Does Plumbers Insurance Cover Working With Gas Or Welding Equipment?

If you’re a plumber, you’ll need the standard public liability insurance to cover you at work. But what about gas installations and welding – will your insurance cover you for these tasks?

Not necessarily – some insurance companies will exclude gas but are able to add it back in upon request.

If you’re working with gas or welding equipment as part of your daily routine, it’s best to talk to us so that we can find out your insurance needs and requirements.

Read on to discover the answers to the following questions:

• What does plumbers’ insurance cover?
• Does my plumbers’ insurance cover working with gas?
• Am I insured if I use heat or welding?

It’s always best to make sure you’re fully insured to cover all risks, particularly when working with dangerous equipment.

What does plumbers’ insurance cover?

Typical plumbers’ insurance covers public liability at a minimum, and you can also cover your tools and materials.

Public liability is the single most important part of 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.

Basically, this is exactly what you’ll need to claim if you accidentally damage your client’s property while working on the site. Their public liability insurance will cover the cost of the labour and materials involved in fixing what’s gone wrong.

Products liability will cover you in the event of a claim relating to parts and materials you install. Bought a faulty pipe? This is the policy you need if the pipes are damaged or wrong, and the job suffers delays as a result.

While purchasing plumbers’ insurance, you may be offered additional cover. Professional indemnity insurance is to cover 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.

But public liability and professional indemnity does not cover employees. If you have someone working for you on a temporary or permanent basis, you’ll need employers’ liability cover.

Does my plumbers’ insurance cover working with gas?

Subject to you being a gas-safe registered contractor, yes, we can organise plumbers’ insurance that covers working with gas.

A Registered Gas Installer is an installer or service engineer who has completed the required gas installation safety training, who has the necessary insurance to carry out gas installations to the legal standard and who is registered with the Register of Gas Installers of Ireland (RGII). If you are registered with the RGII, we may also be able to offer you a discounted rate.

Working with gas is very dangerous, as so you’ll need a comprehensive level of cover in order to work safely in people’s homes.

Am I insured if I use heat or welding?

It’s best to talk to us directly since some insurance companies such as Axa specifically exclude heat in plumbers’ insurance policies.

Welding is a uniquely dangerous part of plumbing work, as it quite literally involves playing with fire. You can easily hurt yourself, harm subcontractors and injure members of the public. Moreover, when welding goes wrong it can cause serious property damage. All of these scenarios could result in expensive claims against you, which is where insurance comes in handy.

Even with comprehensive safety training, you could accidentally cause a fire at a customer’s premises, badly burn or electrocute yourself, or breathe in dangerous fumes. If you employ others and they fall victim to these risks, they are within their rights to claim compensation if you’re deemed responsible for any harm they endure in the workplace.

With the proper welding insurance in place, you will be safeguarded from any financial damage these claims could have on your business, no matter the circumstances. Always be upfront with your insurance provider about how much welding you do, where, and how.

If you’re a plumber working with welding or heat, contact us for a competitive plumbers insurance quote today.