Welders Insurance – how this company nearly ended up with the wrong insurance

In all my years as a business insurance broker, what I’ve enjoyed most is the variety of businesses that come to me for help with their insurance. This week alone I’ve been working on some cleaning company insurance, motor fleet insurance, let property insurance and all kinds of other businesses including some specialist welders insurance.

It was this particular welders insurance case this week that I thought was worth writing about, as it shows how dangerously easy it can be to buy the wrong kind of insurance, or insurance that is unlikely to pay out if you need it.

I was asked to look at providing welders insurance to a new welding and fabrication company.  There are a lot of these around and although some insurers consider this kind of work (involving heat) to be quite risky, there are many that will cover this, so on face value it’s not really a big deal.

The interesting part came when it transpired the client makes trailers that carry and hold mobile climbing walls!  This changed things completely and every insurer we approached refused to quote, as the risk in question was far too great in their opinion.

What’s more is the client told me he plans to win the contract to also weld the metal framework of the climbing walls – increasing the risk ten-fold!

How using a business insurance broker helped

If the client had purchased a liability policy either online or via a broker without talking about this, it is questionable whether the insurer would maintain cover or pay a claim if they found out, as they would consider it to be non-disclosure of a material fact – something that would affect their decision to accept the risk.

Having taken the time to get to know the customer’s business in detail, I faced a situation where I needed to get the current activities covered but also with an insurer that would’nt cancel cover if and when the client won the more risky work – a challenge far beyond the reach of many online insurers.

The outcome

One or two of the specialist liability insurers we use maintained their offering, but specifically excluded this riskier part of the business – the cover he needs most!

In the end I was able to source a competitively priced welders insurance with a quality insurer, covering both the existing business activities and the heavier-risk work he is hoping to do.

I realised however just how easily the customer could have ended up with a standard policy for welding and fabrication, either through a broker or the internet – when I know that without going into so much detail about their business, the facts wouldn’t come out and his insurance wouldnt be adequate.

The moral of the story

– always drill down into the detail when arranging your insurance.  Discuss openly with a business insurance broker your business activities as it might make the difference between a claim being paid or not!

Are you a welder in need of a hand with your business insurance?

– or perhaps health & safety?