800 640 6600 or get a quick quote online.
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How are Markel Direct regulated?
Markel Direct is a trading name of Markel International Insurance Company Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Find out more on the Financial Services Register.
We are a division of Markel International, a Lloyd’s of London market insurer that wrote gross premium totals of £2.4bn in 2023
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