Welding is an activity that carries plenty of risk, and that’s why you need good insurance to protect yourself and your business.
We’ve been looking after welders insurance needs for over a decade, and can help with quotes and advice on a range of cover types including public liability and tool insurance.
Whether you need basic public liability as a sole trader, or a full business insurance pack for your company, we can help.
As insurance brokers we have access to dozens of different insurance companies and specialty underwriters. We can do the shopping around so you don’t have to.
To get started please call us on 1800 808 800 or click the button below.
Types of Welding Insurance
There are plenty of different forms of insurance that a welding business may require.
For sole traders and smaller subcontractors you might only need public liability insurance in order to get on site.
Or if you’re running a larger business you might need a whole host of business insurance types to protect your assets.
In the guide below we’ll detail some of the most common forms of welding business insurance.
Remember as insurance brokers we’re here to provide expert advice. If you need further information, or if you just prefer speaking to a real person, call our office on 1800 808 800 to speak with an expert.
Public Liability Insurance
As is the case with most trades, the most common form of business insurance for a welding contractor is public liability insurance.
This type of policy will cover you in the event that you cause property damage or personal injury to a third party.
One of the major risks for property damage claims by welding contractors is fire. If your business activities were to result in the loss of a property or some other asset due to fire, your policy would respond.
The cost of public liability insurance will vary depending on a couple of different factors.
Size is one factor, and the larger your business, the higher the cost will be. Some insurance companies measure your size by revenue, whilst others use staff numbers.
Another factor is the types of locations you’re working at.
High risk locations, such as welding on mine sites or airports, will attract much higher premiums that welding work undertaken in standard residential or commercial environments.
Important considerations for welders
Whilst public liability insurance is relatively similar from one trade to the next, welding businesses do have some unique factors that need to be considered.
– Structural Work
The first is whether or not your welding work is considered to be structural. If you are undertaking structural work it is vital that you let your insurance company or broker know.
If you don’t, and you lodge a claim involving structural work, you may find that your claim will be declined.
– Onsite or offsite
Some public liability policies will differentiate between work undertaken on your own premises or on-site at your client’s premises or worksite.
– Australian Standards
Most public liability policies will require that all welding work is undertaking in accordance with the Australian Standards. (more info).
With fire damage being a major risk when welding, some policies will also have requirements around clearing the work area of any flammable items.
It’s important to read and understand the policy documents, and to ensure that your work practices are meeting the requirements of your policy. Failure to do so could result in issues at claim time.
Tool Insurance
All trades can benefit from tool insurance. Your tools and equipment are such an important part of your business, and without them it’s near impossible to make any money.
Tool insurance can cover your welding equipment and other tools in the event they are damaged due to a fire or vehicle collision, as well as theft following forced entry.
There are options to cover your welding equipment in “open air”, meaning that forced entry is not required. This is a more expensive option, but we can provide quotes to show you the comparison.
Please note that we’re only able to provide tool insurance when taken in conjunction with a public liability policy.
Personal Accident Insurance
Welding is a very physical activity, and if you can’t use your hands (or the rest of your body for that matter) you won’t be getting much work one.
For this reason it’s important for self-employed welding contractors to insure their incomes.
This can be done via personal accidence insurance, which can cover a large percentage of your income for a period of time whilst you’re unable to work due to injury.
You can also add the option for illness, so your policy will also cover you if you’re unable to work due to illness as well as injury.
Some workplaces will require that all workers, including welders, hold income protection or personal accident insurance before being allowed on site.
Other Welders Insurance
There are plenty of other types of welders insurance, and which ones you need really depends on the size of your business.
If you have a vehicle as part of your business, or a fleet of vehicles, we can help with commercial motor insurance.
If you’re running your welding business out of your own premises – either owned or rented – you’ll need various forms of property and contents insurance depending on the setup.
For welding businesses that are larger than a few staff you should also consider some of the following policy types:
- Management liability insurance
- Directors and officers insurance
- Errors and omissions insurance
Which ones you might require depend heavily on the size and structure of your business. Our qualified and experienced insurance brokers can talk it through with you.
We certainly don’t want you to be spending more on business insurance than you really need to, but we also want to make sure you have the right policies in place when you need to make a claim.
Quotes and Advice
The first step is complete our online quote request or call our team for a chat on 1800 808 800.
Our award-winning team have been helping welding businesses for over a decade, and we’d love the opportunity to help with your insurance needs.
No matter how large or small your welding business is, we can help you.
Get in touch to learn more about how we can help you, along with obtaining a range of insurance quotes and advice.
