Why is Construction Insurance important?

The construction sector is one that is unfortunately prone to accidents due to the high-risk nature of the job. Working at height and working with powerful machinery makes this type of work more dangerous than other occupations.

Did you know, for example, that 3% of construction workers sustain a work-related injury each year – and these stats are just the ones that actually get reported? In 2015/2016 a total of 43 workers were fatally injured in the construction sector (stats from HSE).

With figures like these, it’s easy to see that more protection is needed for workers in this industry and that construction insurance is very important. As well as protecting workers if they need to take time off through injury or illness in terms of pay, should a severe accident occur, construction liability insurance will cover other vital aspects such as public liability, products liability as well as financial loss and legal expenses.

Choosing a good construction insurance policy and the appropriate additional cover is really important so don’t rush into making a decision. You could hastily select the cheapest cover and then find out when it is too late that you weren’t covered to the level that you had thought you were. When it comes to your health, selecting the right cover is more important than any other aspect of insurance, so make sure that you work with a specialist construction insurance provider like Tradesman Saver.

Personal accident cover is critical in this line of work, as you can see from the stats, and over the course of your career, you’re likely to be in need of it due to some form of injury. It also covers you for sickness, so you don’t have to worry about how you are going to pay the bills if you are out of action for a while. Imagine if you broke your wrist playing sport and were unable to work for a period of time. Unless you have the relevant insurance cover, this could have huge financial ramifications for you.

In construction, taking out public liability cover is also a wise move. If you were to be taken to court for an injury of a member of the public, or damage to public property, the costs associated would be huge. As well as paying your legal expenses, you would need to pay out compensation if you are deemed to be liable. Costs can easily run into the millions depending on the circumstances of the claim, so it’s unlikely that your business could afford to cover the costs without insurance.

If a customer suffers financial loss then they may wish to claim against you. Again, this can end up being very costly and is far more common than you may think, so you want to be taking out a cover that includes this.

Types of insurance Covers in Construction Industry

Other types of cover that you can optionally take out include employer’s liability. Even if you have just one employee, employer’s liability insurance should be a priority for you. If your worker gets injured whilst working for you, there are financial consequences. From one side of it, they may put in a compensation claim against you and depending on the seriousness of the injury, costs could run very high. The last thing that you want as an employer is to be disputing claims with your workers, so setting up employer’s liability will help to protect your staff and maintain a good relationship with them.

Another aspect that you may want to get insured is tools and equipment. Replacing broken or stolen equipment doesn’t come cheap and, as you may already know, the situation arises frequently. Theft of equipment is commonplace and can really impact your profits, so you will be grateful for taking out the cover if and when you need to claim.

You shouldn’t cut corners with any type of insurance but when it comes down to construction insurance, you really can’t afford to make mistakes.