Can I get insurance to cover workman in my house?

Ticklemouse

Hi all

Just a general query ...

I'm going to have a bathroom fitted in the next few months, which will involve the removal of a brick wall, moving pipes etc, so a fairly major job.

I've had a man recommended to me, have seen his work, got references and am happy for him to do the job. He has had 25 years of experience and has never had a major "accident" ie putting nail through pipes and flooding, putting foot through ceiling etc. However, building/bathroom fitting isn't his main job at the moment and as such, he hasn't got his own insurance should there be a problem, although has said that he will put right anything that should go wrong.

What I want to know is can I get my own insurance to cover him just while he does the work? Or if there is a problem can I say he is a friend doing the work with/for me and claim on my own household insurance? How much would it be for him to get his own insurance? Maybe I could pay this and negotiate a deal on the bathroom I don't want to contact my insurers just yet in case they say no and thus invalidate my insurance if I go ahead with this job, or something daft.

Just dotting the i's and crossing the t's here ....

TIA
Ticklemouse

Anihilator

No chance he will get insurance. No doubt he has no chance of declaring any of this and that would be a trail

Any other of your suggestions would be fraudulent or unlikely to happen.

Is it worth the risk? I would say no.

busiscoming2

Why hasn't he got public liability insurance?, it isn't really that expensive. My OH is a self employed builder and pays about £137per year. I would be worried if he isn't insured. Just in case......

Ticklemouse

That's what I was thinking - with my luck this year, something will go wrong lol. If the insurance isn't that much then I'll tell him I want him to get it if he wants the work .... how much cover does your husband get for £137, just as a matter of interest? And who's that with?

As for declaring it, if you mean for tax purposes, then that's up to him, but I understand he does as he's fully self employed, and is thinking of going back into building work full time.

Thanks for your replies

PropertyRisks

You need to check your home insurance policy wording. You may find that it is a policy condition that you notify your insurer of any building works being undertaken in you home, other than normal decoration. Failure to do this would give them a reason to void your policy, not what you want if you have a claim. The contractor should have his own Public Liability insurance and I would not let anyone into my home to do work until they had shown me a copy of the policy. This in its self does not guarantee that any damage caused by the tradesman would be covered but is a good indication of his intentions.

Good luck

dogbot

propertyRisks is correct.

The contractor is a a contractor - he needs his own public liability policy and hopefully with a contract works extention (so the rest of the house is insured should he do anything). This should not be prohibitivly expensive - if he is a contractor in some other form, he should be able to get his insurer, via his broker, to amend the policy to cover the bathroom contract with you for an adjustment premium. This will be a one off cost. He can build it into his quote for you.

Unless you have a full accidental damage home policy, then your household insurer won't cover the loss. If you do, they will still pursue the contractor for the costs, so he really needs some insurance.

Simulacraton

Your insurers will ask for a copy of the JCT documents. If you sign anything to say your insurance will pay out in the event of an accident they will not be very happy.

Insurance for the builder will not be expensive. I've seem them as low as £50 recently for commercial customers.

busiscoming2

Ticklemouse wrote: »

That's what I was thinking - with my luck this year, something will go wrong lol. If the insurance isn't that much then I'll tell him I want him to get it if he wants the work .... how much cover does your husband get for £137, just as a matter of interest? And who's that with?

He is insured for £2million, and I have just renewed his policy today and only paid £127. He uses a company called Direct choice and the insurance is with MMA.

HTHs

dacouch

I would not recommend taking P/L cover with MMA, I have seen them through out claims that other companies would pay. They are cheap for a reason.

You could get a Fortis backed policy for a few pound more

Ticklemouse

An update ...

Literally the night I was going to ring him to ask him to get insurance if he wanted the job, he contacted me to say he'd taken it out He had rearranged his diary and was able to start very quickly. I have now had the bathroom done and it's fantastic. Given I was at home a lot while he was doing the work, I saw all the extras he did and to say he's a "belt and braces" type of guy is completely true. The house could fall down but that bathroom is going to stay put! LOL

Anyone need a multi-trade bloke in the north lancs area, give me a shout - highly recommended. Off to do some more decorating now .......