Key Takeaways

• Essential Protection: Electricians face high-risk hazards, making insurance crucial for covering accidents, property damage, and legal claims.
• Comprehensive Coverage: Top policies include general liability, workers’ compensation, professional liability, and tool coverage.
• Cost-Effective Options: Comparing providers helps electricians find affordable policies tailored to their business size and needs.
• Long-Term Security: Proper insurance ensures business continuity by protecting against lawsuits, injuries, and equipment loss.

Like many other professionals, electricians and people who regularly work with electricity face many unique dangers. These damages can include electrical burns, exposure to toxic substances, UV radiation, fires, and even lethal shocks.

With all of these dangers apparent, electricians need solid insurance options to help safeguard against potentially exorbitant claims, medical bills, or other payouts. That’s where the electrician’s insurance can step in.

Let’s take a quick look at who needs electrician’s insurance, what this type may not cover, and the top 10 policies electrician’s insurance can provide.

Who Needs Electrician Insurance?

Both electricians and electrical contractors, as well as any other individual who regularly works with electricity, need to purchase electrician’s insurance policies. These people face many unique job dangers, including contact with live wires and active circuits, specialized equipment that may malfunction, and any number of other problems.

Make sure you have electrician coverage, especially if you work with lighting, high—or low-voltage electricity, fiber optics, or electrical control installations. 

What Is Not Covered by Electrician’s Insurance?

While electrician’s insurance can provide payouts for a wide range of potential problems, liabilities, and damages, there are a few specific instances that most of these policies won’t cover. These typically include:

• Earthquakes
• Floods
• Infectious Diseases
• Intentional Fraudulent Acts
• Wrongful Termination
• Wars
• Government Seizures

You can purchase additional policy types to cover some of these exclusions, but they may cost extra.

Top 10 Insurance Options for Electricians

There are many excellent insurance options for electricians, including general liability insurance, equipment breakdown insurance, installation floaters, and more. Let’s take a minute to review each one to better understand how it can protect you and your business.

General Liability Insurance

General liability insurance is the best, all-inclusive insurance type for any business, including electricians. This policy provides a base layer of protection that can be the foundation for your insurance policies. It covers property damage, accidental bodily injuries, medical bills, settlements, and legal defenses.

Commercial Property Insurance

Commercial property insurance is a must-have if your electrician business has a physical location or any valuable equipment. This policy will offset costs relating to damage to your business’s location or equipment, whether you own or lease it outright. 

Business Interruption Insurance

Life happens, and sometimes, that may mean you must close your business temporarily. And whether you need to close it because of damage to the property, illness, theft, or any number of other scenarios, business interruption insurance can help by helping you recoup some lost earnings or helping you find a new location.

Worker’s Compensation Insurance

If you have employees, workers comp is a vital insurance type for your business–not just because it’s legally required in most places. Workers’ comp can help offset costs if your covered employees are injured or become ill on the job. The policy will cover medical bills, disability benefits if applicable, and a percentage of lost wages.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Many electricians rely on vans or other commercial vehicles to transport their equipment from location to location and their employees to various job sites. Sometimes, these vehicles break down, get into accidents, or are stolen. 

If this happens, commercial auto insurance can cover bodily injuries to individuals hurt in an accident caused by you or your employees, property damage caused accidentally, medical payments, collision damage, and other potential damages.

Equipment Breakdown Insurance

Electricians can have some pretty expensive equipment for their work–equipment that can be incredibly costly to replace if damaged. Equipment breakdown insurance can help you here by covering the cost to repair or replace your equipment and any time and labor involved in the repair or replacement.

Note that this insurance will not apply to equipment that breaks down due to regular wear-and-tear activity.

Contractor’s Tools and Equipment Insurance

While this insurance type may sound similar to equipment breakdown insurance, it works to cover you in separate circumstances. The contractor’s tools and equipment insurance may not be able to cover your equipment if it breaks down, but if it’s lost, stolen, or damaged, this insurance policy can step in to offset costs.

As with equipment breakdown insurance, this policy type has some limitations, including restrictions on how old a piece of equipment must be before it loses all coverage.

Errors and Omissions Insurance

Some clients you work with may be fantastic, but there may occasionally be those individuals who are unhappy with your work. If you’re ever in a situation where a customer is dissatisfied with your labor and claims you did poor work on their property in court, errors and omissions insurance–also known as professional liability insurance–can help you cover costs associated with legal fees, court rulings, and settlements.

Installation Floater

While commercial property insurance can protect your business’s equipment and property, it may not cover materials purchased to be installed at a client’s location. Installation floaters can be used instead to ensure that the materials being held or transported have some coverage protections. 

Commercial Umbrella Insurance

Finally, commercial umbrella insurance is an excellent option for your business. Like general liability insurance, it covers a wide range of potential damages. Still, where general liability provides basic coverage, commercial liability insurance amplifies your existing coverage and can cover items your other policies miss. It’s a catch-all policy that can be a lifesaver in some situations.

Key Takeaways

If you’re an electrician or work with electricity regularly, you may already be fully aware of the dangers you face on the job. Ensure you and your business are protected against potential damages and liabilities by investing in the right insurance options, from general liability policies to workers comp, equipment breakdown insurance, installation floaters, and more.

To learn more about the best insurance options for electricians or to request a quote on a policy for your business, contact our top-tier team at Keller Insurance Agency today!

FAQs

1. What types of insurance do electricians need?

Electricians typically need general liability, workers’ compensation, commercial auto, and tools and equipment coverage.

2. Why is general liability insurance important for electricians?

It protects against third-party property damage, injuries, and legal claims from accidents on job sites.

3. How much does electrician insurance cost?

Costs range from $500 to $2,500 annually, depending on coverage types, business size, and location.

4. Do electricians need professional liability insurance?

Yes, it can cover claims related to faulty work, errors, or negligence in services provided.

5. Can electricians get coverage for their tools and equipment?

Yes, tools and equipment insurance protects against loss, theft, or damage to essential work tools.