Electrician Insurance (Wiring, Installation & PAT Testing): A UK Guide to Construction Insurance

Electricians sit right at the centre of the UK construction and maintenance world. Whether you’re wiring a new-build, upgrading a consumer unit in a domestic property, installing emergency lighting in a commercial unit, or carrying out PAT testing for a landlord, you’re working with risks that can escalate quickly.

A loose connection, a mislabelled circuit, a missed isolation point, or a faulty appliance can lead to injury, fire, property damage, business interruption, and expensive legal claims. That’s why electrician insurance isn’t just a box-ticking exercise—it’s a practical way to protect your livelihood, your tools, and your reputation.

This guide explains the key covers electricians typically need in the UK, how wiring and installation work changes your risk profile, what PAT testing means for liability, and how to choose the right construction insurance package.

What is electrician insurance?

“Electrician insurance” is usually a bundle of policies designed for electrical contractors and tradespeople. It can include:

• Public liability insurance

• Employers’ liability insurance

• Professional indemnity insurance

• Contractors’ all risks (contract works) cover

• Tools and plant cover

• Personal accident cover

• Commercial vehicle / van insurance

• Legal expenses cover

• Cyber insurance (increasingly relevant)

Some electricians buy these as separate policies; others choose a combined trades or construction package.

Why electricians need specialist construction insurance

Electrical work is high-impact. If something goes wrong, the consequences can be severe:

• Fire and property damage from faulty wiring, overloaded circuits, or incorrect installation

• Injury from electric shock, arc flash, falls from height, or burns

• Third-party losses such as tenant displacement, business interruption, or damaged stock

• Allegations of negligence after a fault is discovered months later

• Contractual disputes with main contractors, developers, or clients

On construction sites, electricians also face additional exposures:

• Multiple trades working around your cables, containment, and temporary supplies

• Site rules, permits, and method statements

• Higher contract values and tighter deadlines

• Increased theft risk for tools and materials

The core policies electricians typically need

1) Public liability insurance (PLI)

Public liability is often the foundation of electrician insurance. It covers claims from third parties (members of the public, clients, other contractors) for:

• Injury (e.g., someone trips over your cable reel)

• Property damage (e.g., you drill into a pipe or damage a client’s consumer unit)

Typical limits: £1m, £2m, £5m or £10m. Many commercial clients and main contractors require £5m as a minimum.

Wiring & installation angle: If you’re working in occupied premises, the chance of third-party injury or accidental damage rises. If you’re working on live environments (where permitted and controlled), insurers will want to understand your processes.

2) Employers’ liability insurance (EL)

If you employ anyone—even part-time, labour-only subcontractors in some cases, or apprentices—you may be legally required to have employers’ liability insurance under UK law.

It covers claims from employees who are injured or become ill due to work.

Typical limit: £10m (standard in the UK).

Why it matters for electricians: Electrical work includes higher-risk tasks such as working at height, using ladders/towers, drilling, chasing walls, and working in plant rooms or confined spaces.

3) Professional indemnity insurance (PI)

Professional indemnity covers claims arising from your advice, design, specification, or professional services.

Electricians often need PI when they:

• Design or specify electrical systems

• Provide certification, inspection, testing, and reports (EICR)

• Advise on compliance, load calculations, or suitability

PAT testing angle: PAT testing is a form of inspection and testing. If you issue documentation that a client relies on and later there’s an incident, PI can be relevant—especially if the allegation is that your professional service was negligent.

4) Contractors’ all risks / contract works

Contract works insurance covers the work in progress—materials and the value of the project while you’re working on it.

This can help if:

• Installed cables, containment, or equipment is damaged before handover

• There’s a fire, flood, vandalism, or accidental damage on site

• Materials are stolen from site (subject to conditions)

Important: Many electricians assume the main contractor’s policy covers everything. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t, and sometimes there are gaps or high excesses. If you’re responsible under contract for your portion of the works, contract works cover can be crucial.

5) Tools and plant insurance

Tools are your income. Tool theft is common, especially from vans.

Tools cover can protect:

• Hand tools and power tools

• Test equipment (multimeters, insulation testers)

• Battery kits and chargers

Watch-outs:

• Overnight security conditions (deadlocks, alarms, locked compound)

• Limits per item and total limits

• Whether tools are covered in a vehicle, on site, or at home

6) Personal accident cover

Personal accident insurance can pay a fixed benefit if you’re injured and can’t work.

For sole traders and small electrical firms, this can be a lifeline because if you can’t work, revenue often stops immediately.

7) Commercial vehicle / van insurance

If you use a van for business, you’ll typically need commercial vehicle insurance.

Consider:

• Carriage of tools and materials

• Signwriting (some insurers require it to be declared)

• Any towing (trailers, cable drums)

• Business use for multiple drivers

8) Legal expenses cover

Legal expenses can help with:

• Contract disputes

• Debt recovery

• Employment disputes

• HMRC investigations (depending on cover)

For electricians working with developers or commercial clients, contract disputes can become expensive quickly.

9) Cyber insurance (optional but increasingly relevant)

Many electricians now:

• Store client details digitally

• Send invoices and quotes by email

• Use cloud accounting

• Use smart home / IoT installation apps

Cyber cover can help with ransomware, data breaches, and business interruption caused by cyber incidents.

How wiring and installation work affects your insurance

Not all electrical work is viewed the same by insurers. The type of work you do can influence premium, terms, and required covers.

Domestic wiring and consumer unit upgrades

Common risks include:

• Fire from incorrect connections or overloaded circuits

• Damage to property when chasing walls or lifting floors

• Injury to occupants if areas aren’t properly isolated

Insurers may ask:

• Do you work on occupied premises?

• Do you use written risk assessments and method statements (RAMS)?

• Do you subcontract any work?

Commercial and industrial installation

Risks can increase due to:

• Higher voltages and more complex systems

• Working in plant rooms, warehouses, and production environments

• Greater third-party exposure (staff, customers, tenants)

• Higher contract values

Clients may require:

• £5m–£10m public liability

• Proof of employers’ liability

• Professional indemnity for design/spec

• Evidence of competence and accreditation

Construction sites (new-builds, refurbishments, fit-outs)

Construction environments add:

• Theft and vandalism risk

• Multiple contractors and shared responsibilities

• Tight programmes and potential for disputes

Contract works cover and tools cover become especially important here.

PAT testing: what it is and why it changes your liability

Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) is a process of inspecting and testing electrical appliances to help ensure they’re safe to use.

PAT testing is common for:

• Landlords and letting agents

• Offices and retail premises

• Schools and nurseries

• Hospitality venues

• Construction sites (site tools and equipment)

The insurance angle

PAT testing can create a “paper trail” that clients rely on. If an appliance later causes injury or fire, questions may be asked about:

• Whether the correct test was performed

• Whether the appliance should have failed

• Whether the label/report was accurate

• Whether the retest interval was appropriate

That’s why electricians who provide PAT testing often consider:

• Public liability (injury/property damage)

• Professional indemnity (allegations about negligent inspection/testing/reporting)

Common claim scenarios for electricians

To make this practical, here are examples of where insurance may respond:

• A client trips over your extension lead and breaks their wrist (public liability)

• You accidentally drill through a water pipe, flooding a kitchen (public liability)

• A fault in a newly installed circuit leads to a small fire and smoke damage (public liability and potentially contract works depending on the situation)

• Your apprentice is injured while working at height (employers’ liability)

• Your van is broken into and your test kit is stolen (tools cover / vehicle cover depending on policy)

• A client alleges your EICR missed a dangerous defect and they face remedial costs (professional indemnity)

• A dispute with a contractor over variations and payment escalates to legal action (legal expenses)

What limits of indemnity should electricians choose?

There’s no one-size-fits-all, but these are common starting points:

• Public liability: £2m for smaller domestic work; £5m+ for commercial and construction

• Employers’ liability: £10m (typical)

• Professional indemnity: £250k–£1m+ depending on design/spec and contract requirements

• Tools: enough to replace your full kit, including specialist testers

• Contract works: aligned to your maximum project value at any one time

If you regularly work on larger sites or for councils, housing associations, or national contractors, higher limits may be required.

What insurers will ask (and how to get better terms)

When you apply for electrician insurance, expect questions like:

• What percentage of your work is domestic vs commercial vs industrial?

• Do you do any work on high-risk premises (e.g., care homes, nightclubs, industrial plants)?

• Do you undertake any design/specification?

• Do you issue certificates and reports (EICR, installation certificates, PAT reports)?

• Do you use subcontractors? Are they bona fide or labour-only?

• What’s your turnover and largest contract value?

• Any claims history?

To improve your risk profile:

• Keep training and accreditations up to date

• Use clear RAMS on site

• Maintain calibration records for test equipment

• Document handover and client sign-off

• Use secure tool storage and van security

Electrician insurance and compliance (UK)

Insurance doesn’t replace compliance—but insurers often expect you to follow good practice.

Depending on your work, you may need to consider:

• Health and Safety at Work duties (risk assessments, safe systems)

• Electrical safety standards and certification expectations

• Data protection (GDPR) if you store client data

If you work in regulated or sensitive environments (healthcare, education), clients may have additional requirements.

Choosing the right construction insurance package

A good electrician insurance package should match how you actually operate.

A quick checklist

• Do you need £5m public liability for contractor work?

• Do you employ anyone (including apprentices)? If yes, you likely need employers’ liability.

• Do you provide testing, inspection, certification, or design? Consider professional indemnity.

• Do you work on sites where materials are stored? Consider contract works.

• Would tool theft stop you working tomorrow? Add tools cover.

• Are you dependent on your income? Consider personal accident.

FAQs: electrician insurance (UK)

Is public liability insurance legally required for electricians?

Public liability isn’t usually a legal requirement, but many clients and contractors will insist on it. It’s also one of the most important covers for day-to-day protection.

Do I need employers’ liability if I use subcontractors?

Often yes, depending on whether they are labour-only and under your direction. This is a common grey area—getting it wrong can be expensive.

Does public liability cover faulty workmanship?

Public liability typically covers injury or property damage caused by your work, but it may not cover the cost of redoing poor workmanship itself. Policy wording matters.

Do I need professional indemnity for PAT testing?

If you provide PAT testing as a service and issue reports that clients rely on, professional indemnity is often worth considering, especially for commercial clients.

Are tools covered if they’re stolen from my van?

They can be, but insurers often apply strict security conditions and limits. Make sure you declare where tools are kept overnight and what security you use.

Final thoughts

Electrician insurance is about more than meeting contract requirements—it’s about protecting your business from the real-world risks of wiring, installation, and testing work.

If you’re doing a mix of domestic call-outs, commercial installs, and PAT testing, a tailored construction insurance package can help you avoid gaps and keep you working even when something goes wrong.

If you want, tell me:

• Your typical job types (domestic vs commercial vs site work)

• Whether you employ anyone or use subcontractors

• Your largest contract value

…and I’ll suggest a sensible “starter” cover bundle and limits that fit your work profile.