Tradesman Insurance Ireland: What Cover You Need and What It Costs

What is tradesman insurance in Ireland?

Tradesman insurance in Ireland is a package of covers built around the risks of working on other people’s property. At its core is public liability insurance, which pays compensation and legal costs if you injure a member of the public or damage their property while working. Most tradespeople add employers’ liability if they have staff or apprentices, cover for tools and plant, and a commercial van policy. It is not one single product. It is a set of covers assembled to match the trade you actually do.

A plumber, an electrician, a carpenter, a plasterer, a roofer and a groundworks contractor all face different exposures, and insurers price and underwrite them differently. That is why two people who both describe themselves as “a tradesman” can be offered very different terms.

Do I legally need tradesman insurance in Ireland?

There are two separate questions here, and they have different answers.

Public liability insurance is not a statutory requirement for most trades in Ireland. In practice, though, it is close to compulsory. Main contractors, local authorities, letting agents, facilities managers and most commercial clients will ask to see a current certificate of insurance before they let you on site, and many will specify a minimum indemnity limit in the contract. Homeowners increasingly ask too.

Motor insurance for the vehicle you drive to jobs is a legal requirement, and it needs to be rated for business use rather than social, domestic and pleasure. Using a private-use policy for commercial work can leave a claim disputed.

Employers’ liability is the area that causes most confusion. Irish employers have a general duty of care towards their employees under health and safety law, and while there is no blanket statutory requirement to buy an employers’ liability policy in the way there is in the UK, going without it means any injury claim from a worker comes straight out of your own pocket. If you take on apprentices, casual labour or subcontractors who work under your direction, talk to a broker about how they should be treated. The distinction between a genuine subcontractor and a de facto employee matters a great deal at claims time.

What does a tradesman policy actually cover?

The table below sets out the main building blocks and what each one is for.

Cover	What it does	Typically needed by
Public liability	Compensation and legal costs where a third party is injured or their property is damaged by your work	Almost every trade
Employers’ liability	Claims brought by employees, apprentices or labour-only subcontractors injured at work	Anyone with staff or apprentices
Tools and equipment	Theft of or damage to hand tools and power tools, in the van or on site	Most trades
Contract works	Damage to the job itself before it is handed over, such as fire, storm or theft of materials	Builders, extensions, refurbishment
Plant and machinery	Owned or hired-in diggers, dumpers, scaffolding, generators	Groundworks, civils, larger builders
Professional indemnity	Claims arising from design, specification or advice rather than workmanship	Design-and-build, certifying trades
Commercial van	The vehicle, rated for business use, with goods in transit if needed	Anyone driving to jobs

How much does tradesman insurance cost in Ireland?

There is no single answer, and any figure quoted without knowing your trade would be guesswork. What we can tell you is what moves the number.

• Your trade. Low-risk trades working at ground level are rated very differently to roofing, demolition, hot works or anything involving heights and heat.
• Turnover and wage roll. Most commercial liability policies are rated on these, and they are usually adjusted at the end of the period.
• Indemnity limit. The limit your contracts require has a direct effect on premium.
• Employees and subcontractors. Both change the rating, and how subcontractors are documented matters.
• Claims history. A clean record over several years is one of the strongest arguments in your favour.
• Type of work and sites. Domestic work, commercial fit-out, public sector sites and work near live services all price differently.

The most common mistake we see is under-declaring turnover or the nature of the work to get a lower quote. If the declared basis does not match reality, the policy may not respond the way you expect when you need it. Accuracy at proposal stage is what makes the cover reliable.

What indemnity limit do I need for public liability?

Look at your contracts first. Main contractors and public bodies routinely specify a minimum limit in their pre-qualification documents, and if you are tendering for that kind of work the contract sets the floor. For domestic work you have more freedom, but bear in mind that the cost of a serious injury claim is driven by medical care and loss of earnings over a lifetime, not by the size of the job. Stepping up to a higher limit is often less expensive than people assume, and it is worth asking your broker to price the options side by side before you decide.

Are my tools covered if they are stolen from the van?

Sometimes, and this is one of the most misunderstood parts of a tradesman policy. Tools cover is usually a separate section rather than something automatically included, and insurers commonly attach conditions to theft from a vehicle. Typical conditions include a requirement that the van was locked and that there were visible signs of forced entry, and many policies restrict or exclude cover for tools left in a vehicle overnight unless it was in a locked garage or secure compound. Limits per item and in total also apply.

If your tools represent a significant part of your working capital, read that section carefully, keep an up-to-date schedule with serial numbers, and tell your broker where the van is parked at night. It is a short conversation that avoids a very bad surprise.

What is contract works cover and do I need it?

Public liability covers damage to other people’s property. It does not cover the job you are currently building. If a partly-finished extension is damaged by fire or storm, or materials are stolen from site before handover, that is what contract works cover is for. Anyone building, extending or substantially refurbishing should look at it, and the sum insured should reflect the full reinstatement cost of the works rather than the profit on the job.

How does insurance work if I use subcontractors?

Insurers care about how subcontractors are engaged. Broadly, a labour-only subcontractor working under your supervision, with your tools, is usually treated much like an employee for insurance purposes. A bona fide subcontractor carrying their own public liability and working to their own methods is treated differently, but you will normally be expected to collect and retain a copy of their certificate of insurance, and to check that their indemnity limit is at least equal to yours.

Keeping those certificates on file is not paperwork for its own sake. At renewal, and at claims time, it is the evidence that decides how the risk is rated and who carries the loss.

The bottom line

Tradesman insurance in Ireland is best thought of as a kit assembled around your trade, not a product off a shelf. Public liability is the foundation and is effectively required by the people who hire you. Add employers’ liability if anyone works for you, tools cover if your kit is your livelihood, and contract works if you build rather than maintain. Get the indemnity limit right for the contracts you want to win, declare your turnover and activities accurately, and keep subcontractor certificates on file.

Breeze Insurance is an Irish insurance broker working with a panel of leading Irish insurers, and we arrange cover for trades and contractors across the country. If you would like your current policy reviewed, or you are setting up and want to get it right from the start, call us on 0818 700 300 or request a quote at /free-quote/. You can also read more about our business insurance and van insurance options.

Frequently asked questions

Do sole traders need public liability insurance in Ireland?

There is no general law forcing a sole trader to buy it, but most clients will insist on seeing a certificate before work starts, and without it any third-party injury or damage claim is met from your own resources. For practical purposes, most sole traders working on other people’s property treat it as essential.

Does my van insurance cover my tools?

Standard commercial van insurance covers the vehicle, not the contents. Tools are usually insured under a separate tools or goods-in-transit section, with its own limits and security conditions. Check both policies rather than assuming one picks up where the other stops.

What is the difference between public liability and employers’ liability?

Public liability responds to claims from members of the public, meaning customers, neighbours and passers-by. Employers’ liability responds to claims from people who work for you. They are separate covers because they protect against separate groups of claimants, and having one does not give you the other.

Do I need professional indemnity insurance as a tradesman?

It depends on whether you give advice, produce designs or issue certificates. A tradesperson purely carrying out work to someone else’s specification usually does not need it. If you design as well as build, or you sign off on compliance, it becomes relevant, and a broker can tell you quickly which side of the line your work sits on.

Will my premium go up if I make a claim?

A claim is one of the factors insurers weigh at renewal, alongside your trade, turnover and the wider claims environment. A single small claim on an otherwise clean record is treated differently to a pattern of claims. Rather than absorbing a loss to protect a premium, it is worth discussing the situation with your broker before deciding.

Can I get cover if I work at heights or do hot works?

Yes, though these activities are underwritten more carefully and insurers will ask about method statements, permits and the height you work to. Declaring them upfront is important. Cover arranged on the basis that you never go above a certain height may not respond if you do.

Breeze Insurance Ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Registered in the Republic of Ireland with registration number 109879 and registered address at 38/39 Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin 2, D02 NX53. Director: Colin Long.