Protection
Handyman insurance, explained properly
One slipped wrench near a radiator pipe can produce a bill bigger than your annual income. Insurance is how a one-person business survives its worst day. Below: the five covers that exist, which of them you genuinely need, what they roughly cost, and the small print that catches tradespeople out.
The five covers at a glance
| Cover | What it protects | Do you need it? | Ballpark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public liability | Injury to others or damage to their property caused by your work | The non-negotiable one | ~£60–£150 / yr |
| Tool cover | Theft or damage to your tools, on site, in transit, sometimes overnight | Strongly advised once tools earn your living | ~£60–£120 / yr |
| Commercial van insurance | Your vehicle when used for work (a personal policy usually won’t) | Legally required if you drive for the business | Varies widely |
| Employers’ liability | Claims from anyone who works for you, even casually | A legal requirement once you take anyone on | From ~£100 / yr |
| Personal accident / income protection | Your earnings if injury keeps you off the tools | Worth weighing, since no work means no pay | Depends on cover |
Premiums shown are indicative for a UK sole trader; your trade mix, postcode, and claims history move them in both directions.
Public liability: what it does and doesn’t do
Public liability responds when your work injures someone or damages their property: the burst pipe you nicked, the ladder that went through the conservatory roof, the customer who tripped over your toolbox. It does not pay to redo work you got wrong; defective workmanship is a separate (and rarer) cover. Nor does it protect you, which is what personal accident cover is for.
On cover levels: £1 million is a floor, £2 million suits most domestic work, and £5 million is frequently a condition of entry for commercial premises, letting agents, and local authority contracts. If you plan to grow into that work, buying the higher level from the start is usually cheap relative to re-quoting later.
Tool cover and the van clause
Vans get broken into; it’s the most common claim in the trades. Cheap tool policies quietly exclude the exact scenario you’re buying them for, so before paying, check three clauses: does it cover theft from a vehicle, does it require signs of forced entry, and is there an overnight exclusion that voids cover between, say, 9pm and 6am unless the van is garaged? A policy that fails those tests protects the insurer, not you.
When cover becomes a legal matter
Two lines you can’t cross uninsured. Use a vehicle for work and it needs business or commercial vehicle insurance; a social-and-commuting policy leaves you effectively uninsured on the road between jobs. Take on help, even a mate on a busy week, and employers’ liability becomes compulsory in the UK, with fines per uninsured day. Everything else is a judgement call; these two aren’t.
Buying it: five minutes of diligence
Compare like for like: the excess, the exclusions for hot work or working at height, and whether the activities listed actually match what you do. A policy that names “general property maintenance” but excludes plumbing repairs is a problem if half your jobs involve a leaking trap. Answer the proposal questions honestly; an undisclosed sideline in gutter clearing at height can void the whole policy when you claim.
Once covered, say so. “Fully insured” on your invoices and profiles is one of the phrases homeowners actively look for, and commercial clients will ask for the certificate before you park.
Look as professional as your cover
Insurance reassures customers; so does paperwork that looks the part. ServiceInvoice sends numbered, branded invoices that match the businesslike impression your certificate makes.
Set up freeWhere insurance fits
Cover is step two of the launch sequence in how to start a handyman business. The premium itself is a deductible cost, which the bookkeeping guide covers, and it belongs in the overheads your hourly rate has to recover.