A welder might need a range of insurance products, but the most important is possibly public liability. Why? Welding is a dangerous profession, and public liability protects you if your actions cause injury to a third party or property damage.
However, a welder could very well benefit from additional types of cover as well. This article will explain the most popular types of welder insurance and discuss typical starting costs of cover. Use this information to help you find the best policy and quotes for your needs.
Welder Insurance
At a high level, a welder insurance package should primarily protect against liability and property loss or damage.
There are a few different types a welder might need with liability insurance: public liability, product liability, and employers’ liability.
Welder public liability protects against accidental injury to a third party such as a customer, another tradesman working on the same site or a passer-by. It will also cover accidental damage to property owned by a third party that was caused by the welding business. Many package welder insurance policies in the UK include £5 million of public and products liability as standard.
Product liability protects against third party injury or damage caused by a product you sold or worked on, but it won’t usually cover issues related to faulty workmanship.
Employers’ liability is a legal requirement for any welder or welding business that hires employees. You may even need employers’ liability for some people you hire who are working as self-employed. Learn more about which workers need to be covered with employers’ liability insurance from the Health and Safety Executive.
A welder may also want to protect their tools and equipment against theft, loss or damage. Note, tools insurance doesn’t cover wear and tear, or just losing a piece of equipment or faults (e.g., the types of malfunctions or failures that a warranty could cover). Tools and equipment insurance primarily protects against loss or damage due to unexpected events like fire and flood; it also protects against theft or damage from attempted theft.
Since welding is such a dangerous occupation, welders should also consider some type of personal accident cover. This can come in different forms. For instance you can get cover for lost income for a period of time while recovering from an injury (usually, but not always, a work-related injury). You can also get insurance that provides a lump-sum payment in cases of permanent, life-changing injury or death. These types of cover may be more expensive for a welder than for other, safer occupations. But they can provide peace of mind plus financial assistance to cover living expenses in case of a work-related injury.
Legal expenses cover another type of insurance to consider as a self-employed welder or welding business owner. It can assist with legal issues like contract disputes, debt recovery or HMRC tax investigations.
Self Employed Welder Insurance
A self-employed welder will need to arrange their own public liability and other types of welder insurance. Because whether you are self-employed, run a company or work for someone else, welding is a dangerous profession, and welding work should definitely be covered by suitable insurance.
This is in contrast to a welder who is employed by a company – in that case, and the business’s insurance should cover the welder. But always ask to be sure and find out what cover they offer you. If, for instance, your employer doesn’t offer personal accident cover you might want to arrange this yourself.
How Much does Welding Insurance Cost
Basic welder public liability insurance costs around £260 a year for £2 million of cover. Welders needing a higher limit of insurance will pay more, obviously, but additional cover tends to be cheaper. This means that you might be able to get £5 million of cover for less than 2X the price of £2 million of cover.
In the UK market, public liability is commonly sold with limits of £1 million, £2 million and £5 million. Those with large businesses who need a higher limit may find this, but fewer insurers offer it so it may take some effort to get quotes and be less competitive due to market forces. A broker experienced with arranging policies for the trades should be able to help in this regard.
Beyond public liability, a basic level of tools insurance can cost roughly £100 for £2,000 of cover. But if you leave your tools in a van overnight, expect to pay more. A large proportion of tools claims arise from items being stolen from a van during the night, so those who are able to bring their equipment into a locked building at night will get a discount on tools insurance. And in the end, remember that insurance premiums can vary widely from person to person because insurance pricing algorithms take many factors into account so that you could pay more or less.
