Plastering Contractors Insurance

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What is Plastering Contractors Liability Insurance?

A plastering contractor’s liability insurance policy will usually consist of two main covers, Public Liability Insurance and Employers Liability Insurance; these are both essential, and in most instances, employers’ liability is a legal requirement.

Plasterers’ Public Liability Insurance

As a plastering contractor, public liability will provide protection against claims from a third party, for example, a member of the public or perhaps your customer who has alleged negligence on your part.

Dropping plaster on the best carpet, leaving materials where someone has fallen and become injured or even causing damage when you lower scaffold, the scenarios are endless. The problem is that if you don’t have adequate protection, then it could be you personally picking up the costs of the claim. If there is injury involved, it could be a substantial cost.

Plasterers Public Liability will protect against allegations of loss, damage or injury; it will pay for any legal costs to defend you and your business and pay any compensation up to the limit of indemnity that you have chosen.

What is Public Liability cover limit of indemnity?

When you take out Public Liability Insurance, you will need to decide on a Limit of Indemnity; this is the limit your insurer will pay up to in the event of a loss. There are various limits, £1m, £2m, £5m and upwards. These are generally chosen based on what you might estimate to be the maximum loss. However, a claim involving an injury could have a high claim cost; we always recommend that you purchase the highest limit within reason to protect your business. Sometimes, your employer/main contractor requires you to have a much higher limit, with £ 10 million public liability not uncommon.

Employers Liability Insurance for a plastering contractor.

Voluntary, casual, directly employed, and labour-only sub-contractors could claim against you, their employer, for injuries they have sustained whilst providing labour to you.

Accidents sometimes happen even with the best Health & Safety management. Carrying out a Monocouch job at three stories requires scaffolding; injuries can be more severe at heights. Similarly, using lime-based plaster products could expose you to allegations of skin problems from an employee if not correctly trained in their use.

Employers Liability Insurance usually has a standard Indemnity Limit of £ 10 million; this can be increased if required.

What other insurance covers does a plastering contractor require?

We have covered essential liability insurance, but a plasterer or plastering contractor has exposures in other areas.

Contract Works insurance for a plastering business will cover your stock and materials at the site; this might include your board finishes, plasterboards and plaster bead, and any other specialist materials you might be using, such as specialist plasters and lime for renovation projects. Should they get damaged or even stolen whilst on site, then the policy will not only replace the materials, but it will also cover the costs to re-plaster where there has been storm damage or fire damaging the existing work.

For many seeking plasterers’ public liability insurance, the days of lathe and plaster and lime rendering are gone. For the purists and those who prefer to renovate their property to a breathable state, lime render and finishing will be the requirement.

Heritage & Historical Plastering still takes place, this might be in older properties, but there is the increasing use of traditional lathe and plaster, lime and hemp to give the property excellent insulation properties, a breathable covering but something that returns the property to the original look and feel.

Historical plastering might include other specialist components such as intelligent breathable membranes and wood-wool or other specialist substrates, not to mention the wood fibre insulation, none of which are cheap, meaning a contract works policy for these types of projects is essential.

Plant & Machinery Insurance, for many in the plastering trades, a few buckets, a decent handheld paddle mixer and of course the trowel or trowels of choice are all that is needed, a great pair of plasterers stilts, too, if you are that brave.

For larger or more specialist jobs, scaffolding, plasterboard lifting equipment and for specific jobs, cement mixers or specialist paddle mixers for lime-based finishes can be expensive.

A contract works or contractors all risk policy can cover these items, whether your business owns the equipment or cover for hired in plant and equipment is required.

Commercial Vehicle or Van insurance, getting from A to B, whether that is just one Van or a fleet of vehicles, insurance is a legal requirement. Please speak to us about the best way to insure your vehicles.

Legal Expenses Insurance, some insurance policies automatically cover legal expenses for your plastering business. If not, it’s easily added as a standalone insurance policy.

What are the advantages of a Commercial Legal Expenses insurance policy?

They’re competitively priced or can sometimes be included. A policy can provide a wide range of protections, HMRC investigations and disputes, Contract Disputes insurance are one of the critical protections included.

Directors & Officers Liability Insurance

As a Company Director, it’s easy to hide behind a limited liability status; as a director, you can be held personally responsible for a wrongful act, which means you may have to for any defence or compensation yourself. Luckily Director’s and Officers‘ Liability cover can be very competitively rated for a plastering contractor.

Accident & Sickness Insurance

Having an accident can prove expensive if you can’t work; who pays the bills, the mortgage, and the finance on the business van? As a plasterer, you could be temporarily disabled; that shoulder that has done thousands of miles has finally given up, and no shoulder, no plastering.

What type of business would benefit from Plastering Contractors Insurance?

Plastering contractors’ businesses cover a vast spectrum of services, from the general plasterer to the specialist end of the market.

What type of business would benefit from Plastering Contractors Insurance?

Plastering contractors businesses cover a very wide spectrum of services, from the general plasterer to the really specialist end of the market.

Domestic and commercial plasterers
Historical plastering specialists.
Renovation and restoration plastering work.
Tadelakt or Venetian plastering specialists.
Monocouche and Rendering Insurance
Traditional Plasterwork
Lathe & Lime Plaster specialists.

Whatever your business does, speak to us about your requirements.