What is aerial and satellite dish installer insurance?

Whether you’re an established aerial and satellite dish installer, or thinking of setting up a new business, it’s important for your business to be fully compliant. This means getting the right insurance.

What does aerial and satellite dish installer insurance include?

What is included in aerial and satellite installer insurance may vary between insurance companies.

That means it’s always important to check what is included when you get a quote or policy.

As a rule of thumb, you will normally want to consider whether your cover includes:

• public liability insurance
• employers’ liability insurance
• professional indemnity insurance
• insurance for your tools

What is public liability insurance for aerial and satellite dish installers?

Public liability insurance is designed to provide a safeguard for you and your business if you cause damage to a third party’s property or they are injured due to your work.

These types of claims are common. Even if you are careful, it’s relatively easy to cause accidental damage to a roof or harm to a passerby if something is dropped from a height onto them.

It’s not a legal requirement to have this kind of insurance, but you may find some clients insist you have it as a term of your contract with them.

If you are sued and don’t have insurance, you must pay the damages, compensation, and legal fees. if you can’t pay, your business could be at risk.

What is employers’ liability insurance and do I need it?

Employers’ liability insurance covers you if one of your employees is injured or taken ill as a result of working for you.

You are legally required to have employers’ liability insurance if you have any employees, including part-time staff, clerical or admin staff, and trainees.

If you don’t have employers’ liability insurance when required, you can be fined.

What is professional indemnity insurance?

Professional indemnity insurance covers you in respect of any professional advice you give. This might be about the equipment and materials needed for a project, or the actual design of the installation.

If the advice you provide is negligent, and it results in a financial loss for the client, your professional indemnity insurance will cover the costs if the client chooses to sue you for damages and compensation.

Do I really need to insure my tools?

It’s important to have insurance for your tools if you rely on them to do your job.

Replacing tools can be an expensive and challenging undertaking, especially if you’ve spent years slowly amassing your tools collection. If you have insurance, it means they can be replaced quickly if they are lost or stolen, allowing you to get back to work

What other insurance do I need?

This will depend on you and your circumstances. The best thing to do is to speak to an insurance company that has experience of providing cover for a range of tradespeople. They will help you decide what additional cover may be needed.

Working as an aerial and satellite dish installer can present risks to you, your employees, and members of the public. Therefore, understanding what aerial and satellite dish installer insurance is, and what types of insurance you must have, is important.

Is aerial and satellite dish installer insurance a legal requirement?

In some situations, it is. If you have any employees, you are legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. This protects you and your business should an employee be injured (or become ill) as a result of working for you.

You must have employers’ liability insurance in respect of all employees, trainees and apprentices, some contractors, and even clerical staff. If you don’t, you can be fined up to £2,500 a day.

Other types of necessary cover

Public liability insurance safeguards you and your business should something you do cause injury or illness to a third party, or damage to property.

If you work for large organisations, you may find they insist you have public liability cover as part of your contract. Even smaller clients and private clients may expect you to have it, as will any professional association you want to be a member of.

Why is public liability insurance important?

Public liability claims are not only common; they can result in large awards for compensation and damages.

If you are found to be at fault when someone is injured and must take time off work, you could face an order to pay thousands of pounds in medical treatment costs, lost wages, and legal fees. And if you can’t pay, your business and assets could be at risk.

Do I need any additional forms of insurance?

You should always consider insurance for your tools. If these are lost or stolen and you can’t work, it can have a serious impact on cashflow, as well as your reputation. With insurance, you can quickly replace your tools and get back to work.

Depending on the nature of your work, you should also consider professional indemnity insurance. This safeguards any professional advice you give as part of your work.

If the advice turns out to be negligent, resulting in a financial loss for the client, you will be covered if the client subsequently chooses to sue you.

If you install aerials for a living, you’ll know the job carries certain risks that can affect not just you, but employees and other people around you. Therefore, having some form of insurance can be a requirement for your business, and your peace of mind.

Is it a legal requirement to have aerial erectors liability insurance?

In some situations, it is a legal requirement to be insured. However, it can also be a contractual requirement that you have insurance in order to work for certain types of clients.

Types of insurance an aerial erector needs

Employers’ liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance protects your business if an employee is injured or taken ill while working for you, and they hold you responsible.

It is a legal requirement to have employers’ liability if you employ anyone. This includes part-timers, trainees and apprentices, some types of contractors, and even admin staff. It also applies if you only have a single employee.

Public liability insurance

Public liability insurance protects you and your business in the event something you do causes injury to a third party or damage to their property.

These types of claims are common. They can originate as a result of a range of incidents: from minor accidents (like someone tripping over stray equipment) to life-altering injuries. If you’re found to be responsible, you could face an order to pay damages of many thousands of pounds.

If you can’t pay a court order for damages and compensation, your assets and business could be at risk.

Many large organisations will insist you have public liability insurance before agreeing to let you work on a project for them. The same can also be true of smaller private clients.

You may also be expected to provide evidence of being insured if you want to be a member of a trade organisation.

Do I need any other types of insurance?

You should always consider insurance for your tools. If they are lost or stolen, you will need to replace them as quickly as possible, otherwise you may not be able to meet your agreed contractual obligations with clients.

If you give any kind of professional advice as part of your work, you should also consider getting professional indemnity insurance. This safeguards against the repercussions of advice you provide which turns out to be negligent, resulting in a loss for the client.