Conservatory and Orangery Installer Insurance
A conservatory is the only domestic job that involves demolishing part of a working house and replacing it with glass, and the risk follows from exactly that.
Three Jobs In One Trade
Before you arrive, the back of the house is weatherproof. You take out a wall or a door, dig and pour a base against the existing foundation, build a structure onto it and tie the roof into brickwork that is somebody else's. Every one of those interfaces is a potential leak, and leaks in this trade do not appear on handover. They appear in the second winter, in driving rain, and by then the customer has decorated.
Add that you are carrying large sealed units into a garden, working at height on a roof you built that morning, and frequently taking on the base as groundworks, and the result is a trade with three distinct exposures rather than one.
What Conservatory Installer Insurance Covers
Public liability
Injury and damage to the customer's property: the existing house, the garden, drainage, services and the neighbour's boundary. £2 million is the domestic starting point and £5 million where a developer or a main contractor requires it.
Damage to the existing structure
The section that matters here. You are cutting into, digging against and fixing onto a house you did not build, and damage to it is the characteristic claim rather than damage to the conservatory.
Contract works, including the base
The job in progress: the base poured, the frame erected, the glazing in before handover. A part-built conservatory is exposed to weather, theft and vandalism in a way a finished one is not.
Glazing in transit and on site
Large sealed units, roof panels and bespoke glass, which cannot be replaced from stock and are damaged more easily carried through a garden than fitted.
Products liability where you supply
Where you supply the frames, glass and roof as well as fitting them, a failure in the product is yours before it is the manufacturer's.
Employers' liability
Compulsory from the first employee at a £5 million statutory minimum, and this trade works in pairs with lifting and height throughout.
Working at height
Roof assembly, flashing into brickwork and gutter connections, usually from towers or scaffold rather than ladders.
Where The Cover Stops
Wordings differ between insurers, so treat these as the usual position rather than as universal fact. Where one of them matters to you, it is worth checking on your own schedule before you need to.
Water ingress at the interface
The defining claim, and the hardest. Where water comes in at the flashing, the abutment or the base detail, the question is whether the installation was defective, which is excluded, or whether something failed, which may not be. The two are hard to separate years later.
Gradual damage
A leak that has been wetting a floor slowly for two winters is gradual, which most policies exclude. That is precisely how conservatory leaks present.
The base and ground conditions
Digging against an existing foundation, in made ground, or near a tree raises subsidence and heave questions that a frame installer's policy does not contemplate.
Building regulations and exemption
Conservatories are frequently exempt from parts of the regulations, and frequently are not once the glazed area, the heating or the separation from the house changes. Getting that wrong is a compliance matter rather than an insured loss.
Drainage and soakaways
Rainwater from a new roof has to go somewhere. Connecting into a surface water system that cannot take it, or building over a drain, is a claim and sometimes a water authority matter.
Defective workmanship
Going back to reseal a flashing is never covered. Damage the water caused to the house may be, which is where every one of these disputes sits.
The Interface Is The Whole Risk
Nothing about a conservatory leaks except where it meets something else, and that is where the money is.
Three interfaces do the damage. The abutment where the roof meets the house, usually flashed into brickwork or a raking cut, which is the single most common source of ingress. The base, where a new slab and dwarf wall meet an existing foundation and an existing damp proof course, and where bridging the DPC will produce damp inside the house rather than in the conservatory. And the threshold, where the floor level, the door and the external ground level all have to work together.
None of those failures is visible on handover and all of them are expensive by the time they are. The protections are detailing and evidence: flash properly rather than relying on mastic, keep the DPC continuous and never bridge it, photograph the abutment and the base detail before they are covered, and keep those photographs with the job. Two winters later, the photograph of a correctly formed flashing is the only thing that distinguishes your work from the weather.
Who Did The Base?
This is the question that decides how much of a conservatory business's risk is groundworks, and many firms have never answered it deliberately.
A company that sells and fits frames, with the base built by a separate groundworker the customer engaged, has a narrow exposure. A company that does the lot, digging and pouring against an existing foundation, is carrying a groundworks risk: excavation near a wall, services in the ground, ground conditions, tree roots, and the possibility of undermining or affecting an existing footing.
Insurers rate those very differently, and a policy written as conservatory installation may not contemplate excavation at all. Declare it with a turnover split. And where the base is somebody else's, keep the demarcation clear in writing, because when water appears at the threshold the first argument is about whose detail failed.
Glass Is Damaged Carrying It, Not Fitting It
Ask any installer where glazing gets broken and the answer is a garden path rather than a roof.
Large sealed units, bespoke roof panels and glazed gable sections are heavy, awkward and carried through side gates, over flower beds, around corners and up steps, usually by two people. They cannot be replaced from stock, so a break means a lead time, a half-finished conservatory open to the weather and a customer waiting.
Which makes two things worth having. Property in your care covered properly, with a figure reflecting a full glazed roof rather than one pane, because standard liability excludes goods in your custody. And an operational habit: plan the route before unloading, clear it, use lifting aids rather than determination, and never stand glass where a gust or a child can reach it. Also worth protecting what you carry past, since a dropped unit through a customer's greenhouse or onto their car is a third party claim rather than a stock loss.
Replacement Roofs Are A Growing Part Of It
A large share of this trade is now replacing the roof on a conservatory somebody else built twenty years ago, and that is a different risk from a new build.
You are loading a new, heavier roof onto an existing frame and an existing base that you did not design and cannot see the foundations of. If the frame or the dwarf wall will not take the additional load, the failure traces to the decision to fit it rather than to the workmanship. That is a judgement you made, which pushes part of the exposure towards advisory rather than installation.
So survey it properly rather than quoting from a photograph: check the frame, the dwarf wall, the base and any movement already present, and record what you found. Where a structure is marginal, say so in writing and either decline or specify strengthening. A roof fitted onto a frame that was never going to hold it is the claim in this part of the trade, and it is entirely avoidable at survey stage.
How To Choose A Broker As A Conservatory Installer
The usual failure is a policy written for frame fitting on a business that also does groundworks. We are an FCA regulated broker and will not tell you we are the best choice. These are the questions that decide it.
Does it contemplate the base and excavation?
If you dig and pour, you are running a groundworks risk alongside glazing. A policy written as conservatory installation may not cover excavation at all, and insurers rate the two very differently.
How is water ingress at the abutment treated?
The defining claim. Resealing is defective workmanship and excluded; damage the water caused to the house may not be. Ask how the wording separates them, and how gradual damage is handled.
Is glazing in your custody covered, and at what figure?
Sealed units and roof panels are damaged being carried rather than fitted, and property in your care is excluded from liability by default. The figure should reflect a full glazed roof.
Is products liability included where you supply?
Supplying frames, glass and roofs makes you a supplier as well as an installer, and a product failure arrives as yours first.
Does it cover replacement roof work?
Loading a new roof onto somebody else's frame is partly an advisory decision. If a large share of your work is replacements, it needs declaring.
What height and access methods are permitted?
Roof assembly and flashing into brickwork is height work on towers or scaffold rather than ladders.
Factually, here is what we do against those questions. We ask whether you build the base and declare excavation separately with a turnover split, we establish how water ingress at the abutment is treated and how gradual damage is handled, we cover glazing in your custody with a figure set against a full glazed roof rather than a single pane, and we declare replacement roof work where it is a real part of the business. We are a broker, so it goes to several insurers rather than one.
We insure glaziers, groundworkers and roofers, which are the three trades a conservatory job actually spans, so the interfaces that cause the claims are familiar ground.
What Moves The Price
Every policy is priced on the business behind it. These are the things that move the premium:
- Whether you build the base or only the structure
- The proportion of replacement roof work
- Whether you supply the frames, glass and roof
- The value of glazing in transit and your custody
- Turnover and the number of installations a year
- Working height and access methods
- The limit of indemnity required
- Claims history, particularly water ingress
We are a broker, so we take it to several insurers rather than quoting one. Call 02382 000820 for a quote.
What We Need To Quote
- Whether you do the base, the structure, or both
- The proportion of new builds against replacement roofs
- Whether you supply or fit customer-supplied products
- The value of a typical glazed roof in your custody
- Access methods and the heights involved
- Annual turnover and number of installations
- The limit of indemnity required, and who requires it
- Any claims in the last five years, especially leaks
Cover that often goes with this
The gaps we most often find sitting next to this policy.
- Glaziers and window fittersThe glazing side, and the same care and custody problem.
- Groundworks contractorsThe base, if you dig and pour it yourself.
- Roofing contractorsFlashing into brickwork, and the abutment detail.
- BricklayersDwarf walls, and tying into existing brickwork.
- Contractors all riskA part-built conservatory open to weather and theft.
- Talk to a brokerTell us whether you build the base; it changes the policy.
Common questions
What insurance do conservatory installers need?+
Public liability at £2 million as a domestic starting point and £5 million where a developer requires it, covering damage to the existing house, garden, drainage and the neighbouring boundary. Then damage to the existing structure specifically, because cutting into and fixing onto a house you did not build is the characteristic claim. Contract works including the base, glazing in transit and in your custody, products liability where you supply, and employers' liability at a £5 million statutory minimum. If you dig and pour the base, excavation needs declaring as its own risk.
Am I liable if a conservatory leaks two winters later?+
It depends on whether it was defective installation, which is excluded as your own cost, or something failing, which may be covered, and separating those years later is the hardest part of this trade. The other complication is that gradual damage is excluded on most policies and a slow leak over two winters is exactly how conservatory ingress presents. The protections are detailing and evidence: flash properly rather than relying on mastic, keep the damp proof course continuous and never bridge it, and photograph the abutment and base detail before they are covered.
Does my policy cover building the base?+
Only if it was declared, and this is the commonest gap in the trade. A business that fits frames onto a base somebody else built has a narrow exposure. A business that digs and pours against an existing foundation is running a groundworks risk: excavation near a wall, buried services, ground conditions, tree roots and the possibility of affecting an existing footing. Insurers rate those very differently and a policy written as conservatory installation may not contemplate excavation at all. Declare it with a turnover split, and where the base is somebody else's, keep the demarcation in writing.
Am I covered if I break a sealed unit carrying it in?+
Only with cover for property in your care, custody and control, which standard liability excludes, and the figure should reflect a full glazed roof rather than a single pane. This is where glazing actually gets damaged: carried through side gates, over beds, around corners and up steps rather than during fitting. Because the units are bespoke, a break means a lead time and a half-finished conservatory open to the weather. Plan and clear the route before unloading, use lifting aids, and protect what you carry past, since a dropped unit through a greenhouse or onto a car is a third party claim.
Is replacing a conservatory roof a different risk?+
Yes, and it is a growing share of the trade. You are loading a new, heavier roof onto an existing frame and base you did not design and whose foundations you cannot see. If the frame or dwarf wall will not take the load, the failure traces to the decision to fit it rather than to your workmanship, which pushes part of the exposure towards advisory. So survey properly rather than quoting from a photograph: check the frame, dwarf wall, base and any existing movement, record what you found, and where a structure is marginal say so in writing and either decline or specify strengthening.
Who insures conservatory installers in the UK?+
It is placed as a glazing or general construction trade and most trades insurers will quote it, which means the quotes look similar and the differences are structural. What separates placements is whether the base and excavation are declared, how water ingress at the abutment and gradual damage are treated, whether glazing in your custody is covered at a realistic figure, and whether replacement roof work has been recognised as partly advisory. A conservatory job spans glazing, groundworks and roofing, and a policy describing one of the three has priced a third of the business.
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