Why would a domestic electrical appliance service engineer need liability insurance?

If you service electrical appliances in a domestic environment, you do run the risk of certain claims being made against you.

If you work in other people’s houses, you may be liable for any damage caused to your customer’s house or belongings in the event of an accident. If you do repairs in a workshop, something could still go wrong during a collection or delivery.

This may just be simple to fix if it’s small repairs, perhaps whilst moving a larger electrical appliance or involves damage to something you are trained to fix anyway. However accidents do happen that involve structural work or very expensive electrical appliances or other items in the house.

Servicing electrical appliances in other people’s houses also leaves you open to claims relating to injuries caused by accidents whilst you’re working. From trips and falls caused by your equipment or parts on the floor to harm to unsupervised children, working in a domestic setting leaves you open to claims for damages.

Public liability insurance will protect your business by paying for legal costs and any amount awarded against you, up to the limit you request. Without this, your business could be at risk in the event of an accident.

If you employ other appliance service engineers or general staff (administration, book-keeping etc) then it is a legal requirement to take out employers liability insurance. This covers you in the event of a claim from your staff, resulting from a health problem or an accident at work.

Working in a domestic environment whilst servicing electrical appliances, a self-employed engineer must have adequate cover to protecting their business.

• For more information read the employers liability fact sheet or what is liability insurance.
• Why not try our liability insurance comparison system for tradesmen or professionals
• Help with our system can also be found in our liability insurance help menu