Why Is Handyman Insurance So Important In 2022?

If you work as a handyman – or handywoman – and offer your services to householders for DIY projects and odd jobs, you will know that no two days are precisely the same.

You may be building a garden shed one day and laying a tiled floor in a kitchen the next. No matter your daily challenges, you will be handling heavy building materials, specialist tools and expensive equipment needed to do your job.

No matter how careful you are in your work, accidents happen, which is why you need to protect yourself with handyman insurance, or property maintenance insurance, as it is known.

What Is Handyman Insurance?

Handyman insurance is coverage that will help protect you against the costs of accidents. You can’t stop accidents from happening, but you can protect yourself, your customers, your tools and equipment and your livelihood against the many risks you face working in this industry.

Your coverage should include different elements, such as handyman public liability insurance, for example, to protect you from large claims like accidental injury or damage to your customer’s property.

Having public liability insurance for a handyman in place offers a level of reassurance to your customers. They will know that you take your work seriously, and being insured will give them great peace of mind when they hire your handyman services.

What Does Handyman Insurance Cover?

The first thing that will spring to mind is insuring yourself against accidents that will prevent you from being able to work. There are a lot of accident risks associated with the handyman trade, such as dropping heavy tools or building materials onto your feet or hands, falling from height or injuries caused by faulty tools.

While personal accidents are the number one risk for handypersons, your insurance policy should also include elements that protect you against lost, damaged or stolen tools and legal costs in case a customer makes a compensation claim against you.

What you include in your handyman’s insurance policy will depend on whether you are a sole trader or if you operate a team that works for you. You should consider including:

• Commercial Liability Insurance: This is insurance that protects your business. It covers you against losses arising from things like property damage or injury to your employees. It commonly covers core business insurance like public liability and employers’ liability for handymen businesses that employ staff.
• Tools & Equipment Insurance: This cover will help with tool replacement or repair costs if your tools are lost, stolen or damaged.
• Public Liability Insurance: Handyman liability insurance is there to protect you in case you or one of your team accidentally injures a customer or a member of the public or damages their property.

Hiring an insured handyman gives your customers more confidence in your capabilities, and they will be more likely to hire you over a direct competitor that doesn’t carry any handyman insurance cover.

Is Handyman Insurance Necessary in the UK?

While you can operate your handyman business as a sole trader and carry no insurance, if you decide to employ people to work for you, you will need employers’ liability insurance, as this is required by law.

You are not legally obliged to have insurance if you work on your own, but having public liability insurance handyman cover is a sensible move to help protect other elements of your business.

For example, you are hired to replace a set of bathroom taps for a customer that wants to update their bathroom. However, if you fail to tighten up the fixtures enough and the taps leak and damage the ceiling below the bathroom, you will be liable to pay for the necessary repairs. Your handyman’s insurance will help to cover these costs for you.

Why Is Handyman Insurance So Important?

Insurance for handyman services is invaluable because handypersons face so many risks while on the job. Unexpected accidents will always happen, and an injury can cause you to cease your work and lose your business’s valuable income while you are incapacitated. Suffering a severe accident could potentially bankrupt your business and force you to close it for good.

This is why taking out business insurance for handymen can help protect you and your business from financial risks associated with personal accidents, customer compensation claims, legal fees, and loss, theft or damage to your essential tools and equipment.

Handyman public liability and property maintenance insurance can help protect you against:

• Injuries and medical expenses: Working with sharp, heavy electrical tools and building materials could cause serious injury. Health issues can be caused by hazardous materials such as dust, mould, or fungus.
• Property damage and theft: You won’t be able to work if you have your essential tools or equipment stolen or they get damaged beyond repair. It may be too expensive to replace your essential tools out of pocket. Your customers will also want compensation if you accidentally damage their property while at work.
• Lawsuits and legal fees: Should you accidentally injure a customer or damage their property, the legal fees from a compensation claim can quickly stack up. Some lawsuits can drag on for months or even years, which could financially cripple your business or personal savings.
• Business interruptions: Life is unpredictable; anything can happen when you run a handyman business. Should anything happen to stop you from working, your business interruption element of your handyman’s insurance will help pay the bills until you are able to work again.

How Much Does Handyman Insurance Cost?

There is no one-size-fits-all handyman insurance cover, and your insurance costs will depend on what coverage you include in your policy. By quoting with Brisco Business Insurance, you can choose precisely what protection goes into your policy, so you will only ever pay for what you need.

You should, at the very least, protect yourself with public liability, tools and equipment and personal accident coverage. If you plan to employ staff and build a handyman team, then you will need employers’ liability insurance by law.

Conclusion

Starting your own handyman business can be pretty straightforward in the UK. You can start small and simple with a set of tools and plenty of home maintenance skills and experience.

However, while you may be eager to jump in and get your handyman business up and running, you should never overlook the importance of protecting yourself and your livelihood with proper handyman insurance.

Mark McPherson

Mark McPherson has an MA in Creative Writing and has been crafting content for over a decade. He writes for a range of niches, including the construction industry and insurance sector.

All articles by Mark McPherson