Finding someone you can trust as a tradesman or labourer at the right price can be an exhausting process but you should also be making sure that you do not fall foul of the perils of using people who do not have the correct insurance in place.
Research shows that many people offering their services in a wide variety of trades and occupations do not have the correct insurance in place to protect themselves in the event of a claim being made against them. This can prove extremely costly for the person who uses their services.
For most people providing a service, whether this be as a builder, handyman plasterer or a cleaner, childminder, children’s entertainer or face painter, the cost of a public liability insurance to provide them with a basic level of protection is not expensive and should be considered as a “must have”.
As a consumer you may take the view that if a person causes injury or property damage then, it is their responsibility and they should pay for the damage and this may well be the case. Unfortunately, not everyone has the financial resources to meet the cost of every possible claim that may be made against them.
Public liability insurance provides policyholders with the cover that they need to meet the cost of claims made against them in respect their legal liability.
A recent example of this occurred when a client hired singer/songwriter for a party and all went very well until the artist accidentally smashed the brand new 60′ TV screen with their guitar. in this case the entertainer was not insured and did not have the money to replace the TV, fortunately the client had household insurance in place that was able to meet the cost or replacement and was only out of pocket for the policy excess and potentially the increased cost of home insurance in the future. If there had been no home insurance in place the client’s loss would have been the full cost of replacement. Yes, they could sue the entertainer but I think we can all understand that there is no real purpose in suing someone who simply does not have the money.
As a consumer you should be making sure that anyone you hire to undertake work for you has the correct insurance in place and you should not feel embarrassed to ask for evidence of this prior to any work being undertaken.
In terms of checking this information, you need to satisfy yourself that the policy is in force, what activities are covered by the policy and that the limit of indemnity is sufficient for your needs. In some cases you may want to check these details more thoroughly and you may use our public liability questionnaire to achieve this.
