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Electrician insurance should be a key consideration for anyone trading as an electrician, whether you’re a contractor or a sub-contractor.
As an electrician, you know that safety always comes first. Managing risks and avoiding hazards is a major part of your job. But no matter how skilled you are, there is always a chance that things won’t go to plan.
Working with electricity is inherently dangerous. And if the unexpected happens and you cause injury to yourself or someone else, or you damage a customer’s property, you could be left facing major costs. This means it’s essential that you have suitable financial protection in place.
At Markel Direct, we offer specialist electricians’ insurance that can be tailored to fit your needs.
Cover at a glance:
- Protect your business finances in a wide range of scenarios
- Includes employers’ liability cover if you hire people (even part-time)
- Public liability cover up to £5m
- Tools and equipment cover optional
- Protection for accidental damage and injury claims
What is electricians’ insurance?
Electrician and electrical contractors’ insurance is there to protect your business’ finances in a wide range of scenarios. It’s not a one-size-fits-all product, but a range of insurance covers you can choose from to create a bespoke policy. It can include different types of cover, from electrician public liability insurance and employers’ liability protection to professional indemnity insurance and cover for your tools.
Cover starting from
£8 a month*
* Price based on an electrician requiring £1 million public liability insurance cover.
Do electricians need insurance?
Even if you’re extremely careful, when you’re dealing with electricity, there is always a chance that something will go wrong. And if it does, the fallout can be costly. From exposed sockets and live wires to cables that pose a tripping hazard, there are many dangers to be aware of. What if a mistake in your wiring work causes a fire at a customer’s house? Could you pay to repair the damage out of your own pocket? Or perhaps you’re working in a public building, and a passer-by falls over your toolbox and injures themselves. If they decide to sue, you could be left facing significant legal fees and compensation costs.
If scenarios like these would put your finances under strain, you’ll need to take out public liability insurance for electricians. You might also find that some customers want to see proof that you have this type of protection in place before they will hire you for a job. And if you employ anyone, even if they’re part-time or temporary workers, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability cover. If you don’t get this type of insurance, you risk being fined up to £2,500 per day.
There is your equipment to think about too. As an electrician, you rely on your tools to get the job done. So, if they are stolen, damaged or lost, you’ll need to replace or repair them - and quickly. Having tools insurance in place means you won’t have to fork out the money yourself.
There are various other types of cover you might benefit from including in your electrician insurance policy as well. This ranges from occupational personal accident insurance to professional indemnity cover.
Do electrical engineers need insurance too?
Electrical engineers typically deal with electricity and electronics and will be responsible for designing and developing new equipment and systems for power, control systems, and telecoms among others.
Our insurance for electrical engineers can help to protect your career and your professional reputation. Many clients won’t award you a contract without evidence that you have sufficient cover in place.
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.
What insurance do electricians need?
Every electrician’s business is different, which is why we tailor our policies to meet your specific needs. Insurance for a self-employed electrician sub-contractor will be different to one who runs a large electrical contracting and consultancy business.
When you get a quote online, we will ask you a few simple questions about your business and offer you the relevant covers. You can choose to add or remove covers until you have the right electricians’ insurance policy for you, at the right price.
Build an electricians insurance policy to suit you
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Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is designed to protect you from claims made by members of the public, including customers, who have experienced injury or damage to their property because of your business. We offer electricians’ public liability insurance with limits between £1 million and £5 million to cover the legal costs of defending a claim and any damages awarded against you,
Example of a claim:
A customer suffers an electric shock while using a light switch that you have installed incorrectly. They sue you for their pain and suffering.
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Employers' liability insurance
Employers’ liability insurance protects your business if an employee sues you over an injury or illness they suffer as a result of their work. Under the law, you’re required to have a minimum of £5 million of this type of financial protection in place. Our employers’ liability insurance for electricians is available with cover of up to £10 million.
Example of a claim:
One of your employees is electrocuted while working on an electrical system. They take legal action against you, claiming they were not provided with safe diagnostic tools.
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Tools insurance
Tools insurance for electricians is there to cover the cost of repairing or replacing tools that have been damaged, stolen or lost. We offer cover limits of between £1,000 and £5,000.
Example of a claim:
You park your van on the road near a customer’s house and start working on their property. When you return to your vehicle to retrieve some of your equipment, you discover your van has been broken into and some expensive tools have been taken. You face the cost of replacing these items.
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Legal expenses insurance
Legal expenses insurance can help to cover the cost of defending or pursuing legal actions against other parties such as suppliers, clients or employees. This could be for contract disputes, tax enquiries (including IR35), attending jury service, debt recovery, personal injury, as well as any award you are required to pay following an employment dispute with an employee. There is a limit of £100,000.
Example of a claim:
A supplier has failed to deliver building materials you’ve paid for and is ignoring your requests for a refund. You face the costs associated with recovering the debt owed to you.
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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 of 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 £100k 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 supports your income if you can’t work because you’re injured as a result of your job. It can pay out in weekly instalments or a lump sum, depending on the nature of your injury.
Example of a claim:
A minor electric shock causes you to fall off a ladder and badly injure your back. You are unable to work for several months and the impact on your earnings causes you financial strain.
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Owned plant insurance
If you own plant machinery that is damaged or stolen, owned plant insurance will cover the costs of repairing or replacing the equipment. Cover limits are available from £10,000 to £50,000.
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Hired plant insurance
Hired in plant insurance will cover you if plant machinery you have hired is damaged or stolen, while in your possession. Cover limits range from £10,000 to £50,000.
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Contract works insurance
Contract works insurance covers work in progress on a construction site. If your work is affected by a flood, fire, theft or malicious damage, contract works insurance can cover the cost to redo the work, including new materials, and get the project back on track.
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Goods in transit insurance
Goods in transit insurance covers goods, such as light fittings, against loss or damage while in transit. This can be either goods transported in your own vehicle, or on your behalf by a third-party carrier.
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Professional indemnity insurance
If you offer professional services to customers for a fee, such as advice or designs, you may want to take out professional indemnity insurance. This covers you if a client sues you over a mistake you make in these services. Some trade bodies may require you to have professional indemnity insurance in place as a condition of membership.
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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 and their projects on computers and other internet connected devices, you should consider 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 is electrician insurance?
At Markel Direct, we offer electrician insurance from £8 a month for £1 million worth of public liability cover*. When it comes to insurance, the cost varies from business to business depending on;
- The size of your business - your turnover and whether you have any employees
- The level of cover you choose
- The types of projects you work on and the equipment you use.
To get a clearer idea of how much you’ll pay, simply get a quote online.
*Price based on an electrician requiring £1 million worth of public liability insurance
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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I need to arrange electricians’ insurance to start work – do you provide proof of cover?
Yes. When you purchase electrician insurance from us, we will provide you with a dedicated ‘Confirmation of Liability Insurance’ document. This document details the cover you have with us and can be presented to clients as evidence that you are insured.
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Do I need public liability insurance as an electrician?
There is no legal obligation to buy electricians' public liability insurance. However, this type of cover is often seen as essential by electricians. If you cause injury or property damage to a member of the public, you could face huge costs if you lack this type of financial protection.
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Am I covered if I work abroad?
In most cases, we can insure you if you do a proportion of your work abroad. Our quick and simple quote form will ask what percentage of your income comes from overseas and we can tell you instantly whether we can cover you or not. Alternatively, call us on 0800 640 6600 to speak to one of our contractor insurance experts.
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I undertake work offshore - does the policy cover this?
We offer cover for a wide range of professions working offshore. Get an online quote now or call us on 0800 640 6600 if you'd prefer to speak to someone.
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Do electricians need professional indemnity insurance
It is not a legal requirement to have professional indemnity insurance for electricians, but if you offer any consultancy services, such as designs or advice, it is worth having it in place. A claim of professional negligence against you could cost thousands of pounds in legal fees and compensation pay outs.
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What level of cover do I need?
Certain commercial clients and industry bodies may stipulate the level of cover you need to start a contract. It’s worth looking into this before you arrange insurance with us.
If you do jobs for smaller businesses or individual homes, your clients might not specify how much cover you need. To calculate the level of cover you should have yourself, consider worst-case scenarios and work out what it would cost to resolve these issues. -
When should I get electricians’ insurance?
There is no telling when disaster will strike, so it’s important to have your electrician insurance in place from the outset when you start working as a self-employed electrician.
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How do I make a claim?
We pride ourselves on making our claims process as straightforward as possible. Check out our claims page to see for yourself.
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How are Markel Direct regulated?
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. You can find out more by visiting the Financial Services Register.
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