Insulated hand tools provide two types of protection for workers around live electrical equipment. First, they help protect individuals against electrical shock and arcing. Second, they help protect the equipment being inspected or repaired. This is important because even if electricians or technicians are working on a deenergized piece of equipment they are still likely near other energized equipment. If they are using hand tools that aren’t insulated and they happen to accidentally contact an energized component it could send live voltage through the tool directly to the user. The thing to understand is that insulated tools aren’t just regular tools with some extra rubber on the handles or generic coating on the tool end. They are designed end to end to protect workers from electrical shock up to 1000 V ac and 1500 V dc.