GPT, the Guarantee Protection Trust, was set up by members of the BWPDA in 1983 to arrange insurance protection for long term guarantees, to give the client protection in the event of the contractor ceasing to trade during the guarantee period.
 

The company has now formed the Guarantee Protection Insurance Company (GPI), which is FSA regulated and at the time of writing had assets of £7.0m, and continues to protect the client during the guarantee period.

Trace take client protection very seriously for several reasons:

We offer advice upon which our clients make long term commitments in respect of property purchases

We design remedial specifications

We undertake work that is covered by guarantee  

All of this would be worthless if we ceased to trade, and although we have been in existence since 1974 and have no intention to cease trading, we have seen many much larger entities fail. Therefore, we protect our clients by maintaining Professional Indemnity to insure our advice, Product Liability to protect our own and the clients financial standing against defects in workmanship, along with GPI guarantee insolvency backup insurance, so that the client is fully protected even if we ceased to trade.

Added as of 2008: Our advice to you is protected by Professional Indemnity Insurance of £5m for waterproofing design (we are the only one to hold this much because our competitors carry only £250k or £500k at most), our work is protected by Product Liability Insurance of £5m and in addition, you receive independent insurance via The Guarantee Protection Trust, which has now formed an FSA regulated insurance company, Guarantee Protection Insurance Limited (GPI).

When GPT was formed, Sir Gordon Borrie, the then Director General of Fair Trading, stated that it was a landmark in consumer protection. It still is.

Our insurances have never been claimed upon!