Accidents happen every day. From dropping your tools and breaking a floor tile to damaging a pipe whilst fitting a boiler and accidentally causing a leak in a customer’s home, you never know what to expect from a plumbing job, which means you need to be prepared for every eventuality.
Common Claims Against Plumbers & Heating Engineers
If you work with water, gas and heat there are a number of issues that can occur. A Gas Safe registered engineer knows how to work safely with gas, however accidents can still happen. No matter how careful you are, most accidents are often unavoidable. The most common types of insurance claims for plumbers typically involve water damage to a customers property.
A plumber could be repairing the plumbing connected to a kitchen sink in a customer’s property, and then accidentally damage the pipe connection. They might not realise what has happened until the customer later calls and notifies them of the leak, but by then it has caused extensive water damage and the customer wants compensation. Public liability claims can have a huge financial impact on a business.
Common Claims Against Plumbing Businesses
If your employee hurts themselves or becomes ill as a result of working for you, then they may hold you liable for their illness or injury. Your plumbing employees could be injured by their tools, exposed to hazardous substances such as asbestos or begin to suffer joint problems due to working in confined spaces. There are numerous risks involved in working as a plumber and as an employer you will want to protect yourself financially from claims like these.
What Should You Look for in an Insurance Policy for Plumbers?
You might be wondering what insurance policies are suitable for plumbers so that you can have that peace of mind that you will be covered for any potential risks in the work environment.
Employers Liability Insurance – If you run a plumbing business which employs staff, no matter how many, you are required by law to have employers liability cover. This type of insurance cover will help cover any legal costs or compensation brought about as a result of a claim against you, your company or one of your employees.
Public Liability Insurance – Anyone who works as a plumber or heating engineer should consider public liability insurance for plumbers. Whether you are a self-employed plumber or working for a plumbing company, it is essential that you are properly protected. Public liability insurance isn’t required by law, but if you carry out plumbing and heating work for large commercial companies you may be contractually required to have a policy in place.
Tools Cover – Tools cover is typically an extension of your public liability insurance and will protect you against the loss or damage of to any hand tools or portable power-driven hand-held tools that are being used in connection with your business. Normally there are several options which provide different levels of cover depending on what an individual needs.
Goods in Transit Cover – This type of cover is handy if you tend to keep your tools and materials inside a work vehicle such as a van.
At Ashburnham Insurance we compare a range of trusted insurers so that our customers can choose the best insurance provider for their plumbing and heating business. This includes cover for working on drinking water, waste and sewage pipes and drainage systems, boiler servicing and central heating system installations. Whether you are working on domestic or commercial properties, we can help you find the right cover for you.