Whether you must provide an Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG) depends on your trade and the scheme you work under.
For domestic double glazing through FENSA, CERTASS or Assure, it has been a requirement on every double glazing installation notified to a competent person scheme since 6 June 2014.
Similarly, for renewables under MCS and for TrustMark-registered businesses, scheme rules require one on domestic work.
Outside a scheme, however, there is no standalone legal duty.
But the commercial case for offering one is getting stronger. schemes require an Insurance Backed Guarantee?
| Trade | Scheme | Required? | What the rule says |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double glazing | FENSA | Yes | Every domestic job since 6 June 2014. No Insurance Backed Guarantee, no certificate registration. |
| Double glazing | CERTASS | Yes | Same rule as FENSA for domestic self-certified work. |
| Double glazing | Assure | Yes | Same rule. HomePro auto-issues for all three schemes. |
| Double glazing | No scheme (building control route) | No | No requirement — but you lose the self-certification route. |
| Renewables | MCS — current scheme | Yes | Consumer Code membership (RECC or HIES) is required, and both Codes require Insurance Backed Guarantees on domestic work. Taking on grant-funded work — ECO4 or the Great British Insulation Scheme — adds TrustMark registration and PAS 2035 on top, and TrustMark requires cover too. |
| Renewables | MCS — redeveloped scheme (MCS 26) | Yes | An MCS-approved financial protection product on every domestic job — minimum 6 years, with deposit protection. All MCS installers move to this scheme by 31 March 2027. |
| Renewables | Flexi-Orb (MCS-equivalent) | Yes | Ofgem recognises Flexi-Orb as an alternative to MCS for the Smart Export Guarantee. Registered installers must sit under a consumer code, so the same Insurance Backed Guarantee obligation applies. |
| Renewables | No scheme (able-to-pay market) | No | MCS registration isn’t a legal requirement, so an installer working only in the able-to-pay market has no obligation to provide one. But going without MCS shuts your customer out of the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, the Smart Export Guarantee and most local authority funding — and lenders, surveyors and insurers regularly ask to see cover on a renewables install. |
| Roofing | CompetentRoofer (NFRC CPS) | Yes | 10-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on notified roof refurbishment up to £50,000 contract value. |
| Roofing | No scheme | No | Optional — many roofers include Insurance Backed Guarantees to win contracts. |
| Bathrooms / kitchens | TrustMark | Yes | Minimum 2-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on domestic work. |
| Bathrooms / kitchens | No scheme | No | Optional — but it can be a significant differentiator. |
| Extensions / general building | TrustMark | Yes | Minimum 2-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on domestic work. |
| Extensions / general building | No scheme | No | Optional — however buyers, solicitors and lenders increasingly ask for one. |
Is an Insurance Backed Guarantee a legal requirement for double glazing?
Yes — on every domestic job self-certified through a Competent Person Scheme.
A Competent Person Scheme (CPS) lets you certify your own work as meeting Building Regulations instead of paying the council to inspect it.
FENSA, CERTASS and Assure are the three glazing competent person schemes. Their government-set conditions require financial protection for the homeowner on every domestic job.
The rule changed on 6 June 2014. Before then, installers only had to offer an Insurance Backed Guarantee. Glass News summed up the change at the time: “It is no longer an option simply to offer an IBG — every homeowner must be given one for every installation.”
So here’s how it works in practice. When you notify a domestic job, your scheme records a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate (BRCC). And a valid Insurance Backed Guarantee must sit behind it. The minimum cover is 6 years from completion, although 10-year policies are the industry norm.
Three points:
- First, the requirement covers domestic dwellings only — commercial glazing sits outside it.
- Second, housing association and local authority jobs don’t require one, though the offer of Insurance Backed Guarantees must be made.
- Third, you choose your provider from your scheme’s approved list — the scheme does not assign you one.
Do MCS renewables installers need an Insurance Backed Guarantee?
Yes, on domestic work. The route depends on which MCS scheme you sit under. MCS (the Microgeneration Certification Scheme) is the UK quality mark for solar, heat pumps, battery storage and other small-scale renewables. It is moving all installers onto a new scheme.
Under the current scheme, MCS requires you to belong to a Consumer Code — RECC or HIES. And both Codes require Insurance Backed Guarantees on domestic installations. The MCS help pages put it plainly: “For domestic installations, an IBG is required. The contractor must declare which organisation provided the IBG when creating a certificate on the Installations Database.”
Under the redeveloped scheme (MCS 26), you must provide an MCS-approved financial protection product on every domestic job — a workmanship guarantee and deposit protection together, for a minimum of 6 years. Every MCS-certified installer must be on the redeveloped scheme by 31 March 2027. Since December 2024, you choose your provider from the MCS-approved list rather than being tied to a single one.
This matters for grant work too. Boiler Upgrade Scheme and ECO4 jobs require MCS certification, and MCS certification in turn requires the financial protection above. No Insurance Backed Guarantee means no MCS certificate. And without the certificate, your customer can’t claim their grant and often won’t pay the final invoice.
Do roofers need an Insurance Backed Guarantee?
If you’re registered with CompetentRoofer. The NFRC’s Competent Person Scheme. The scheme requires a 10-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on notified roof refurbishment work up to £50,000 contract value, according to the NFRC CPS guidance. Above £50,000, the scheme obligation stops, and providers arrange cover for larger contracts case by case.
Also, the cover applies to both residential and commercial properties within that limit — useful when you tender for commercial work.
If you’re not in the scheme, nothing forces you to provide one. However, roofers without cover are competing against roofers who can put a 10-year insurance-backed promise in every quote. On council and social housing tenders in particular, that gap shows.
Do bathroom fitters, kitchen installers and builders need one?
There’s no statute that singles out these trades. Instead, the obligation comes from scheme membership.
TrustMark. The only UK Government-endorsed quality scheme for home improvement work — requires registered businesses to provide a minimum 2-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on domestic work. For government-funded energy efficiency work, financial protection is checked when the job is lodged in TrustMark’s data warehouse.
Trade associations in the kitchen, bathroom and building world increasingly build financial protection into their membership standards — check your own association’s current rules before assuming either way.
Unaffiliated installers have no legal duty to provide one. The pressure is commercial instead: solicitors and mortgage lenders increasingly ask for guarantee documentation when a house with a big extension or conversion is sold.
What happens if you don’t provide one?
Glazing (FENSA / CERTASS / Assure): missing an Insurance Backed Guarantee on a domestic job is a breach of scheme rules. You can’t properly register the certificate, the scheme can suspend or expel you, and an expelled installer can’t simply re-register with another glazing scheme.
Renewables (MCS): no financial protection, no MCS certificate. Without the certificate, your customer loses their grant money. And you’ll struggle to collect the final payment.
TrustMark businesses: failing to provide required protection is grounds for suspension or removal from the register.
Every trade: if you promised an Insurance Backed Guarantee in your sales process and didn’t provide it, that can count as a misleading omission under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. As a result, customers can go to their scheme’s dispute resolution service, Trading Standards, or the courts.
Is it worth having one when it’s not required?
Often, yes. In HomePro’s own research, around six in ten homeowners who knew what an Insurance Backed Guarantee was said it influenced who they hired.
That’s the quiet advantage: where none of your competitors must offer one, being the installer who does can make your quote the safe choice.
| Not sure which rule applies to your trade and scheme mix? Call HomePro on 0800 131 0500 (Mon–Fri, 9:00am–5:00pm), we’ll confirm the right route for your work. |
Frequently asked questions
Is an Insurance Backed Guarantee a legal requirement for FENSA installers?
Yes. Since 6 June 2014, every FENSA-registered installer must provide an Insurance Backed Guarantee on every domestic double glazing job. Without one, you cannot properly register the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate.
Do CERTASS and Assure have the same requirement as FENSA?
Yes. All three glazing Competent Person Schemes operate under the same government-set conditions. The requirement applies across FENSA, CERTASS and Assure alike.
Do MCS installers need an Insurance Backed Guarantee?
Yes, on domestic work. Under the current MCS scheme the requirement comes through the Consumer Codes (RECC and HIES). Under the redeveloped MCS scheme, every domestic job needs an MCS-approved financial protection product — minimum 6 years, with deposit protection. And all MCS installers move to that scheme by 31 March 2027.
Is an Insurance Backed Guarantee mandatory for roofing?
For CompetentRoofer (NFRC CPS) members, the scheme requires a 10-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on notified roof refurbishment up to £50,000 contract value. Roofers outside the scheme have no obligation, although many provide one anyway to win work.
What happens if a glazing installer registers a job without one?
The scheme can’t properly register the certificate. The installer is in breach of scheme rules, risking suspension or expulsion. An expelled installer cannot re-register with another glazing scheme.
Are TrustMark businesses required to provide Insurance Backed Guarantees?
Yes. TrustMark requires registered businesses to provide a minimum 2-year Insurance Backed Guarantee on domestic work.
Disclaimer: This post is for general information only. It is not financial, legal or insurance advice. While we take care to make sure the information is accurate, scheme rules, legal requirements and third-party details can change without notice — always check the latest position with the relevant scheme or official body before acting on anything here. HomePro accepts no liability for any loss arising from errors or omissions in, or reliance on, the information in this article. Insurance Backed Guarantees are subject to the terms, conditions and limitations of the individual policy.
