Running your own business often comes with great reward—and sometimes—a bit of risk too. Residential plumbers, new construction plumbers, commercial plumbers, and service and repair plumbing companies all carry risks to owners, employees, and customers that may be alleviated through proper insurance coverage.
If you own a plumbing business, you and your employees may face risks such as slips, falls, or repetitive stress injuries. Your clients could become injured by unfinished plumbing projects while on a job site. Your warehouse or equipment could be damaged due to fire or catastrophic weather. And you could be held liable for all of these damages.
What are the common types of plumbing insurance?
Workers’ compensation insurance helps protect a plumbing business and covers employees if they become ill or injured on the job. Check your current workers’ comp rate.
General liability insurance helps protect a plumbing company against third-party claims that involve property damage, bodily injury, or advertising injury.
A BOP offers bundled insurance that may include business interruption insurance, property insurance, and liability coverage for a plumbing business.
Commercial automobile insurance helps cover vehicles owned by a plumbing company and injury to a third party.
Cyber liability insurance helps cover a company for events such as a data breach in which customers’ or employees’ personal information or company data is stolen or held hostage.
Additional Insurance
Additional coverage options such as pollution or flood insurance may be built into a BOP or purchased separately to customize a plumbing insurance package.
What are some plumbing risks, and which type of insurance may cover them?
Selecting small business insurance can be confusing. Here are some sample scenarios to point you in the right direction. We recommend consulting with a trusted advisor to make sure you get the right types of coverage for your business.
A plumber becomes ill from exposure to asbestos.
Workers’ compensation insurance may cover the plumber’s medical bills and lost wages.
A client trips over equipment and sprains an ankle while visiting a commercial job site.
General liability insurance may cover the customer’s medical bills and lost wages due to bodily injury.
A warehouse and equipment are damaged by fire.
Property insurance (often through a bundled business owner’s policy) may cover the costs to rebuild, repair, and replace the warehouse and equipment.
In addition to the damage, business is interrupted due to the fire.
Business interruption insurance (often through a business owner’s policy) may cover lost profits, temporary location moving costs, and certain operating expenses related to business loss from the fire.
An employee runs a work truck into a parked car.
Commercial auto insurance may cover the work truck repair costs and the third party’s car repair bills.
Who needs these types of insurance?
Businesses that install or repair pipes, fittings, fixtures, and appliances of sanitation, water supply, or heating systems should have appropriate plumber's insurance. Whether you fix faucets, toilets, and hot water heaters for homeowners or you install sump pumps or fire sprinkler systems on commercial job sites, you need adequate protection from liability. It is also essential to have coverage for your employees, including:
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New construction plumbers
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Rough-in plumbers
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Residential plumbers
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Commercial plumbers
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Service and repair plumbers
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Apprentice plumbers
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Journey plumbers
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Master plumbers
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Site managers