If you run a skip yard, then you’re going to need insurance for just about everything. There’s HGV insurance, Employer’s Liability insurance, and Buildings & Contents insurance to think about. You’re also going to need skips. So you’ve insured them too, right? Right?
Insuring your skips might not be as easy as it sounds. Take theft insurance, for example. It sounds like a straightforward thing to get cover for, though some people might beg to differ.
Lee Galan from GM Insurance had this to say about it: “We offer material damage insurance which can include cover for the skips themselves. However, the excess on these policies can be as much as £1,000, which is fine for the large bins, but would be more than the cost of a smaller skip.”
It appears that theft insurance is not a feasible option for the household skip specialist. Is it worth getting Public Liability insurance then? Although not a legal requirement, Public Liability insurance simply makes sense.
As Lee points out, “Skips, are very big and very heavy, and as long as the public are encountering them, you’d better believe that insurance is a good idea.” You’ll also have to show your local authority a copy of your policy before they will give you a permit to drop a skip on the public highway. In short then, yes, you’ll need Public Liability cover.
However, even with this policy, do you really want to be making a claim? After all, it would only take a couple of incidents to put your premiums through the roof. One too many and you might even struggle to get insurance at all. It quickly becomes very easy to give yourself an insurance headache. Luckily, there are ways to ease the pain.
ALTERNATIVES
Stop, Thief
The fate of your skip is out of your hands once you drop it off with a customer. Theft of a skip can be a nightmare, so the majority of us will have a paragraph in our terms and conditions regarding this. It will probably say something like, “In the event of the skip being stolen, the customer will be held liable. Replacement of the skip will be on a new for old basis.”
All well and good, but I wonder how many of us actually make our customers aware of this. Granted, their household insurance will probably cover them for the theft. But, assumption is never a good idea. You don’t know what kind of policy your customer has or even if they have insurance. What then if a skip is stolen from outside a customer’s property? Drag it through the courts? Wouldn’t it be simpler just to let them know that they are going to be liable in the first place?
Making your customers aware of their responsibilities up front shows your professionalism. And even if they are not insured, at least now they can’t say that you didn’t tell them. It also allows them to check their policies and make an informed decision. Much better than finding out when it’s too late.
Be doubly safe and get your driver to reiterate the terms when he drops off the skip and get the customer to sign a copy of your terms and conditions when they accept the skip. This way you’ve told them, twice, and you have written proof of their acceptance.
It is this kind of professional attitude that can really help to smooth things over if it all goes pear shaped. But, you can go further. Looking after a skip, even for a few days, can be quite a responsibility for some people, so why not help ease the burden. Rather than getting into the dodgy business of responsibility and blame if a skip is stolen why not take a look into simple and practical theft prevention solutions – they are after all the best type of solutions.
Skip locks are a great way to protect your skips from theft. Peace of mind for your customer and relatively inexpensive and easy to fit. They simply lock over the lugs, discouraging dodgy types from loading your skip onto their truck. Even the larger RORO skips can be locked in a similar way. Yes, you can insure them, and you probably should, but you lock your front door, don’t you?
Safety First
You’ve safely dropped your skip on the road in front of your customer’s home. Your locks are in place, and the filling has begun. It’s the usual stuff, tree stump, old bits of wood, antique table and a couple of Stormtrooper outfits. That’s when a helpful neighbour decides to dump his old couch in there too. He heaves it in, onto the end of a plank, which levers against the tree stump and catapults the antique table into the road taking out a passing cyclist. Who’s liable for this mess? Unfortunately, there is no simple answer, and once lawyers get involved who knows where the blame will end up.
Let’s make ourselves aware of a couple of things. Firstly, before they granted your permit, the local authority asked to see your Public Liability policy, not the customer’s. So somebody obviously holds, or will try to hold, you “the skip owner” responsible. Secondly, is your customer even covered for public liability?
Having a bit of professionalism and making your customer aware of their responsibilities before they hire from you could save potential headaches. Public liability is a little more complicated than theft so you need all the sound advice you can get. A clause in the T&C’s in terms of “danger caused by the skip or its contents to third parties” should clearly set out the customer’s responsibilities for looking after the skip and will provide a certain degree of cover should the inevitable happen.

Let There Be Lights
If the skip is on the road overnight, then adequate lighting is your responsibility. Like it or not, it’s on the permit and it’s in the law. So using your terms and conditions to pass on the responsibility could get tricky and expensive if it goes to court.
The problem with skip lights is that they are shiny, appealing and unsecured. What you need are sturdy, lockable lights. They might seem expensive if you have to buy a few all at once, but think of the long term. Standard, workman style, lamps are easy to walk away with. Almost irresistibly so, as they are simply hung onto the skip and left to the fates.
Lockable lamps are not so easy to snatch. They lock onto the lifting lugs, so there is no chance of a passing drunk removing them. Attaching in this way means they also double as skip locks, helping to deter thieves from lifting the entire skip. Securing lights such as these provides peace of mind for your customer, you, and your business.
Back of the Net
However, there is more to all of this than just lights. The real crux of public liability is in keeping the public, and their property, safe. This doesn’t just involve the skip at your yard or the customer’s premises. It can also include the skip, and its contents, on the move.
You know you should not move a skip if it is overloaded or filled above the side. However, even a correctly loaded skip can cause problems if the material inside is loose. Flying debris is a serious hazard on the roads, so if the load is loose and likely to leap from the skip once you are moving, use a net to secure it.
Netting is inexpensive and readily available and although relatively easy to fit why not have a look at some modern automatic netting. This is great in terms of Health and Safety as drivers won’t have to climb onto the back of the vehicle at any time. Fitted to the hydraulic lifts of your truck, the net secures your load as you lift it onto the back of your lorry. As you only have to fit each of your trucks instead of getting a separate net for each skip, it can be a very cost effective solution. They are also quicker to fit than the manual type, meaning your drivers can spend more time driving and less time tying down nets, potentially upping productivity. Alternatively, you could invest in some lidded skips for certain contracts; which are also great for avoiding overnight skip fires.
NOW YOU KNOW
As good as insurance is, cover is not always available for every circumstance. And, even if you can get it, you probably don’t want to claim on it. So, add liability clauses to your terms and conditions, and place responsibility with your customer, but be professional about it.
Explain to the customer, “If the skip is involved in an accident, you are liable. If the skip is stolen, you are liable.” Ask them if they would like to check their insurance policy before hiring from you. Point out that although insurance is not a legal requirement, making the customer aware of their responsibilities is in both of your interests and generates a positive professional image.
Get your driver to reiterate the liability clauses when he drops the skip with the customer. Make sure your customer has signed a copy of your terms and conditions, and do all you can to ease their worries. Buy locks, lights and nets but above all be professional.
All of which should ease your headache, and provide insurance against you losing business to a competitor.