Kitchen fitters and bathroom fitters are common and essential roles that exist in society, with the majority of us having at least once utilised a fitter for our premises or home. As kitchen and bathroom fitters, installing the fitting into a home can see you encounter multiple risks – both from the damage that may occur during construction and renovation, and other issues that could arise with the property owner.
From accidental slips causing a floor tile to break, to damage whilst putting together new fittings for a client, to unintended flooding of property or even your customer slipping or tripping over your tools and equipment resulting in injury – all of these accidents can be potentially catastrophic for a company without the appropriate insurance to financially protect you.
Insurance is one of those obligations many people don’t believe they’ll ever need: a confidence in your skills and experience, years of your trade or a steady eye might lull you into believing nothing will ever occur to you or others around you whilst you’re on the job. But that false sense of security is what can be the downfall of many. Sometimes you may be shocked as to what could suddenly happen.
A secure and reliable insurance policy, such as a Public Liability Insurance policy, can protect you for the span of which you’re covered and provide an instant proof of cover with the convenience to take out and the premium cost being next to nothing. A public liability insurance policy will ensure you can compensate any injury to the member of public or damage to third-party property, thus such a policy would align well with those dealing with the likes of installing kitchens and bathrooms in premises owned by others.
At Ashburnham, we provide both individual Public Liability Insurance for bathroom fitters and Public Liability Insurance for kitchen fitters – but our easy quote form allows you to list your multiple trades to ensure you can be covered by a single policy, if your installation services handle both.
Other types of insurance may also be sought to protect yourself in the fitter trade – with the like of employers liability and professional indemnity insurance both with the potentiality of coming into play.
- Employers Liability Insurance – which is only necessary if you have employees, as it protects you against any compensation claims or damages that your staff may request from the company due to any illnesses or injuries resulted from the work that they have carried out. Unfortunately, with kitchen fitters and bathroom fitters potentially carrying heavy items, working with technical building materials and potentially dangerous tools, they’re more at risk than many other types of workers. Employers Liability Insurance isn’t something you can fall behind on either, as all employers with at least one employee must carry out a policy or face fines of up to £2,500 a day.
- Professional Indemnity Insurance – an optional policy for your business if you provide kitchen and bathroom fitting advice and consultation to clients as a service. If you had designed the plans for a new bathroom or kitchen renovation, and the client then had the work carried out as you suggested to later conclude that the modifications had ruined their property, they could sue. Perhaps you measured the room incorrectly, or the design itself posed health and safety risks. A Professional Indemnity Insurance policy would protect you against any costs that may have to be paid out.
Extras, such as tools cover and goods in transit cover, may also play a part for companies that want to enhance the financial protection they have. Although optional and less necessary for most organisations, they exist to protect you against any loss you may encounter.
- A policy which includes Tools Cover will ensure that, if your tools get stolen or broken, you’ll be able to easily replace them, paid for in some or in full depending on the level of coverage carried out. Kitchen fitters and bathroom fitters are destined for this kind of policy as regular users of tools and other equipment. If an essential tool were to break, it may halt your business until you had the money to afford a replacement, resulting in a loss of income.
- Goods In Transit insurance can cover any goods that may be damaged, stolen or lost in transportation of a vehicle that you own. This policy may be the most appropriate for fitters who regularly transport the likes of bathtubs, sinks, shelving and kitchen counters.
With insurance policies set up to protect you, you’ll never have to worry as much about the unexpected. It’s important that kitchen fitters and bathroom fitters do take out insurance, even if as a sole trader you’d think otherwise.