Do I Need Plumbers’ Insurance?

Plumbing is a dangerous profession – but do you need special insurance for it?

Yes. If you are trading as a plumber, you will need plumber’s insurance.

Having plumber’s insurance in place protects you from risks. It will help cover the cost of damages or injury, and is essential for any professional to maintain a good reputation.

In this article, we’ll cover the following questions:

● What insurance do I need as a plumber?

● Does plumbers’ insurance cover public liability?

● Will plumber’s insurance cover materials and tools?

Plumbing is a high-risk profession. Not only are you working with the public, dangerous tools and potentially noxious substances, but you also have to contend with the other hazards every other tradesman faces. Good insurance will protect you and your business, no matter what happens.

What insurance do I need as a plumber?

Plumbers, contractors and builders must all have specialist insurance that complements their line of work. This will allow them to work in others’ homes safely, and will cover the costs of repairs if an accident happens. This applies not only to their clients’ property, but also members of the public and their property.

Because you work with different tools, materials and situations as a plumber, you’ll need different insurance than, say, a bricklayer or an electrician. You work on heavy-duty and dangerous parts of the home such as waste disposal and heating, which your client cannot afford to go long without. You may also be working with gas – and this requires totally different training and comes with higher risks.

You need to purchase insurance before you take on work. If you do not, it means you would be trading illegally. Always be upfront with your insurance provider or broker about what kind of work you undertake – if you work with gas, or raw sewage, or renovate old homes, we need to be informed.

Does plumbers’ insurance cover public liability?

Yes. Any plumbers’ professional insurance will include public liability as standard. This liability cover is the single most important part of any tradesmen’s insurance. It protects your clients – or any member of the public – in the event that a claim should arise and you are responsible.

In short, this is the section of the policy you’ll need to claim if you accidentally damage your client’s property, or their person, while working on the site. Their public liability insurance will cover the cost of labour and materials involved in repairs, or compensation and hospital bills when there’s an accident.

Public liability only insurance starts at only €530 for the year – so it’s definitely worth it, as you could easily end up paying much more if something bad happens.

“All risks” tradesman’s insurance covers everything, as you might imagine. This kind of insurance covers anything that could happen to contract works such as damage to the project being worked on, own plant, hired-in plant and employee’s tools.

While purchasing plumbers’ insurance, you may be offered other kinds of insurance products as well. Consider these carefully, as it’s just as harmful to be overinsured as underinsured. Professional indemnity insurance, for example, covers your legal liability for the advice and design that you provide. Whereas other insurance covers what you do and use, professional indemnity covers what you say.

If you subcontract out part of a project, they do need their own insurance: public liability at a minimum. If they don’t and something goes wrong, you’ll have to pay for damages yourself.

Will plumber’s insurance cover materials and tools?

This is one of the sections of your policy you must add on if you want cover. To make sure your equipment and materials are protected, talk to your insurance provider, or contact us for a competitive quote.

As always, thoroughly check the kind of cover you need before you buy. Products liability will cover you in the event of a claim relating to parts and materials you install. Bought a faulty radiator? This is the policy you need if the job suffers delays as a result.

In the majority of cases, the insurance provider you have your policy with will pursue the manufacturers. As long as the part turns out to be defective, it wasn’t your own fault and you installed the materials correctly, the manufacturer will be liable.

Talk to us today about your plumbers insurance needs. Our experts are on hand to answer all your questions.