Trades Covered
Insurance for Gas Engineers
Out of plumbers, heating engineers and gas engineers, it is the gas engineer that faces the highest risk of accident, injury or property damage in their job. The very nature of working with gas and naked flames makes it a potentially combustible profession.
The risks can also include potential exposure to old and/or unsafe gas pipes with potentially unidentified leaks, which if not identified could cause an explosion.
These are just some examples of why comprehensive insurance is vital for safeguarding your business and your customer’s premises in case anything goes wrong.
Gas engineers often work alongside heating engineers and are unique because they must be Gas Safe Registered.
Public Liability Insurance (PL)
As mentioned in the opening paragraph, working with gas is extremely dangerous and can cause explosions, serious injury and even fatalities.
Public liability insurance is viewed as the most important cover for trades professionals and will cover claims arising as a result of accidental injury or property damage to members of the public.
Even if you feel you have done nothing wrong, you could still face legal proceedings if you are alleged to be at fault for someone being hurt or killed, or if you’re blamed for damaging someone else’s property during your work.
Employers’ Liability Insurance (EL)
Many heating engineers are self-employed and work on their own or are contracted to work for larger companies.
In some instances you require assistance and look to employ staff, including apprentices. If you have employees you are required by law to carry Employers’ Liability insurance, with a minimum of £5 million of cover. It is an offence not to hold EL insurance as an employer and you can be fined £2,500 for every day you are not insured.
Personal Accident Insurance
Occupational personal accident insurance provides cover for injuries sustained during your work which stop you working. The policy can provide a weekly benefit if you are temporarily unable to work or it can provide a lump sum if your injury is more serious and permanently stops you from doing your job.
Insurance for Tools, Equipment and Trades Materials
Tools insurance provides cover for the cost of repairing or replacing your equipment if it is lost, damaged or stolen. The policy includes cover for power tools as well as your handheld kit.
Cover ranges from £1,000 to £5,000 depending on how much you need. If you need to make a claim, we will pay you the amount required to replace your equipment, which will help eliminate stress and get back ‘on the tools’ quicker.
Goods in Transit Insurance
This type of cover is for goods that are lost or damaged while they are being transported in your own vehicle, or on your behalf by a third-party. The policy provides cover for theft of items whilst in transit, damage to goods caused by an accident during transit, loss of items during transit, damage caused to items during transit.
Product Liability Insurance
Product liability insurance is offered as an extension to the public liability policy and can provide cover for your legal liability and damages awarded to the claimant if a product you supply or install injures a person or causes loss or damage to property.
Product failure can take many forms and isn’t only due to the product itself. It can occur if the product isn’t installed properly, which can result in extensive property damage and could potentially cause an accident to another person.
Contract Works Insurance
Sometimes referred to as contractors all risks, this policy provides cover for costs incurred in having to re-do existing work be destroyed by fire, flood, or theft, including the cost of the tools, materials and the labour required.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
Mistakes happen due to human nature and can be from tiredness and/or a loss of concentration due to a distraction. As a gas engineer, any mistake you make could cause damage to property, an accident that result in a serious injury, or it could simply cause a significant loss of money, such as from a leak that results in increased bills.
Professional indemnity cover is an important form of business insurance as it will cover your legal costs and compensation awards if you need to defend a negligence claim, even if you feel you’ve done nothing wrong.
Quick Quote for Gas Engineers from Markel Direct