admin Building a safety net for your business is essential when you own a building business in the UK. The building industry is among the highest ranked hazardous employment fields around the world. Whether you are a self builder or a building contractor, you will need to build a safety net using builders’ insurance.
Builder employers’ liability is the only compulsory covers. If the builder hires another person, then this type of insurance is required by law. However, there are several more cover available that help to ensure a builder doesn’t become financially ruined due to any unfortunate mishaps.
How to build the safety net
The size safety net required will largely depend on the size and type of building construction safety net business be operated. If you have any staff, part-time staff, trainees, sub-contractors, or relatives working for you, then your first step in making the net is to purchase adequate builder employers’ liability coverage. This cover pays the cost of claims filed by employees and former employees who have been injured or ill due to being on the job.
Second step
The second step to building an adequate safety net is to determine what other insurance cover you will need. To do this, you must conduct a risk management assessment for your entire business, and any work sites that your company is involved with. It is your legal and moral obligation to ensure the safety of your employees, yourself, and all members of the public. Thus, the second step is to identify all possible risks and then either accept them, transfer the risk to an insurer or someone else, reduce the risk, or eliminate the risk completely.
Third Step
The third step in the safety net building process is to take action on the risks you discovered while performing your risk management assessment. You must do everything within your power to ensure all health and safety requirements are met. You must be sure all your equipment and tools are well-maintained and that your employees properly follow all safety procedures.
Since it’s impossible to avoid or eliminate all risks, the third step also involves purchasing various types of insurance covers. One of these cover should be public liability insurance. Public Liability is fairly inexpensive and provides coverage for your legal responsibility for third party injuries and property damages. Usually, public liability is taken out in amounts of one, two, or five million pounds, depending on the level of exposure and potential risk to the public. Public liability insurance can’t be used to replace employers’ liability, because it only cover third parties. Employees aren’t considered to be third parties in this instance.
Another type of liability cover that should be used in building your safety net is builders’ products liability insurance. This type of liability protects against third party bodily injury or property damage caused by the products you sold or supplied. For instance, product liability would cover legal fees and expenses that resulted from someone being injured when a deck your company built collapsed due to defective materials being used.
Other steps
Other steps should also be taken to ensure your safety net is good and strong. For example, you should consider purchasing builders’ tools, plant, and equipment insurance to protect against loss, damage, or destruction of your equipment and tools. This type of insurance cover your equipment and tools whether they are located on or off site at the time the incident occurred. In addition, you should add in insurance cover such as income loss protection. Also, you should ensure all your business vehicles are properly insured.
Another step you should take is to set up a reserve fund to cover minor emergencies, so you can avoid filling too many insurance claims. If you can avoid filing claims for minor accidents and other minor crisises, it will help keep your insurance premiums lower.
Comprehensive coverage
Some insurance companies make it easier for UK builders to build their safety nets. These insurers offer comprehensive insurance packages that combine some of the essential cover needed. Site insurance for self builders is one sample of this type of package. It provides coverage for single dwelling self build projects. Normally, this cover a variety of natural disaster risks, theft, contract works, equipment, and tools. Also normally included are public and employers’ liabilities, personal accident, legal expenses. It’s best to take this specialised insurance out as soon as the land is purchased. You’ll want to maintain it until your building project is completed.
There is also a comprehensive insurance cover package called site insurance for property developers that is available to UK builders. This cover plan combines most of the insurance needed by people developing property that will be sold or rented out upon completion. New builds, renovations, conversions, and extensions are included under site insurance for property developers cover plans. This is the type usually used by construction companies, contractors, property developers, and individual home builders. There are some other standard types of cover and special extensions that can be added on too. It is very advisable to let an insurance broker help you build this very essential business safety net.
