Tiler insurance: key facts
- Public liability is not a legal requirement for a self-employed tiler, but most homeowners, bathroom fitters and main contractors expect it.
- Employers' liability is a legal requirement once you employ anyone, including labourers and apprentices, with at least £5 million of cover.
- Tiler insurance for a sole trader costs roughly £80 to £220 a year for public liability only, as a rough guide, including 12% IPT.
- Leaks from showers and wet rooms are among the costliest tiling claims. Public liability may pay for the water damage, but not for re-doing your work.
- Damage to the tiles you're fixing is often excluded as "property being worked on", so a cracked customer-supplied porcelain or marble tile may not be covered.
- Cutting tiles gives off respirable crystalline silica. COSHH applies to self-employed tilers too.
What does tiler insurance cover?
Tiler insurance is normally a package. Public liability pays claims if you injure someone or damage their property while you work, and products and completed work cover deals with problems that appear after you've left. Most tilers add tools cover and personal accident, and anyone with staff must carry employers' liability.
| Cover | What it protects | Who needs it |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability | Claims from customers or the public for injury or damage to their property, such as a leak through the ceiling below, a drilled pipe, or a visitor tripping over tile boxes. | Every tiler. This is the main cover customers and contractors ask for. |
| Products and completed work liability | Injury or damage that shows up after you've finished and left, such as a slow shower leak found months later. Usually included with public liability. | Every tiler, as leaks often appear after handover. |
| Employers' liability | Claims from staff injured or made ill through work, such as a labourer who hurts their back or develops a dust-related illness. | A legal requirement once you employ anyone, including labourers and apprentices. |
| Tools and equipment | Wet saws, rail cutters, grinders, mixers, levelling systems and lasers if stolen or damaged. | Anyone whose kit would be costly to replace before the next job. |
| Contract works | Work in progress and materials on site, such as a new floor damaged by another trade before handover. | Tilers on larger jobs or contracts that make you responsible for the works. |
| Personal accident | A lump sum or weekly benefit if an accident stops you working, such as a knee or back injury. | Self-employed tilers with no sick pay. |
| Business van insurance | Driving to jobs and carrying tiles and tools. | Anyone who drives for work. Arranged through your motor insurer, not the liability policy. |
Do tilers need insurance by law?
A self-employed tiler working alone has no legal duty to buy public liability insurance in the UK. Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement as soon as you employ anyone, including a labourer or an apprentice, with cover of at least £5 million.
Even so, few tilers work without public liability insurance:
- Builders and bathroom fitters insist on it, often at £5 million or £10 million.
- Homeowners ask for it. You work next to pipes, cables and expensive fittings.
- Water travels. A small shower leak can damage rooms you never went into.
Employers without employers' liability insurance can be fined up to £2,500 for each day without it. Part-time and casual workers count. Northern Ireland has its own law with the same basic requirement.
How much does tiler insurance cost?
Tiler insurance for a sole trader costs roughly £80 to £220 a year for public liability only, as a rough guide, including 12% Insurance Premium Tax. Adding tools and personal accident takes most sole traders to roughly £160 to £420. A tiling business with staff paying for employers' liability might pay £500 to £1,200.
| Typical set-up | Rough guide price per year |
|---|---|
| Sole trader, public liability only | £80 to £220 |
| Sole trader adding tools and personal accident | £160 to £420 |
| Tiling business with staff (adds employers' liability) | £500 to £1,200 |
What affects the price of tiling insurance:
- Your public liability limit. £5 million or £10 million for a contractor costs more than £2 million.
- Wet rooms and tanking. Leak claims can be large, so insurers may ask about them.
- Other trades. Plumbing, bathroom fitting or screeding must be declared.
- Turnover and wage roll. Many liability policies are priced on these.
- Tools value and storage, especially kit left in the van overnight.
Public liability insurance for tilers: what to check before you buy
Before you buy public liability insurance for tilers, check the limit, how leaks are treated, the property-worked-on exclusion, that every trade is declared, and the van conditions on tools.
| Check | Why it matters for tilers |
|---|---|
| Public liability limit | Builders often set £5 million or £10 million. Match it before you start. |
| Trade description | "Tiler" may not include tanking, wet rooms, screeding or plumbing. |
| Workmanship exclusion | How the wording separates re-doing your work from damage it causes. |
| Property being worked on | Whether customer-supplied tiles you break are covered, and the limit. |
| Completed work cover | Leaks often appear after handover, so this must be included. |
| Tools in vehicles | Overnight exclusions, locked storage rules and single-item limits. |
Tiling insurance and leaks, wet rooms and broken tiles
Public liability normally covers water damage your work causes to other parts of a customer's home, but not the cost of putting right your own work. Damage to the tiles or surface you're fixing is often excluded as "property being worked on", so check your policy before you handle expensive customer-supplied materials.
Showers and wet rooms. Most large tiling claims start with water. Failed sealant around a tray, a tanking membrane not lapped at a corner, or grout letting water reach plasterboard can cause a slow leak nobody notices for months.
- Usually covered: damage to the rest of the home, such as the ceiling below, kitchen units, carpets and redecoration.
- Usually not covered: stripping out and re-tiling the shower, re-tanking or re-grouting.
- If you plumb in the tray or shower too, make sure your policy names plumbing as well as tiling.
Follow each waterproofing system's instructions and photograph the tanking before you tile. The British Standard code of practice for tiling, BS 5385, is the usual benchmark if your work is questioned.
Pipes, cables and underfloor heating. Drilling for a towel rail can hit a hidden pipe or cable, and a scraper can damage a heating mat. Damage to the customer's services and the water damage that follows are typical public liability claims. Use a detector, and test electric mats with a meter before and after tiling. Connecting underfloor heating to the mains is electrical work: in England and Wales, work in bathrooms and new circuits usually needs a registered electrician or building control notification. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building rules.
Customer-supplied tiles. Large-format porcelain, marble and natural stone are expensive. If one cracks as you cut or fix it, many policies treat it as damage to property you're working on and won't pay. Some insurers offer a limited extension. Agree breakage terms and spare stock with the customer in writing.
Health and safety rules for wall and floor tilers
Tilers must follow COSHH for silica dust, the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 for heavy tiles and bags, and CDM 2015 for construction work, including domestic jobs. These apply to the self-employed too.
Silica dust (COSHH). Ceramic, porcelain, natural stone and especially engineered quartz contain silica. Dry cutting, grinding and drilling give off respirable crystalline silica, which can cause silicosis, lung cancer and COPD. The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 and HSE guidance expect you to:
- use a wet saw or rail cutter instead of dry cutting where you can;
- use water suppression or on-tool extraction when you must grind or cut dry;
- clean up by vacuum or damp methods, not sweeping;
- wear suitable RPE, such as an FFP3 mask, and get tight-fitting masks face-fit tested.
Manual handling. Adhesive often comes in 20 kg bags, and large-format slabs are heavy, awkward and snap if carried flat. Avoid hazardous lifting where you reasonably can and reduce the risk where you can't: trolleys, suction lifters and a second person for big tiles.
Knees. Floor tiling means hours kneeling, and bursitis is common in the trade. Use good knee pads and take breaks.
CDM 2015. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to all construction work, including a domestic bathroom. You must plan, manage and monitor your own work so it's safe. On larger sites expect a risk assessment, method statement and induction.
Tiling contractor insurance for site and subcontract work
If you tile for builders or bathroom fitters, expect to show £5 million or £10 million of public liability, hold a CSCS card for larger sites, and be paid under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS).
- CSCS cards. Not a legal requirement, but most main contractors ask for one.
- CIS. Contractors deduct 20% from labour payments if you're registered, 30% if not. CIS applies across the UK.
- Site rules. Many sites require 110V tools, so check before bringing a 230V wet saw.
- Labour-only subcontractors you direct and pay by the day are often treated as employees for employers' liability. Tell your insurer.
Common tiler insurance claims
Most tiler insurance claims come from water damage after showers and wet rooms leak, damaged services such as pipes, cables and underfloor heating, and damage to customers' homes from dust, slurry and dropped tools.
- Leaking shower. Months after an ensuite is finished, failed sealant brings down the lounge ceiling below. The ceiling and redecoration are a liability claim; re-doing the shower isn't.
- Drilled pipe. Fixing a towel rail, a tiler drills into a heating pipe and water comes through to the hall.
- Underfloor heating. A scraper nicks a heating mat and the new floor has to come up to repair it.
- Slurry and dust. Cutting slurry is tracked across a cream carpet.
- Trips. The customer's parent trips over a tile box in the hallway and breaks a hip.
- Tools stolen. A wet saw, rail cutter and laser are taken from a van overnight. This is a tools claim, subject to the van conditions.
Starting a tiling business: insurance checklist
When you start a tiling business, register with HMRC, arrange public liability and tools cover before your first job, add business use to your van insurance, and register for CIS if you'll work for builders.
- Register as self-employed with HMRC, or set up a limited company.
- Register for CIS if contractors will pay you.
- Buy public liability with completed work cover: £2 million may suit domestic jobs; builders often want £5 million or £10 million.
- Declare every type of work, including wet rooms, tanking, plumbing or underfloor heating.
- Insure your tools and check the van conditions.
- Add business use to your vehicle insurance.
- Buy a wet saw, extraction and proper RPE.
- Set written terms on breakages, guarantees and snagging.
- Add employers' liability before taking anyone on.
Tiling insurance: broker or buy online?
Buying online can suit a sole-trader tiler doing simple domestic work. A broker helps with wet rooms, extra trades such as plumbing, high contractor limits, or staff.
A broker who arranges cover for tilers can compare insurers and check that the trade description and exclusions fit what you do. The cheapest online policy may only say "tiler" and leave out the wet room or plumbing work you also do, a gap that matters if a leak claim comes in.
For a wider guide to every type of business cover, see our small business insurance guide.
Related guides
Tiler insurance: frequently asked questions
Do tilers need public liability insurance?
It isn't a legal requirement for a self-employed tiler, but most homeowners, bathroom fitters and builders expect it. One leak can cost far more than years of premiums.
How much is tiler insurance?
As a rough guide, tiler insurance for a sole trader costs roughly £80 to £220 a year for public liability only, including 12% Insurance Premium Tax. Adding tools and personal accident takes it to roughly £160 to £420.
Is tiling insurance a legal requirement if I take on a labourer?
Yes. Once you employ anyone, including a labourer, an apprentice or casual help, you must have employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million. Fines can reach £2,500 for every day you're uninsured.
Does tiler insurance cover a shower that leaks after I've finished?
Water damage to the rest of the home, such as a ceiling below, is normally covered by public liability or products and completed work cover. Stripping out and re-tiling the shower itself is usually excluded as faulty workmanship.
Am I covered if I crack a customer's expensive tiles?
Often not. Many policies exclude damage to the property you're working on, which can include tiles you're cutting or fixing. Ask whether your policy has an extension for customer-supplied materials, and agree breakage terms with customers in writing.
Am I covered if I drill through a pipe or cable?
Damage to the customer's pipes, cables or underfloor heating, and the water damage that follows, is normally a public liability claim.
How much public liability do builders want from tilers?
Main contractors commonly ask subcontract tilers for £5 million or £10 million. Raise your limit before you start if needed.
Is wall and floor tiler insurance different from bathroom fitter insurance?
They can be. A wall and floor tiler policy may not cover plumbing, electrical work or full bathroom installs, so make sure every trade you do is named.
Does tiler tools insurance cover my wet saw in the van overnight?
Only if your tools cover includes it. Many policies require tools to be locked out of sight in the van, and some exclude theft overnight unless the van is garaged.
Do I need to worry about silica dust as a self-employed tiler?
Yes. COSHH applies to self-employed people, and cutting porcelain, stone and engineered quartz releases respirable crystalline silica. Use wet cutting or extraction and a face-fit tested FFP3 mask.
Does my tiling insurance pay for my guarantee?
No. Liability insurance doesn't usually pay for re-doing your own work, so build snagging and call-backs into your prices.