Tool insurance

What is tool insurance?

Tools insurance from AXA offers protections for both the tools that you own, and you can cover those that you have hired. This can range from construction equipment to essential electronics and even stock in trade.

So, whether you’re a stonemason with a chisel and hammer or a plumber with a tool belt lined with the tools of your trade, we’re here for you.

Whatever the tools of your trade, we’ve got flexible, affordable cover you can use to replace them quickly if they’re lost, stolen or damaged while in your care. We can protect both the tools that belong to you and the ones you’ve hired to get the job done.

Is tool insurance worth it?

If you work with tools and rely on them to keep your business running, then you should consider tool insurance. Tools insurance gives the peace of mind to know that should one of the tools in your care – either your own or hired – get damaged or stolen, then you’re covered for those costs.

Without tools insurance, your business will be liable for the costs of damage or theft and could end up suffering not only the financial losses, but a downtime in business production and potentially a loss of customers if you can’t meet agreed deadlines.

Who can get tool insurance?

We cover a broad spectrum of trades and professions with our tool insurance.

Everyone has ‘tools’ they use to perform – whether you’re a business consultant with laptop, mobile devices and tablets to stay connected, a gardener with leaf-blower, rakes and forks, or a bricklayer with bucket, mixers and trowels.

Regardless of what you use them for – these tools are almost as essential as you are to the running of your business. And that’s why you need to protect them.

Tell us a bit about the work you do and add our tools/equipment cover to whichever core covers you have with us (public liability, employers’ liability, contents cover, professional indemnity insurance).

What is covered by tool insurance? Are my power tools covered?

At AXA, we know every business is different, which means the tools you need to make your business thrive will vary too. That’s why we offer cover for various types of tools and equipment with tools insurance.

Own plant, tools and equipment cover

Protect the tools you own in case of accidental loss, theft or damage. Under this cover we can help cover you for a variety of tools such as;

• Constructional plant
• Machinery
• Trailers
• Tools
•  Site huts
• Caravans (including their contents)
• Portable tools and equipment (including electronic communication and computing
  equipment)

Plus, we also cover you for stock in trade. With this cover, you can protect plus stock up to a value of £2000.

Hired-in plant cover

If you’re renting specialist gear, our hired-in equipment cover will protect them if they’re damaged or destroyed in your care. We’ll provide cover for a variety of hired-in equipment, such as:

• Constructional plant
• Machinery
• Tools and equipment
• Site huts or caravans you have hired to use in connection with the business

Business equipment insurance

With this add-on cover to your business insurance, you’ll get protection for laptop, mobiles and other essential work tech as well as any other equipment needed to keep your business running efficiently, no matter your job description. So, whether you’re working with computers or making notes on branded stationary – we’ve got your back.

How does tool insurance work?

At AXA, you can choose the level of tools insurance cover you need from our fixed sums, starting at £1,500.

If there comes a time when you need to make a claim with us, there are a few things that will help the process go more smoothly. For starters, we recommend keeping copies of all receipts as well as photographs of your tools. Have this information readily available as having these to hand when we need them is going to help speed up you claim.

Still need more information? Check out our handy Business Guardian Angel article Six simple steps to help settle a claim in 24 hours for a more in depth guide to what you can do to help us settle your claims quickly and easily.

What else should I consider when buying when buying tool insurance?

When you’re buying tools insurance there may be other factors to consider.

Excess details

You might think that it makes more sense to have a high excess on your policy, however, your excess is costing you more than it would cost you to replace the damaged or stolen tool outright, then you’re not getting the value you should be. So, always check your excess.

At AXA our excess is variable, offering 10% of every claim subject to a minimum of £100 and a maximum of £500.

Possible exclusions

Some policies come with certain exclusions, so be sure to always check your policy wording to be crystal clear on what we do and don’t cover.  As with most insurance policies, for a claim to be accepted there must be signs of forced entry in cases of theft.

Know the value of your tools

When adding on your tools insurance cover, be sure to know the correct value of the tools you want to insure, and keep a list of your most valuable items. Doing so could help you get a claim settled faster. Over or underestimating the value of your tools could lead to paying too much, or not having enough cover should you need it.

Storage at home or in your vehicle

Due diligence must be exercised when it comes to the storage of your tools. As above, there must be signs of forced entry to your home, vehicle or anywhere else you store your insured items for a claim to be valid.

What other types of insurance can protect my business?

You can add tool insurance to any of the covers below.