Tradesman: Welders & Steel Fabricators

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Welders & Steel Fabricators Insurance

Construction sites, shipyards, oil rigs, at height and underwater - welders and steel fabricators work in a wide range of industries and conditions.

Working to join materials such as metals with heat can be dangerous, with over 1,000 accidents to welders recorded annually by the Health & Safety Executive. Of these around 300 are serious, resulting in bone fractures and amputations.

Back injuries are common because of the amount of the heavy lifting and handling involved, and breathing in welding fumes can cause serious lung diseases.

Without the proper equipment - face-shield, apron and gloves - there's also a significant risk of risk of burns and eye disorders.

The three most common types of accidents for welders are:

• Manual handling, Slip and trips, Being hit by a moving or falling object

Not surprisingly, some insurers refuse point blank to cover welders because they view the occupation as too high risk, especially those who work in the offshore oil and gas sector.

Other insurers will view you more favorably if your welding business is workshop based, and where the general public can't access them.

Public Liability Insurance

Public liability insurance covers unintentional damage or injury caused to third parties. It covers your legal liability for damages awarded for death, injury or damage to property, and legal costs if your business is found at fault.

What could go wrong?

• Hot metal from welding ignites combustible material and causes catastrophic damage
• Acetylene gas leaking in the back of your van ignites resulting in a fireball explosion that harms the a person and destroys nearby properties
• Fire causes evacuation of your premises and gas cylinders explode damaging industrial units

However you describe your occupation - blacksmith, mobile welder, MIG welder, TIG welder, coded welder, welder fabricator - liability insurance is available to cover your business for hot work.

A Tradesman insurer knows about your trade will need details of:

• where you work - on different sites, mainly from a workshop or both
• the type of welding you carry out in eg Arc, Mig, Tig and Spot Welding; Pipe Welding; aluminium fabrication
• the nature of work you do, whether it's repairing manufacturing equipment or road going vehicles, welding underground pipes or producing wrought iron work
• if you work below ground level or at height

If you work mostly on site as a subcontractor, then a responsible main contractor will expect you have adequate public liability cover and ask to see your hot work liability insurance policy schedule, and to check the risks you're covered for.

Five million pounds worth of liability cover is usually considered adequate, but for larger contracts in the public and private sector you could be asked for a minimum cover of £10 million which will increase the cost of the policy.

If you work mainly from a workshop you'll have to consider insurance for the premises, tools and machinery, and contents too.

If you're a mobile welder fabricator with welding workshop premises you'll probably need to cover your welding activities for work on and off site, and your van insurance needs to cover you for carriage of gas used in your welding work.

Motor Vehicle Repairs

You need to inform your insurer if you repair any form of transport and specify the types of vehicles you work on - car, tipper wagon, bulldozer, cement truck or whatever - as general welding or blacksmith's liability policy won't usually cover you for repairing road going vehicles.

Repairing a 95 tonne excavator is a different kettle of fish from fixing up a pushbike, as is the potential for damage and the size of any resulting liability claim if there's an accident that could be traced back to your repair.

If you carry out car welding repairs, your policy may need to include motor vehicle repair risks, a condition of your work could be that petrol tanks are removed before carrying out any hot work.

Managing Risk

Keeping your cover cheap as possible by reducing the likelihood of a claim. Over the long run this will help your business.

Routinely audit your safety measures on and off site, invest in good fire prevention safety measures in your workshop premises and check if you have fire risk cover for property you're working on.

The Association of Welding Distributors (AWD) supports and promotes the professional standards of members in dealing with customers, suppliers and competitors.

Employers Liability Insurance

If you have employee(s) then employers liability insurance is compulsory. It is designed to cover the legal and compensation costs for one or more employees if your business is found at fault for injury or illness at work.

Exemptions exist for family businesses (unless a limited company) and companies employing only their (50% or more) owner. The legal minimum is currently (2011) £5m. See also www.hse.gov.uk.

As with most businesses there are specific risks associated with the particular trade. In welding risks include workers developing severe lung disease from breathing fumes and then suing for compensation. ELI is designed to help protect their interests and your business from crippling losses which could result.

Tools and Equipment Insurance

Consider insurance for tools and workshop equipment such as hand tools, harnesses, pulleys and winches, power-operated mobile work platforms, etc.

Should disaster strike then it will help you reequip.

Welders Insurance Companies

FML Insurance Service

Established in 1994 Southend On Sea-based brokers FML Insurance Service specialises in covering high risk liability for trades in the construction sector.

One of their specialist fields is Welding and Steel Fabrication insurance due to their knowledge of the differences in the machinery used and products made by different types of steel worker.

Types of welder they insure are:

• Stainless steel fabrication
• Carbon steel fabrication
• Arc, Mig, Tig and Spot welders
• Powder Coating
• Shot Blasters
• Metal shearing and rolling
• Press breaking and box pan folding
• Aluminium fabrication
• Pipework - pipe welding and tubular welding
• Wrought Ironwork
• Architectural steel fabricators