How Much Does Scaffolding Insurance Cost?

Typical price ranges

The following are broad indications only. Premiums move with the insurance market and with claims inflation, and the detail of your own business matters more than any average.

• A sole trader with no employees, buying £1m or £2m public liability only, is at the cheapest end of the market and will often pay a few hundred pounds a year. The sole trader guide covers the other covers that are usually worth adding.
• A small firm with two to five people, with £5m public liability and £10m employers’ liability, will commonly pay a low to mid four-figure annual premium. For reference, Simply Business was quoting an indicative figure of £104.65 a month in October 2026, which it says 10% of its scaffolding customers pay or less, on the basis of £10m employers’ liability and up to £2m public liability. That figure marks the cheaper end of the market rather than a typical premium.
• An established contractor with ten or more operatives, working for main contractors to 20m or more and buying a full package including contract works, plant and hired-in cover, will usually pay a five-figure premium rated mainly on wage roll and turnover.

What insurers rate on

Turnover and wage roll

Public liability is rated mainly on turnover and employers’ liability on wage roll, including payments to labour-only subcontractors. Both are estimated at inception and can be adjusted at renewal, so under-declaring saves little and can reduce what is paid on a claim.

Maximum working height

After turnover, height is the largest factor. Policies carry a maximum working height, often banded at 10m, 15m, 20m and 30m, and each band costs more. Declare the height you work to. If you need to go higher for an individual contract, a one-off endorsement is normally available.

Type of work

Domestic and light commercial access scaffolds are the base case. Temporary roofs and sheeting, work on the public highway, occupied buildings, rail and petrochemical sites, shoring and demolition support, and any structure requiring a bespoke design outside TG20:21 all increase the rate. Hoists, cradles and mast climbers are often rated separately or excluded. Firms that also carry out roofing are rated for that trade as well; see the roofing insurance guide.

Limit of indemnity

Increasing public liability from £1m to £2m adds a moderate percentage to the premium, £2m to £5m somewhat more, and £5m to £10m proportionately less, because very large claims are rarer. Where a contract requires £5m, the additional premium is seldom large enough to make the contract unviable.

Claims history

Insurers ask for five years of claims, including incidents notified but not paid. A single modest property damage claim is unremarkable in this trade. Several claims, or any injury claim from a fall, will increase the premium significantly and may limit the number of insurers willing to quote. Claims must be disclosed in full. Under the Insurance Act 2015 a deliberate or reckless failure to disclose allows the insurer to avoid the policy. For a careless one, the remedy depends on what the insurer would have done had it known: avoid the policy if it would have declined the risk, apply the different terms it would have imposed, or reduce the claim in proportion to the extra premium it would have charged.

Experience and qualifications

Years trading, the CISRS cards held by the gang (Scaffolder, Advanced Scaffolder, Supervisor), SSSTS or SMSTS for supervisors, and any NASC or Scaffolding Association audit all indicate a lower risk. New businesses pay more until they have a trading and claims record.

Excess

A typical public liability excess is £250 to £1,000 for third-party property damage, with no excess on injury claims. Accepting a higher excess reduces the premium, provided the figure is one the business could meet more than once in a year.

Location

Central London and other dense urban areas are rated higher than rural areas because the public is closer to the scaffold and claims are more frequent. Night and weekend work on the highway can also attract a loading.

Security and site practice

For the material sections of the policy, how stock is stored and how vehicles are secured overnight affects both the rate and the conditions. Scaffold alarms, lighting and signage rarely earn a discount by themselves but do support the underwriter’s view of how the firm is run.

Payment method

Paying monthly is a credit agreement and usually carries interest at a rate equivalent to a mid-teens APR. Paying annually is cheaper if cash flow allows.

Reducing the premium

• Declare the height band you work to and have taller one-off jobs endorsed individually.
• Use a broker who places scaffolding business regularly. Many standard tradesman products exclude the trade or cap it at low heights.
• Send copies of CISRS and supervisor cards with the proposal.
• Prepare a short SG4:22 compliance statement and a sample method statement. Underwriters take them into account.
• Have the renewal re-marketed every couple of years so that your current insurer’s terms are tested against the rest of the market.
• Buy liability, material cover and legal expenses as one package rather than from separate insurers.
• Secure the yard and vehicles. Theft of tube and fittings is among the most common claims scaffolders make and one of the easiest to prevent.
• Match limits to your contracts. There is no point paying for £10m if every client accepts £5m, and no point holding £2m if your main contractor requires £5m.

Comparing quotes

The lowest premium on a comparison site will often have a 10m height limit, exclude work on the highway and temporary roofs, and treat labour-only operatives as uninsured subcontractors. Compare the schedule, endorsements and exclusions alongside the price, and ask the broker to explain any condition you are unsure of before you buy. The scaffolding insurance overview lists the sections a complete policy should contain.

Scaffolding insurance cost FAQs