Finding the right insurance for your plumbing business is an important step in protecting and growing your business.
Plumbers play a critical role in our society. As a plumber, you’re called upon to bring fresh water into our buildings, and to ensure that our drains keep working properly.
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Having the right business insurance coverage is an important way to ensure that your business continues to grow smoothly. Although you operate your business as safely as possible, accidents do happen. Plumbers insurance can provide financial protection for your business in the event that someone is injured by your business or if your business damages property.
What insurance coverage do I need as a plumber?
Some of the most common coverages for plumbers are listed below, along with relevant examples of incidents that would trigger these coverages.
- Commercial General Liability Insurance protects your business if you physically injure another person or cause damage to someone else’s property. Many clients require plumbers to carry commercial general liability insurance in order to be hired.
- Property Damage: You accidentally drop your pipe wrench, and it damages your client’s custom flooring. The client wants you to pay the cost to repair the floor.
- Bodily Injury: A client trips over a spare pipe that was accidentally left out and sustains an injury to his hip. He sues your business for medical expenses and lost wages from being unable to work.
- Products & Completed Operations: You complete a re-piping job for a customer. Months later, a pipe you replaced begins to leak when no one is home, causing extensive water damage. The customer sues you for the damage.
- Workers’ Compensation Insurance provides funds for medical expenses and lost wages if one of your employees is injured or killed while on the job. In almost all states, workers’ compensation insurance is required for companies that have employees.
- One of your employees injures his back while crawling under a sink. Workers’ compensation insurance would provide coverage for the employee’s medical bills, rehabilitation expenses, and a portion of his lost income while he is unable to work.
- Commercial Auto Insurance protects your business if you or one of your employees causes injury or damage to someone else while driving a business vehicle or while driving for business purposes. It also protects vehicles owned by your business from damage or theft.
- Your work van crashes into another vehicle on the way to a plumbing job. The other driver is injured and sues your business.
- The truck owned by your business is stolen from the street where it is parked overnight.
How do I get insurance for my plumbing business?
There are many factors to consider when purchasing insurance for your plumbing business—from the financial strength of an insurer to the pricing that you’re offered. A solid insurance package for your plumbing business will be fairly customized, as no two businesses are the same, so it is particularly important to select an insurance provider that can build custom coverage to fit your specific needs.
When selecting an insurance company, there are three main factors you should look at:
- The financial strength of the insurer
- Pricing
- Reputation for customer service
» Learn more about how to get plumbers insurance
Plumbing Industry Statistics
Employers of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
| Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors | 62% |
| Self-employed workers | 13% |
| Government | 4% |
| Heavy and civil engineering construction | 4% |
| Manufacturing | 3% |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (2016)
Median Pay for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
| Manufacturing | $58,040 |
| Government | $53,780 |
| Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors | $51,570 |
| Heavy and civil engineering construction | $50,800 |
| Overall | $52,590 |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (2017)
Job Growth for Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters
| Number of Jobs, 2016 | 480,600 |
| Employment Change, 2016-26 | 75,200 |
| Job Outlook, 2016-26 | 16% |
| Total Job Outlook, 2016-26 | 7% |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters (2016)
Non-fatal Occupational Injuries for Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors
| Incidence rate | 3.7% |
| Number of cases (thousands) | 35.6 |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Industry Injury and Illness Data, Plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning contractors (2016)