You’ve dedicated thousands of dollars and many hours to getting an education, on-the-job experience, and a plumbing business license, but you could be putting all this investment at risk if you don’t have the right plumbers insurance.
At Austin Insurance, we know yours is a complex and hazardous business involving high-pressure water and air systems, heavy-duty tools, and harmful chemicals and germs. Even the most experienced and talented plumbers in the industry can’t escape the potential risks of the trade. So, it’s essential to be prepared for an unexpected event, especially one that may cause harm to a customer or their property, an employee, or you. To safeguard your plumbing business from the financial repercussions of a potential accident, injury, or damages, the Austin team is here to provide you with comprehensive plumbers insurance.
What types of coverage should your plumbers insurance include?
If a costly loss occurs at a worksite, on the road, or in your shop, having a mix of plumbing insurance coverages, optimally designed for your company’s specific size and specialty, may help your business financially survive a serious claim. The following three coverages are a good place to start when building your plumbers insurance solution:
- Commercial General Liability is a must-have insurance coverage for plumbers. If your plumbing work is determined to have caused a bodily injury to a third party or damage to another person’s property, your commercial general liability policy will typically help cover many of the medical and legal costs that end up being your responsibility. Another reason to have commercial general liability coverage is that residential and commercial customers often require you to demonstrate proof of liability insurance before they will hire you. This means having this type of coverage not only can help protect your business but may help it grow, as well.
- Commercial Property protects your brick-and-mortar plumbing establishment and the belongings you keep in it. Whether you own a building, lease commercial space, or have a home workshop, an unwelcome event such as a fire or break-in can leave it in ruins and cause substantial damage to the items you keep there, like tools, inventory, safety equipment, uniforms, computers, furniture, and more. A commercial property insurance policy typically helps you pay for the expense of structural repairs and for replacing business belongings that were ruined due to a covered event.
- Commercial Auto is essential coverage for plumbers, whether they are a solopreneur using a personal pickup truck for business purposes or the owner of a large plumbing operation with a fleet of company vehicles. If you or an employee is involved in an at-fault accident, a commercial auto insurance policy typically helps you cover emergency and medical care expenses for other drivers injured in the crash, pollution cleanup costs, and repairs to other people’s damaged property, including their cars.You can also add optional coverages, such as collision and comprehensive, to a commercial auto insurance policy. These important coverages may assist you in paying for repairs to your own business vehicles, whether they are damaged in a crash with another car or object or by theft, vandalism, or severe weather.
These insurance coverages address some of the most common liability risks plumbers face. However, depending on the nature of your specific plumbing establishment, you may need to enhance your plumbers insurance with one or more of the following options:
- Business Interruption and Extra Expense
- Commercial Umbrella
- Crime
- Cyber Liability
- Employment Practices Liability
- Errors and Omissions
- Inland Marine
- Tools and Equipment
- Pollution Liability
- Professional Liability
- Surety Bonds
- Workers’ Compensation
Austin Insurance will help you build a complete plumbers insurance solution to cover the distinct risks of your industry and operation.
The team at Austin works with South of Boston plumbers to make sure they have the appropriate insurance coverage for the worst-case scenarios of plumbing. The best way for us to accomplish this is to meet in person with business owners to familiarize ourselves with their business property, vehicles, employees, and more. These are some of the factors that will help us determine what types of plumbers insurance products they require and which insurance companies will match up best with their needs and offer the most competitive rates.
Often, the most economical way for a small or medium-sized plumbing business to get comprehensive plumbers insurance is by bundling several coverages into one convenient and more affordable policy, called a Business Owners Policy (BOP). A standard plumbers insurance BOP generally includes commercial general liability and commercial property insurance, two essential coverages for your plumbing business. In addition, these bundled policies also typically provide—or can be customized to include—coverage for cyber liability, employment practices liability, business interruption, professional liability, and more.
The Austin team is here not only to help protect your plumbing business but also to support its growth. As our client, you will have access to a highly responsive, self-service, online client portal where you can request a certificate of insurance, as well as review your current policies, report a claim, and much more, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are dedicated to making the insurance process easy and efficient for plumbers and all our business insurance clients.