Do electricians need business insurance?

As an electrician, the work you do isn’t exactly cut and dried. Sure, there’s a science of sorts to your trade, but you never know when something won’t work, or when something weird might happen. There’s a lot of trial and error involved when it comes to the work of an electrician. And with that, comes risk.

Whether you’re an one-person electrical contractor, or a large operation with many employees, you can benefit from electrician insurance.

What kinds of insurance are best for electricians?

General liability insurance is a great place to start. Think of it as a catchall policy for all of the random things that can go wrong when you work for yourself. Another very important coverage for electricians is workers’ compensation insurance. It covers you and your employees in the event of an illness or injury due to work performed on the job.

What is general liability insurance, and why is it important for electricians?

Electricians’ work is physical. And since you typically visit job sites and interact with clients, general liability insurance is necessary for your line of work.

Policy coverages include:

  • Property damage: You’re working on an electrical panel and a small fire damages nearby furniture or expensive drapery.
  • Bodily injury: A client trips over one of your extension cords and fractures their wrist.
  • Personal/advertising injury: You complain about a client in one of your Facebook statuses, and they claim libel.
  • Legal defenses and settlements are covered should you face a claim. This includes lawyers’ fees, punitive damages, and court expenses.
$35.6 billion
Small businesses pay $35.6 billion out of pocket to settle claims each year.
890,000
That’s equal to 890,000 electric cars.

What about workers’ compensation insurance?

Getting workers’ comp insurance is crucial– regardless of whether or not you have employees.

Benefits of this policy include:

  • Medical costs incurred due to illness or injury
  • Return to work and recovery services
  • Reimbursement for lost wages
  • Employers liability coverage, should an employee file a lawsuit
Medical bills can be extremely expensive. If you don’t want to pay for them out of pocket (and why would you?), you should get a workers’ compensation policy. Another great thing about workers’ comp insurance is that if you’re out of work for a month or two, the policy will provide supplemental income while you’re away from work.

What other types of insurance should electricians consider?

  • Business auto: This insurance coverage protects vehicles owned by your business. You probably own a truck, van, or fleet of vehicles to transport tools and materials to job sites. By law, you need an auto insurance policy for your company-owned vehicles.
  • Hired & non-owned auto: This protects your company against accidents that may occur when you hire, rent, or borrow vehicles for work. This includes employee accidents while using their personal vehicle on behalf of your business.
  • Business property: Work equipment is expensive. This policy protects commercial property from fire, natural disasters, theft, and vandalism. Note: If you stow your work gear at home, keep in mind that your homeowners policy typically only covers up to $500 in business property damages.
  • Inland marine: Business property coverage ends after you’re 500 feet away from your business premises. If you take your tools with you to different locations, get an inland marine policy to protect them.

If you want to ensure protection for yourself, along with your assets and/or your employees, you should consider getting the right insurance– and we can help.

So, what are you waiting for?

Talk to an agent or get a quote. It’s totally free– no hidden fees and no obligation. With over 30 years of experience, we’ll compare top insurers to save you time and money.