Core Insurance Coverage for Installation Service Networks

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance is fundamental for any installation service network. This coverage protects your business if a customer, member of the public, or client suffers injury or property damage as a result of your business activities.

For installation networks, public liability scenarios include installers damaging customer property during fitting work, tools or materials causing injury to homeowners, or installation errors leading to water damage or structural issues. Claims can arise from work performed by any installer within your network, making adequate coverage limits essential.

Most retailers and manufacturers require installation networks to carry minimum public liability coverage of £5 million, though £10 million limits are increasingly common for larger contracts. Your policy should cover both your direct employees and approved subcontractors working under your network.

Employers Liability Insurance

If you employ installation technicians, administrative staff, warehouse personnel, or training coordinators, employers liability insurance is a legal requirement in the UK. This coverage protects your business if an employee suffers injury or illness as a result of their work.

Installation work involves manual handling, power tools, working at heights, and exposure to various materials and environments. Workshop operations include equipment storage, vehicle maintenance, and material handling. All these activities create potential for workplace accidents that could result in costly compensation claims.

Employers liability insurance covers legal costs, compensation payments, and medical expenses if an employee successfully claims against your business. The legal minimum coverage is £5 million, and this should extend to all employees regardless of whether they work from your premises or in the field.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

Professional indemnity insurance is increasingly important for installation service networks, particularly those providing design consultation, specification advice, or quality guarantees to customers. This coverage protects against claims of professional negligence, errors in advice, or failure to meet contracted standards.

If your network provides pre-installation surveys, design recommendations, or technical specifications, you could face claims if the advice proves incorrect or leads to unsuitable installations. If you guarantee workmanship across your network, you may be held liable for substandard work performed by individual installers.

Professional indemnity claims can arise years after the original installation, particularly for issues like water damage, structural problems, or compliance failures that only become apparent over time. Your policy should include retroactive cover and run-off protection to safeguard against historical claims.

Commercial Property Insurance

Your workshop, warehouse, or office premises represent significant investment and operational necessity. Commercial property insurance protects your buildings and contents against fire, flood, theft, vandalism, and other insured perils.

For installation networks, property insurance should cover your premises structure if you own the building, fixtures and fittings, office equipment and IT systems, stored installation materials and equipment, tools and machinery, and any customer goods held on your premises awaiting installation.

Consider the replacement value of all your property, not just the original purchase price. Installation equipment, specialist tools, and technology can be expensive to replace, and business interruption following property damage could halt your entire network operation.

Tools and Equipment Insurance

Installation service networks typically maintain substantial inventories of tools and equipment, both at workshop premises and deployed with installers in the field. Specialist tools and equipment insurance provides comprehensive protection for these valuable assets.

This coverage protects against theft from vehicles, premises, or installation sites, accidental damage during transport or use, breakdown of electronic equipment and machinery, and loss of hired-in equipment. For networks supplying tools to installers, this coverage is essential to maintain operational capacity.

Ensure your policy covers equipment both on and off premises, includes adequate limits for high-value specialist tools, and provides new-for-old replacement where possible. Some policies also cover tool hire costs following theft or damage, allowing your installers to continue working while replacements are sourced.

Goods in Transit Insurance

Installation networks regularly transport materials, equipment, and customer goods between suppliers, workshops, and installation sites. Goods in transit insurance protects these items during transportation against theft, accident damage, and other perils.

This coverage is particularly important when transporting high-value items like kitchen units, bathroom suites, flooring materials, or customer-supplied goods. Claims can arise from vehicle accidents, theft from vehicles, or damage during loading and unloading.

Your policy should specify coverage limits per vehicle and per item, include protection for goods in various vehicle types used by your network, and cover both your own goods and customer property in your care.