Finding the right insurance for your steel erection business is an important step in protecting your business and setting the foundation for long-term success.
As a steel erection contractor, you’re skilled in creating the very frame of high-rise buildings, bridges, and other structures that support our modern society. You employ ironworkers to assemble structures piece by piece.
Safety is foremost, as you know that steel erection can be a hazardous undertaking. Having the right business insurance is critical to ensure that you and your employees are protected in the event of an accident.
Steel Erection Contractor Insurance Coverages
Some of the most common coverages for steel erection contractors 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. Most general contractors will require steel erection contractors to carry commercial general liability insurance in order to be hired as a subcontractor.
- Property Damage: An unsecured piece of decking is blown off a construction site and hits a nearby vehicle, damaging it.
- Bodily Injury: A bolt is dropped from a construction site and hits a bystander, injuring them. They sue your business for medical expenses and lost wages from being unable to work.
- Products & Completed Operations: A building you work on partially collapses, and an occupant is injured. Although the cause is unclear, your company is sued because you worked on the building.
- Workers’ Compensation Insurance provides funds for medical expenses and lost wages if one of your employees is injured or killed while on the job. Because steel erection is one of the top 10 most hazardous occupations according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics1, it is critical for steel erection contractors to have workers’ compensation coverage. In almost all states, workers’ compensation insurance is required for companies that have employees.
- One of your employees hurts their back while lifting a steel beam, leaving him unable to work. 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 Property Insurance provides protection for property that your business owns or is responsible for.
- Mobile Equipment Insurance provides protection for mobile equipment that is commonly stored on client sites or outside of your business premises. This insurance protects your steel erection equipment, such as forklifts, cranes, saws, and ladders, from theft and accidental damage from perils like fire, windstorm, and vehicle crashes.
- A forklift on a construction site is damaged by a severe windstorm.
- Installation Floater Insurance protects property before or during installation. For contractors, this could cover construction materials or fixtures you are transporting or installing for clients.
- Your metal decking is transported to a worksite. While awaiting installation, there is a fire, damaging the decking.
- Mobile Equipment Insurance provides protection for mobile equipment that is commonly stored on client sites or outside of your business premises. This insurance protects your steel erection equipment, such as forklifts, cranes, saws, and ladders, from theft and accidental damage from perils like fire, windstorm, and vehicle crashes.
- 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 steel hauling truck crashes into another vehicle on the way to a construction job. The other driver is injured and sues your business.
1. United States Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Steel Erection Industry Statistics
Employers of Structural Iron and Steel Workers
| Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors | 49% |
| Nonresidential building construction | 20% |
| Heavy and civil engineering construction | 7% |
| Manufacturing | 6% |
| Building equipment contractors | 5% |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Ironworkers (2016)
Median Pay for Structural Iron and Steel Workers
| Building equipment contractors | $55,490 |
| Heavy and civil engineering construction | $54,600 |
| Foundation, structure, and building exterior contractors | $53,850 |
| Nonresidential building construction | $51,200 |
| Manufacturing | $47,150 |
| Overall | $52,610 |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Ironworkers (2017)
Job Growth for Ironworkers
| Number of Jobs, 2016 | 90,300 |
| Employment Change, 2016-26 | 11,400 |
| Job Outlook, 2016-26 | 13% |
| Total Job Outlook, 2016-26 | 7% |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Ironworkers (2016)
Non-fatal Occupational Injuries for Structural Steel and Precast Concrete Contractors
| Incidence rate | 6.2% |
| Number of cases (thousands) | 4.8 |
Source data: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Industry Injury and Illness Data, Structural steel and precast concrete contractors (2016)