Public liability insurance for plumbers

How the wording fits the job

The wording matters because public liability cover has boundaries. The name of the policy does not tell you where every boundary sits.

The certificate is useful evidence for a customer, but the policy wording decides far more than the certificate shows.

A sensible description of the risk should take account of: a joint leaks into the flat below; a floor or unit is damaged during access; and hot work causes scorching or fire. The examples are there to test the description of the business. The policy wording still decides how a claim is handled.

Have the following details beside you: domestic, commercial and industrial split; use of heat and work on gas systems; and maximum job value and subcontracting. If one point is uncertain, ask how the question should be answered and keep the reply.

Do not file the documents unread. The business description, limits, excesses and endorsements deserve a first-day check. Make the enquiry before accepting the policy rather than after an incident.

Where a claim might begin

These are the less obvious ways trouble can start:

• A joint leaks into the flat below
• A floor or unit is damaged during access
• Hot work causes scorching or fire

If one of these examples is a regular part of your work, make sure it has not been lost in a broad trade description.

Suppose the issue was “a joint leaks into the flat below”. A provider would need more than the trade name. It may need to know the job, the property involved, the precautions required and when the problem first became apparent.

Now compare that with “a floor or unit is damaged during access”. It may involve a different cause and a different part of the wording. Similar-looking claims do not always follow the same route.

An insurer may still reach a different view after investigating a real incident. At the buying stage, accuracy is the part within your control.

Useful records for the quotation

Recent invoices and contracts should help you establish:

• Domestic, commercial and industrial split
• Use of heat and work on gas systems
• Maximum job value and subcontracting

A trade name rarely tells the whole story. “domestic, commercial and industrial split”, “use of heat and work on gas systems” and “maximum job value and subcontracting” give the provider a clearer account of the tasks, people and places involved in the work.

The resulting documents also need a clear position on check the property-worked-on wording. If they do not, ask while the quotation can still be changed.

Two reminders from this page are “follow hot-work conditions precisely” and “check the property-worked-on wording”; keep them beside the documents when you check the quotation. If the policy takes a different approach to “domestic, commercial and industrial split”, ask about it before the cover is needed and retain any written reply.

Save the answers you submit. Check the insured name, business description and dates when the policy documents arrive.

Read beyond the policy summary

• Follow hot-work conditions precisely
• Check the property-worked-on wording
• Professional design may need separate cover

If a clause is unclear, ask for an explanation before the cover is needed. Keep that explanation with the policy.

Check the awkward jobs too

Compare the trading name on invoices with the name shown on the quotation. The connection should be clear to a customer reading the certificate.

Price matters, of course, but a cheaper quotation is not useful if it leaves out the work that creates the risk.

If you later stop offering part of the service, keep records of the old work. The change may help at renewal, but it does not erase jobs already completed.

Before closing the file, return to this point: professional design may need separate cover; check how this affects the jobs you accept and ask for clarification if the policy takes a different approach.