If you are thinking about taking out contractor liability insurance then there are a few things that you need to think about. One of the main questions that people ask is why they even need this kind of insurance. The answer is very simple. Contracting may come with its benefits, but it also comes with plenty of risk too. The idea of insurance is that it is there if you ever need it, and by following the below tips, you can be sure to make the best decision regarding your cover.
No Insurance = No Contract
Adequate insurance cover will almost always be a contractual requirement if your business ever chooses to do a job for a client. At the end of the day, it’s a stipulation that you need to abide by. If the client that you are working for hasn’t asked for any kind of insurance document, then it’s strongly recommended that you check the contract and that you double-check their requirements. There’s a high chance that you will eventually find some kind of explicit request for some level of cover, even if it doesn’t seem apparent at first. The most common type of insurance that you can take out is Professional Indemnity Insurance and Public Liability Insurance. PL covers you on-site for any actions that you undertake if they happen to damage or even injure someone. PI is critical- every business across the UK needs to insure the product that they are selling. If you happen to make an error, an omission or even if you are negligent in general then this will cover you.
Cost
There’s a huge misconception that the cost you pay for insurance equates to more than the cost you’ll pay if something happens. There’s also a misconception that a high street lender would be cheaper, especially if they don’t specialise in this type of cover. This is not true at all because they won’t have a clue what to do if you are ever involved in a lawsuit and you may even find that you don’t get the cover you need too. You have to remember that cover comes in all shapes and sizes, and that the low cost of a specialist insurance policy won’t come to anywhere near as much as a lawsuit would. On top of that, you have the peace of mind knowing that you can complete the job that you set out to do.
Responsibility
As a contractor, you have the responsibility to protect your own business. You also need to protect the business that you are working for. Having the right type of cover will help you to do this and it will also keep you in line with the contractual agreement that you have set too. If you skimp out on cover or if you avoid taking it out, then you will be harming your business and you will also make it harder to achieve everything you’ve wanted.