Tradesman Insurance
Specialist tradesman insurance built around the real risks of working across construction, maintenance and trade environments.
Whether you’re a sole trader, subcontractor or managing multiple teams, CHAS Insurance can help you arrange the right cover to protect your business, meet client requirements and stay compliant with confidence.
Get a quick quote
Tradespeople work in environments where risk is part of the job.
Whether you’re working on a construction site, inside a client’s home or across multiple commercial projects, a single incident can quickly become a serious financial issue. That’s why insurance for tradesmen is crucial.
Damage to property, injury to a member of the public, stolen tools, contract disputes or problems with subcontractor cover can all leave your business exposed. For many trades, insurance is an essential part of operating professionally.
If you employ anyone, including labour-only subcontractors in some cases, employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement. Without it, fines can reach up to £2,500 per day.
On top of this, most contractors, commercial clients and accreditation schemes will expect proof of public liability insurance before work begins.
Our Simple Three-Step Process
Contact Us
Contact us by completing our online contact form or give us a call.
Answer Questions
You’ll receive a series of questions to answer to give us more information.
We’ll Be In Touch
We’ll contact you within 48 hours to discuss your insurance quote and get set up.
Tradesman Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance is one of the most important covers for tradespeople.
It protects your business if someone is injured or property is damaged as a result of your work.
For tradesmen, this could include damage to a client’s home, accidental injury on site, damage to fixtures and fittings, or issues caused while working around members of the public, customers or other contractors.
Even relatively small incidents can become expensive.
We’ll help you arrange the right level of public liability insurance based on the type of work you carry out, the contracts you take on and the environments you work in.
Self-Employed Tradesman Insurance
No two tradespeople operate in the same way.
Some work alone as sole traders. Others run small teams, use subcontractors or take on larger commercial contracts.
Your insurance should reflect how your business actually works.
Self-employed tradesmen still face serious risks, even without employees. You may be working in occupied properties, using specialist tools, travelling between jobs or taking responsibility for materials and work in progress.
A standard, generic policy may not give you the protection you need.
We regularly arrange insurance for self-employed tradesmen across a wide range of occupations, helping ensure their cover is practical, compliant and suitable for the work they carry out.
Insurance for Trade Businesses and Contractors
CHAS Insurance also supports insurance for trade businesses, established contractors and companies working across multiple projects, sites and client contracts.
As your business grows, your insurance requirements become more complex. A basic tradesman insurance policy may not be enough.
Larger trade businesses often need cover that is structured around multiple live projects, commercial and domestic work, employees and subcontractors, accreditation and tender requirements and much more.
We’ll take the time to understand how your business operates, so your insurance is properly aligned with your workforce, contracts, project values and day-to-day risk.
Whether you’re a growing trade business or an established contractor working across the UK, we can help arrange cover that supports how you work now and where your business is heading.
We work with contractors accredited by the following organisations…
Tradesman Business Insurance
Tradesman business insurance can bring together several important types of cover into one policy.
The right combination will depend on your trade, whether you employ staff, whether you use subcontractors, and whether you work on domestic, commercial or construction sites.
We can arrange cover for a wide range of trades, including, but not limited to:
What Does Tradesman Insurance Cover?
Public Liability Insurance
Public liability insurance protects your business if your work causes injury to a third party or damage to their property.
This is often one of the first types of insurance clients and contractors will ask to see before allowing work to begin.
For tradesmen, this is especially important because you are often working around clients, members of the public, other trades and finished property.
Employers’ Liability Insurance
Employers’ liability insurance is legally required if you employ staff.
This can also apply where you use labour-only subcontractors, as they may be treated as employees for insurance purposes.
This is one of the most common areas where tradespeople can get caught out. If your workforce is not correctly declared, you could be left exposed in the event of a claim.
Contractors All Risk Insurance
Contractors all risk insurance protects work in progress against events such as fire, flood, theft, storm damage or accidental damage.
This can be particularly important if you are responsible for materials, partially completed work or projects before handover.
If something goes wrong before the job is complete, this cover helps ensure you are not left paying for the repair or replacement yourself.
Tools Cover
Your tools are essential to your business.
If they are lost, stolen or damaged, the cost of replacing them can be significant. It can also stop you from working.
Tools cover protects the equipment you rely on day to day, whether it is stored securely, transported between jobs or used across different sites.
Plant and Equipment Insurance
If you use owned or hired plant, machinery or specialist equipment, this can also be covered.
This may include mixers, access equipment, cutting tools, lifting equipment or other trade-specific machinery.
Plant and equipment insurance can cover theft, accidental damage and liability linked to the use of this equipment.
Commercial Legal Expenses
Commercial legal expenses can help with legal costs linked to disputes.
This may include contract disagreements, employment issues, unpaid invoices or disputes over work quality.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Some tradesmen may also need professional indemnity insurance.
This is particularly relevant if you provide advice, drawings, designs, specifications or project recommendations as part of your work.
Why Choose CHAS Insurance?
CHAS Insurance arranges specialist business and contractor insurance for tradespeople across the UK.
We understand the pressures that come with running a trade business, from staying compliant and protecting your tools to meeting client requirements and tendering for larger contracts.
Our role is to help you arrange cover that reflects how you actually work.
Whether you’re a sole trader, self-employed tradesman, small team or established contractor, we’ll help identify the cover you need and make sure your policy is structured correctly.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Is tradesman insurance a legal requirement?
Some types of tradesman insurance are legally required.
If you employ staff, employers’ liability insurance is usually a legal requirement. This may also apply if you use labour-only subcontractors.
Public liability insurance is not usually required by law, but it is often required by clients, contractors, commercial sites and accreditation schemes.
-
Do self-employed tradesmen need insurance?
Yes, self-employed tradesmen should still have suitable insurance in place.
Even if you work alone, you can still be held responsible for property damage, injury, stolen tools, unfinished work or disputes with clients.
Public liability insurance is particularly important for self-employed tradespeople.
-
What level of public liability insurance do tradesmen need?
This depends on the type of work you carry out and the contracts you take on.
Domestic work may require a lower level of cover, while commercial contracts, local authority work or larger construction projects may require higher limits.
We can help you understand what level of cover is suitable for your business.
-
Can one policy cover multiple trades?
Yes. If your business carries out more than one type of trade work, your policy can usually be structured to reflect this.
It is important that all relevant activities are declared, so your insurer understands the full scope of work you carry out.
-
Can tradesman insurance cover multiple jobs at once?
Yes. Policies can often be arranged to cover multiple jobs, sites or projects across the year.
This is usually more efficient for tradespeople and contractors with regular ongoing work.