Trade Direct Insurance: Good for Tradesmen and Construction Workers?

Trade Direct Insurance: Good for Tradesmen and Construction Workers?

Trade Direct Services offers competive pricing and specialist perks for those working in the trades, from sole traders through to limited companies.

Good for

  • Market leading customer support
  • Great reviews online
  • UK based customer service
  • Simple, streamlined application process
  • Useful tradesman-specific benefits

Bad for

  • Broker, may be more expensive than going direct
  • Sometimes missing callback requests

Editor's Rating

4.8/5.0

The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.

As seen on

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Trade Direct Insurance is one of the UK’s top specialist insurance providers, focused on offering coverage to construction workers and tradesmen. The UK insurance market is highly competitive, so you might be wondering what exactly they have to offer you—this review will aim to help, deep-diving into what their customers think about them and who/what they cover.

In This Review

Trade Direct Insurance Overall Review

Trade Direct Insurance operate in the highly competitive tradesman and construction insurance market. Size-wise, they’re considerably smaller than the likes of AXA or Direct Line—which has benefits and disadvantages that’ll be discussed further later on. As of writing, they hold an exceptional 4.9 star rating from customers over the past 12 months on Feefo, with customers often complimenting their excellent customer service and competitive pricing.

5 reasons to buy insurance from Trade Direct

Buying insurance can be a daunting task at first. You’ve got a huge number of options available to you, from comparison sites to going direct, so it’s important to make sure you’re well informed before making a decision. Here are some benefits of going with Trade Direct:

  • Specialist independent broker: Smaller, more specialised insurers know their market from back-to-front, and benefit from less ‘red tape’ when a customer needs to make a claim.
  • Tradesman-focused benefits: All insurers offer benefits, but Trade Direct’s offers are targeted specifically at tradesmen. Offers include 10% off at B&Q via TradePoint membership, £10 off when you spend £100 at Zoro Tools, £5 off when you spend £150 Building Supplies Online, and more.
  • Fantastic reviews: It can be difficult to believe everything you read online, but the overwhelming majority of reviews for Trade Direct’s product and service are positive, indicating a very small proportion of customers have a negative experience.
  • UK-based: Trade Direct only operate in the UK, so you’ll be speaking to staff who know the market very well. On top of that, their call centres and customer services are all based in the UK, so you’ll never have to worry about time differences when needing support.
  • Flexible offering: If you’re a tradesman, you’ll be able to take out as much or as little cover as you require, avoiding unnecessary cost.

Types of cover available

Trade Direct Insurance services most of the UK’s most popular trades, so whether you’re a plumber, carpenter or welder you should be able to find what you’re looking for. As with many other insurers, you’re able to build a policy to your specification, meaning you won’t ever need to pay for any insurances you don’t want or need.

  • Public liability insurance will cover you in the event a third party (customer, member of the public, etc.) incurs property damage or is injured as a result of your work.
  • Employers' liability insurance will protect you and your business in the event that an employee believes their work for you caused them to become unwell or injured.
  • Professional indemnity insurance insures you against claims of ‘professional negligence’, when a customer is unhappy with your advice or service.
  • Tools and equipment cover protects the tools of your trade from loss, theft or accidental damage.
  • Personal accident insurance can help cover your income in the event you’re unable to work due to injury or illness.

To keep things simple for their customers, they have three main combo policies for trades people:

What's included?EssentialsClassicPlus
Public Liability insurance up to £5 millionyesyesyes
Employers' Liability insurance £10 millionyesyesyes
Financial Loss cover £100,000yesyesyes
Professional Indemnity cover £100,000noyesyes
Accidental Death covern/ayesyes
First £1,000 of Tools cover (can be increased to £15,000)n/ayesyes
Personal Accident cover up to £600 a week per personn/an/ayes

Plus, the following extras are available:

  • Contract Works
  • Owned Plant
  • Hired in Plant
  • Jury Service cover
  • Tools cover can be increased up to £15,000

Trade Direct public liability insurance

Without a doubt, public liability insurance is the staple of Trade Direct’s product offering. It forms the foundation for all Trade Direct policies, representing both the strength of Trade Direct’s public liability policies (and pricing) and the importance of public liability to those working as a tradesperson.

Policies start from around £75 annually for £1M of cover, with customer reviews often praising the prices Trade Direct offer, especially when compare to larger providers. Our own independent research into the cost of tradesman insurance seemed to corroborate this, with quotes for £2M of public liability around £5-15 cheaper, depending on your profession. Prices may vary by risks (e.g. profession, size of business, etc.) and over time.

What kind of businesses do Trade Direct cover?

As a specialist insurance provider, it’s fair to say Trade Direct are more focused on supporting smaller businesses, with a focus on sole traders, contractors, partnerships and small limited companies. Their front page even advertises that they specialise in covering businesses with "up to 15 employees" or "turnover up to £3 million", so if your business exceeds either of these you may be better looking at a larger provider.

How Much Does Trade Direct Insurance Cost?

A basic public liability insurance policy for £2M worth of cover starts from just under £90 annually through Trade Direct according to our research. A more well-rounded policy, including £2M of public liability, £100,000 of professional indemnity and £1,000 worth of tools coverage came in around £115 for the year for our sample tests.

Keep in mind that insurance costs can be highly variable, and any quote you receive (either through Trade Direct or other sources) might be different due to a number of factors, such as your location, your experience in the industry and how much cover you need. If you want to get the best price possible, shop around a little and see what’s on offer. Here is a sample of some of their insurance coverages:

InsuranceLimits available, up toStarting prices
Professional indemnity£100,000included in Classic/Plus (with other coverages) packages, starting ~£25/year
Employers’ liability£10,000,000from ~£104/year for 1st employee when added to a £2M PL policy
Public liability£5,000,000from ~£75/year (£1M limit)
Tools£15,000included in Classic/Plus (with other coverages) packages, starting ~£25/year
Personal Accident£600/weekincluded in Plus (with over coverages, £600 limit) package, starting ~£36/year

Trade Direct Insurance customer service reviews and ratings

Trade Direct Insurance Ratings & Customer Reviews
Trustpilot3.3 out of 5 (based on only 5 reviews so not reliable)
Feefo4.9 out of 5 (156 reviews in past year)
Tool Talk5 out of 5 (26 reviews)

We’ve sifted through each review site to understand how Trade Direct’s customers rate their pricing, customer service and overall product offering when compared to others in the market. Here’s what they had to say:

Trade Direct Insurance Feefo

It’s fair to say Feefo is the review site of choice for Trade Direct’s customers, with well over 2,000 reviews built up over the past few years (but just 156 in the past year, as of July 2024). They boast an exceptional 4.9-star rating out of 5 from reviews left in the past year, with comments focused on market-leading customer service, competitive pricing and an easy application process.

There aren’t many negative comments to choose from, but common themes include delays in sending out policy documentation and missed callback requests. Everyone’s experience is different, so we’d suggest making sure you provide Trade Direct with a couple of ways they can get in touch with you if you’re expecting them to contact you to discuss further.

Here are a few of the most common themes we found when reading comments regarding Trade Direct.

Easy application process: “Very easy to navigate the website and sort my public liability insurance no frills no extras exactly what I need”

Great customer service: “The person was extremely helpful on what I actually required and made the purchase very quickly and cheaper than my current quotation for insurance”

Competitive pricing: “Really good price, was recommended by other landscapers beat any quote I was getting by £150!”

Valuing existing customers: “I have been with Trade Direct for years, they are very good and helpful.”

Simplifying complicated insurance: “Made it very easy for me. I called to get a quote and the agent made it so easy for me and before I knew it I was all done and paid”

Negative comments were focused heavily on missed callback requests:

“Next day, Tuesday, again wrote requesting a ‘call back’ for Wednesday afternoon as I work Wednesday mornings. No ‘call back’.”

“To-date, 8 days later, despite asking someone to call me, on more than one occasion, I'm still waiting for that call.”

Trade Direct Insurance Trustpilot

It probably isn’t fair to judge Trade Direct from their Trustpilot reviews, since there are only 5! Negative reviews are focused on being contacted by Trade Direct (as with Feefo above), and not the actual product or customer service itself, so it’s difficult to judge too harshly.

Like any business, if you share your details with Trade Direct then you can expect them to follow-up—if you’re not comfortable with this, you’re always free to unsubscribe whenever you like.

“Very polite and professional”

“Say they will call you back and never do”

Trade Direct Insurance Tool Talk

Tool Talk reviews, while limited in number, generally echo the thoughts of those found on Feefo. Many comments come from customers who have been with them for a number of years, suggesting people are happy with the service once on board.

"I have used Trade Direct for years for my insurance and find there bundle if you can call it that that comprises of liability, professional indemnity and tool insurance very competitive, if I can give anyone any advice is when it comes to tool insurance always check the terms as most do not insure your tools in a vehicle over night. This seems to be the case with every insurer I checked."

"Very impressed with trade direct. Very competitive prices and customer service is really good. Very helpful staff to answer all my questions when I started my business 6 years so. Still with them now and wouldn't swap."

“This company is great I had these guys for my liability insurance for a few years.”

“Always seem to be the cheapest, and will constantly let you know when your renewal is due.”

“These guys have saved me loads compared to other quotes I had, us they understand what we need as most don't I've found. Highly recommended.”

How to claim with Trade Direct Insurance

It’s worth noting here that if you’re looking looking for trade insurance direct from a company, not a broker, then Trade Direct Insurance might not be the best choice for you.

Trade Direct are part of Kelliher Insurance Group, a broker, so don’t insure you themselves. In the event you need to make a claim you’ll need to contact the insurance company directly—Trade Direct’s insurance policies are provided by Zurich. This doesn’t mean that Trade Direct won’t support your claim at all, however, and they do have a hotline to support you if you need help while making a claim, manned 09:00-17:30 Monday-Friday.

Contact information for Trade Direct Insurance claims
General Claims0800 302 9055 (Zurich)0800 0318 497 (Trade Direct)
Tools0800 783 0691 (Zurich)0800 0318 497 (Trade Direct)

What professions does Trade Direct Insurance Cover?

Simply put, if you’re working as a tradesman or construction worker then Trade Direct will almost certainly have a policy for you. This includes, but isn’t limited to:

  • Air conditioning
  • Alarm/CCTV installation
  • Boiler engineer
  • Bricklayer
  • Builder
  • Carpenter/joiner
  • Cleaner
  • Decorator
  • Electrician
  • Flooring
  • Gardening
  • Gas fitting
  • Heating engineer
  • Kitchen installation
  • Labourer
  • Locksmith
  • Masonry
  • Painter/decorator
  • Plumber
  • Scaffolding
  • Tiling
  • Window cleaner

Trade Direct keeps all of their special offers in one place, a convenient web page detailing all of the special offers they offer their customers, so check it out if you’re looking to save with one of Trade Direct’s partners.

Keep in mind if you’re looking to save on your insurance, you’ll be best served to contact them directly either over email or by calling them (on 0800 0318 497) to see if they’re running any promotions you can take advantage of.

Trade Direct Insurance have one primary phone number that you’ll use to get to whichever department you need to speak with. It’s 0800 0318 497.

Trade Direct Insurance’s working hours are 09:00 to 17:30, Monday through Friday.

Trade Direct Insurance is part of the Kelliher Insurance Group, which also owns other insurance brands such as SelfBuild Insurance and Kerry London.

Luke Masters

Prior to NimbleFins, Luke studied economics at Brunel University and worked at FreshMinds, Investigo and BMW. His work in data analytics, pricing, strategy and business development helped him write business insurance content to support SMEs at NimbleFins. He now works at DataPOWA, a sports & entertainment data analytics company. Read more on LinkedIn.

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The guidance on this site is based on our own analysis and is meant to help you identify options and narrow down your choices. We do not advise or tell you which product to buy; undertake your own due diligence before entering into any agreement. Read our full disclosure here.