Insurance-Backed Guarantees for Your Work
Written by James Walker · Last reviewed 16 August 2026
James Walker has 2 degrees in construction (BSc (Hons) Building Surveying · MSc Environmental Design of Buildings) and an extensive background in issue resolution, resolving over £4 billion of consumer issues.
The short answer
- An IBG is underwritten by an insurer, so it stands even if your business ceases trading.
- Customers are increasingly told to ask whether a guarantee is insurance-backed.
- Several accreditation schemes require one.
- It costs per job, and it is a sales tool as much as a protection.
- Long guarantees from uninsured businesses are why customers stopped believing guarantees.
Why customers now ask
Consumer guidance routinely tells homeowners that a guarantee is only worth the company's survival, and that long guarantees are commonest in exactly the trades where companies fail most: damp, roofing, windows, solar.
So a twenty-year guarantee from a business with no insurance behind it now reads as a warning rather than a reassurance.
What an IBG does
If your business stops trading, the insurer stands behind the guarantee. The customer is covered for the remedial work you would have done.
That converts a promise into something checkable, and it is the difference between a claim a customer believes and one they discount entirely.
How to offer one
Through a scheme you belong to, or directly through a provider. FENSA and CERTASS require one for window installations; several other schemes do too.
Cost is per job and generally modest relative to the value.
Using it as a sales tool
Do not bury it. On any job where the customer is comparing you against a cheaper quote, "my guarantee is insurance-backed, here is who underwrites it" is one of the few claims a cheaper competitor usually cannot match.
It is particularly strong in damp, roofing, solar and windows, where the customer has most likely been warned.