Painter and decorator insurance

Insurance for painters and decorators

You might not think that paint is capable of doing a great deal of damage. You might need to think again, however, if that full tin of brilliant white gloss is accidentally knocked from its hook and spills its contents down the brickwork on the front of the house you are decorating.

A mishap with paint might be the least of your worries. As a painter and decorator, you are in and out of other people’s homes and commercial property all of the time. Working from ladders, trestles and gantries poses risks of injury to you, your employees, your customers and even members of the public.

If you are held responsible for any kind of accident which leaves someone injured or damages their property, you may be held liable and ordered to pay such a large amount in compensation that your painting and decorating business is likely to go to the wall. You may even be sued if the standard of your work fails to meet those of your trade in general and your customer meets with a financial loss as a result.

These are all risks and perils which painter and decorator insurance seeks to address by providing you with the financial protection and wherewithal to make good mistakes, errors and accidents for which you might be held responsible.

The particular risks and perils faced by any business such as yours depend on the nature and scale of your operations, the locations in which you are working and the customers likely to employ you. constructaquote.com are experienced in dealing with tradesman insurance and can offer you decorator insurance quotes so you can choose one that is best suited to your your business.

Why us?

• We have insuring tradesmen since 1990
• We run a UK-based call centre
• We can offer £10 million in public liability cover

What are the principal forms of liability insurance?

Painter and decorator insurance might include cover for the following liabilities you and your business may face:

Professional liability

• If you represent yourself as a painter and decorator, your customers have the right to expect a standard of work that is at least as good as they might find within the painting and decorating trades as a whole
• If you make costly mistakes or provide a shoddy standard of work, therefore, it is not just your professional reputation that is at stake, but the very real possibility of your client alleging an incident of professional negligence on your part
• This might lead to your client suffering a financial loss, which he or she is entitled to sue you for recovery
• Professional indemnity insurance gives you protection against such claims

Public liability insurance

• As you are in and out of other people’s property going about your business, there remains the risk of some action – or failure to act – on your part, leading to an injury or property damage to your customer or even a passing member of the public
• If you are held responsible for any such injury, loss or damage, you may be sued by the injured party or parties and ordered to pay substantial damages
• The amount of damages you have to pay of course depends on the nature and extent of the injury you have caused, but it is usual for public liability insurance to provide cover of up to £1 million
• It might be worth pointing out that the simple provision of public liability insurance does not mean that you may have a blatant and reckless disregard for others’ safety – such negligence may be taken by your insurer as an indication of your own contribution to the loss or damage caused

Employers’ liability insurance

• Neither professional indemnity nor public liability insurance are required by law, but if you employ anyone else to help run your painting and decorating business, you have a legal obligation to arrange employers’ liability insurance
• The reason is to ensure that you are in a position to meet any claim from an employee who holds you responsible for an injury suffered or an illness or other medical condition sustained through the nature of the work you allowed them to do
• The law requires that you have a minimum of £5 million of cover and you may be fined up to £2,500 for every day that such cover is not in place

The additional protection of contractors all risks insurance

The tools and materials on which you rely to get your job done are likely to represent a significant outlay on your part. Contractors all risks insurance provides a way of protecting these tools, plant, equipment and materials against theft, loss or damage.

We also provide van insurance

At constructaquote.com we can also provide cost-effective, comprehensive cover for your van. With all your bases covered, you can enjoy the peace of mind that your livelihood is protected.