Sensible Topic Public Liability Insurance ( Advice )

[CoolHandLuke]

Ive Finally got some get up and go and decided to take another shot at going self employed, I am going to place an add In the paper for PC Repair and general tasks like TV Installation and setting up electrical equipment.

Thing is I know I am going to need some Public Liability Insurance does anyone have any advice on a decent company which Is cheap, with me just starting out I do not want to pay over the odds.

Also will the Insurance ask If I have the required Qualifications ? I do not have any PC repair qualifications what so ever, but over the last week I have pretty much stripped 5 laptops to bits re-pasted the cpu and put them back together without a scratch. So I am confident that I can do most jobs.

If I have to I can take a quick course available in my local college, BTEC Award in Computer Engineering Level 2 and it can be completed In a couple of weeks.

Anyone taking this course in the past, is it too basic or will I have to take a more advanced one.

Any Advice Always Appreciated As Always

 

[chookey]

"I do not have any PC repair qualifications what so ever, but over the last week I have pretty much stripped 5 laptops to bits re-pasted the cpu and put them back together without a scratch. So I am confident that I can do most jobs."

There is a lot more to pc repair than stripping down a laptop and re-applying thermal paste. I think if you were to advertise your services at this present time you would have a lot more failures than successes. I reckon you would be better to complete a course first and get basic qualifications and a fuller understanding of the type of faults which may come your way.
You may of course have a lot more experience than the statement above would suggest. Qualifications are useful but experience is a must.

 

[oneman]

Said it before and will say it again. Think really long and hard about doing this. PC repair is one of the hardest to survive in as there are so many hobbyist will to do work for peanuts. Also as soon as a touch a PC, people feel entitled that any problem the PC ever has again is your fault.

As for public liability insurnace, you can check places like NUF who my mrs used for when she ran her catering business. Do you know what the insurance will cover you for ?

Business Insurance Services | Commercial Business Insurance - NFU Mutual

 

[Him Her]

Do you know what the insurance will cover you for ?

It will cover you for damages caused in the course of carrying out your business not for busting the odd laptop!

As Oneman says, it's hard to survive in the repair business and it's not just hobbyists, the cost of hardware is falling all the time and the cost of extended on-site warranties is too.

For that reason I mainly do setup and malware removal plus a quick assessment on hardware repairs - more than 2 hours labour and it's rejected as non-viable.

I make more fitting kitchens and bathrooms - not that I want to put you off or anything but I'd definitely be looking for supplementary niches...

 

[oneman]

It will cover you for damages caused in the course of carrying out your business not for busting the odd laptop!

As Oneman says, it's hard to survive in the repair business and it's not just hobbyists, the cost of hardware is falling all the time and the cost of extended on-site warranties is too.

Sorry the point I was making is that you are not covered for any screw ups I believe, for example if you delete all their data or leave behind a virus. AFAIK you are covered for the public being idiots rather then yourself.

Also in-home servicing is time consuming and low margin. You have people doing fixed costs repairs around here, £25 for virus clean up that could take several hours and that includes call out fee. Best if you can take the stuff back to a workshop or better still get them to drop it off where you can work on multiple computers at the same time.

 

[Him Her]

Sorry the point I was making is that you are not covered for any screw ups I believe, for example if you delete all their data or leave behind a virus. AFAIK you are covered for the public being idiots rather then yourself.

It can cover data loss, it's personal or property damage for which you can be shown to be liable. You should check what you feel are the risks and get a policy to suit.

Also in-home servicing is time consuming and low margin. You have people doing fixed costs repairs around here, £25 for virus clean up that could take several hours and that includes call out fee. Best if you can take the stuff back to a workshop or better still get them to drop it off where you can work on multiple computers at the same time.

True, although the home visit is one of my niches but it's by the hour not by the job...I don't bother trying to compete with the cheapo-guys but I do charge more to fix their fook-ups

 

[CoolHandLuke]

"I do not have any PC repair qualifications what so ever, but over the last week I have pretty much stripped 5 laptops to bits re-pasted the cpu and put them back together without a scratch. So I am confident that I can do most jobs."

There is a lot more to pc repair than stripping down a laptop and re-applying thermal paste. I think if you were to advertise your services at this present time you would have a lot more failures than successes. I reckon you would be better to complete a course first and get basic qualifications and a fuller understanding of the type of faults which may come your way.
You may of course have a lot more experience than the statement above would suggest. Qualifications are useful but experience is a must.

I have been fixing computers for my friends and family for years mate, never had one I could not fix, apart from the odd deadboard.

 

[Mick]

Would it be worth it though to take out insurance for laptops.

I mean if you claim for a £300 laptop you would lose out over time in increased premiums.

However I am not sure how much it would even cost for your type of work (doubt it could be allot with such small claims), what about indemnity insurance, say you tell someone to install avast but while they are installing avast it fecks up the computer (or so they say), could they sue you for bad advise?

To be honest as well, lets say you got a contract with a large company servicing their machines, and accidently you take down there network and it loses them thousands in trading losses, you would need to prove you are competent in computer repairs and servicing... insurance might not pay out!

Training and experience is the best way of proving competence in any field, training and experience is key to any business.

Mick

 

[CoolHandLuke]

Would it be worth it though to take out insurance for laptops.

I mean if you claim for a £300 laptop you would lose out over time in increased premiums.

However I am not sure how much it would even cost for your type of work (doubt it could be allot with such small claims), what about indemnity insurance, say you tell someone to install avast but while they are installing avast it fecks up the computer (or so they say), could they sue you for bad advise?

To be honest as well, lets say you got a contract with a large company servicing their machines, and accidently you take down there network and it loses them thousands in trading losses, you would need to prove you are competent in computer repairs and servicing... insurance might not pay out!

Training and experience is the best way of proving competence in any field, training and experience is key to any business.

Mick

Yup, I am not going to just dive in head first, I am going to start the BTEC course ASAP and once I have completed that I will look towards some Insurance, It is much cheaper then I thought some sites quote as low as £30 a month.

Looks like its a plan for the near future though me mate rents a stall at the local Computer Fair selling bits and bobs, so It will be a place to drum up some business.

 

[Mick]

Yup, I am not going to just dive in head first

Every business has to start somewhere, if you can keep the startup costs to a minimum then what have you got to lose

Offer your clients 10% discount if they are willing to write a small paragraph on your service and a recommendation... this will all help with proving competence in the long run.

Mick

 

[Spectre]

Do you need to have it? After all, it gives legal people a reason to sue you. If you have a £100 comapny no one would bother chasing it.

 

[Mick]

Do you need to have it? After all, it gives legal people a reason to sue you. If you have a £100 comapny no one would bother chasing it.

I agree completely, however he would not get larger jobs or future contracts without it.

But for fixing local machines for people... why bother

Mick

 

[Spectre]

I'd leave it for the minute because some clown will sue you "no win no fees" if you can't recover his holiday pictures that he deleted. It's still no good if your company is £100 though .

I think there is tax relief if you use your own equipment for your company business too (IE don't increase your company value with assets).

 

[Him Her]

It's not a legal requirement to have it but as Mick says many businesses will require you to have it. Public Liability covers damage as a result of, say, accident; Professional Indemnity covers damage as a result of design error. I don't think you need to be concerned about recommending a third-party product and installing it in accordance with manufacturers guidelines.

On the other hand if you write an anti-virus program that's a different matter.

I agree that insurance isn't top of your list at the moment - I only got mine in case I tripped and slung a laptop through the brand new plasma or dropped a bog on a Ming vase ...

 

[Mick]

Professional Indemnity covers damage as a result of design error. I don't think you need to be concerned about recommending a third-party product and installing it in accordance with manufacturers guidelines.

To be honest I do not think he needs to worry about any insurance right now, just think about it for a future date.

If he choose a whole office to use Avast, and avast conflicted with some other software causing downtime and loss of revenue, it would be his design as he choose the platforms.

If you have insurance you might as well do it properly, efficacy is also something to consider should he install a something that does not meet technical requirements!
Mick

 

[chookey]

I do not have any PC repair qualifications what so ever, but over the last week I have pretty much stripped 5 laptops to bits re-pasted the cpu and put them back together without a scratch. So I am confident that I can do most jobs.

I have been fixing computers for my friends and family for years mate, never had one I could not fix, apart from the odd deadboard.

Bet you're a dab hand at writing CV's as well CoolHandLuke, might be a good idea if you get someone else to draw up your advert as well. :Biggrin2:

 

[CoolHandLuke]

Bet you're a dab hand at writing CV's as well CoolHandLuke, might be a good idea if you get someone else to draw up your advert as well. :Biggrin2:

Har Har very funny, well the pc repair shop on my corner isnt any good, he wants £40 to even start a Diagnosis then all you get off him Is errrrrrrr It needs a new Install that's £60 so no matter what's wrong with the PC everyone gets a £100 bill, hes a pure Idiot.

I constantly get his left overs, with missing drivers no hot-keys working no antivirus or malware ( Not even MSS or Adaware ) so he just quicky Installs a new OS while drinking coffee and picking his nose. I probably get more jobs then him now anyway but I am a bit fed up of doing favours for tom dick and harry.

As for me Advert a bet your a bit nifty on a PC, fancy knocking one up for is, and I will get Him Her to proof read it,

 

[chookey]

He's no pc engineer then mate, a re-install, nuke and pave, should be a last resort.

 

[CoolHandLuke]

He's no pc engineer then mate, a re-install, nuke and pave, should be a last resort.

I agree, but sometimes it is the best option as long as you can back up all there personal stuff first like damaged windows files is a nightmare, but the lad that runs the shop is a dab hand though ? when he wants to be, I have seen him stripping down ipads and iphones to fix and sell for his own benefit, he just tends to rip of the average Joes who walk in his shop which aint very nice.

Oh well enough said, I think I will book myself in for this repair course tomorrow and get cracking !!!!

 

[Him Her]

...he just tends to rip of the average Joes who walk in his shop which aint very nice.

Crack on M8 - remember though that, in business, a degree of 'economy with the truth' can be a good thing. The 'average Joe' can get seriously p*ssed off if they think it was so easy they should have been able to do it themselves. There's a big difference between ripping someone off and making it all appear a little bit harder than it really was

Funny old life when you offer a better service at a lower cost and people don't want it because they think it's too cheap, been there done that...