Liability insurance and professional indemnity insurance

Ido

Good evening,
I would like to get some input about switching Insurance policies and falling in between the crack.
My husband is a self employed  building contractor and I was advised years ago that the best Insurance for him would be a Public Liability Insurance.
Naively, i thought it would cover him from any kind of claim, and with no experience with claims, as he had none, I was shocked to learn that it covers only damage caused 
if a problem rises. The work and material is not covered so it leaves the contractor exposed and under covered. It also doesn't deal with claims of unsatisfactory work, if a claim of that nature rises. If the policy was clear, I would have extended the policy or gotten another.
The other issue is the date one policy ends and the new one kicks in, if I shop around and change my Insurance company.
 If a job in question falls on both Insurance companies, they will bounce you from one to the other, and neither will take responsibility! leaving us fully exposed.
If anyone has been in this situation, and have some advice, please respond.
Thank you

Grumpy_chap

A good broker should be able to advise on the types of insurance available and the types that are appropriate.

PL (Public Liablity) covers damage and injury to third parties, including customers.

PI (Professional Indemnity) cover is usually for professional services involving design or similar risks (in construction) or legal risks such as an Accountant or Solicitor - it may not be relevant to a builder (if that is what your husband is).

To cover workmanship and materials used, CAR (Contractors All Risks) may be more suitable than PI. 

Trying to cover "unsatisfactory work" is unclear what you really aim for - it could be open to abuse as your husband is entirely in control of the quality of his own work.  This may be seen as a normal business risk that your husband needs to carry and not easy to insure against.

It is also worth considering "key man" type cover to protect your own (family) income.

A lot to think about and it cannot be covered in sufficient detail with just the limited information in your OP - I really do recommend a broker.  Failing that, do some initial research using the on-line business insurance portals as a starter-for-ten.

Sandtree

Professional indemnity basically covers advice so is more commonly bought my architects, project managers, structural engineers etc as well as the traditional market of solicitors, accountants etc.

To the best of my knowledge there is no real equivalent for workmanship or materials but I would argue there are more "rights and wrongs" in this space and much more greys in the advice space hence the lack of insurance as many more claims would be declined for having not followed appropriate standards.

CAR is a package of coverages and does cover damage to the project prior to handover to the client from perils like flood, fire etc plus tools (inc hire) etc.  It could be worth looking at depending on the scale of the works you are doing. 

Key Person insurance (have to move with the times) is basically income protection for businesses, the rules around if premiums are tax deductible or if tax is due on the monies received is a little complex if there is no traditional employer-employee relationship (eg sole traders, partnerships or director/owner). Alternative you can look at income protection on a personal level instead of business and that then opens up long term insurance which would payout until planned retirement. 

Ido

Thank you for the information. A lot to think about . 
Regards, Tamar