The workshop · structures supplied · hot work
Liability insurance for a welding company
A welding company does two things that stand apart in insurance terms: it makes structures in its own workshop and it works with a naked flame at other people's premises. Each of those comes unstuck on a different policy provision.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Aansprakelijkheidsverzekering voor een lasbedrijf.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
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- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your activities
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
In the own workshop the risk lies with property that is not yours. A frame, a tank or a machine part a customer leaves with you for work is in your care. If it distorts through heat input or falls off the stand, the care, custody and control exclusionapplies. That is also true of material the customer supplies himself. Also consider forklifts in the workshop: they are motor vehicles within the meaning of Article 2 of the Dutch Motor Insurance Liability Act (WAM) as soon as they go onto public ground.
Away from the premises, fire risk is the leading factor. Insurers accept hot work at third parties' premises only with a clause requiring a permit, screening, fire extinguishing equipment and a follow-up check. If it is not complied with, cover for exactly that loss falls away. Staff bring a third section with them: exposure to welding fumes and, with coated or stainless steel, to hexavalent chromium, falls under the duty of care of Article 7:658 of the Dutch Civil Code, with claims that only come up years later.
What you supplies falls outside liability cover as far as the product itself is concerned. If a weld in a platform fails, the injury and the damage to the surroundings are a matter for the product liability insurance, but replacing, grinding out and rewelding your own structure is putting your own performance right and not insured. Damage to the works under construction is dealt with through Construction all risks (CAR) insurance or erection all risks insurance.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare public and employers' liability insurance (AVB).
What a welding company runs into
Four subjects on which cover in welding work is tested in practice.
Workpieces in hand
A casting, pump housing or chassis you are repairing is the core of your turnover and at the same time the biggest blind spot. The exclusion for property in your care, custody and control applies inside your own workshop as well. Separate cover for property being worked on is the appropriate solution here; watch the limit, because a single machine part can quickly exhaust it.
Recall and replacement
If a batch of welds turns out not to meet the qualification, the customer wants you to check and replace everything. Those inspection and replacement costs are pure financial loss and excluded on the AVB. Only if the fault causes injury or damage to other property does the liability cover come into play.
Certification as a policy condition
If you work under factory production control or with qualified welding procedures, an insurer takes that into account when accepting the risk. If that changes, because you start welding a new material or a heavier application for instance, report it. A changed risk that has not been disclosed engages Articles 7:928 and 7:930 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Exposure with a long tail
Lung complaints from welding fumes sometimes appear a decade after the exposure. Whether such a claim is covered depends on the cover basis of the policy: whether the moment of the act or the moment of the claim counts. When switching to a different insurer, retroactive and run-off cover are therefore more important than the difference in premium.
What does your premium depend on?
- Payroll and number of welders: the basis for employer's liability
- Balance between workshop and site work: working at third parties' premises weighs more heavily
- Application of the structures: fencing differs from load-bearing or pressure-retaining parts
- Export and territorial scope: supply outside Europe is often excluded
- Cover for property being worked on: depends on the value of what is standing in your workshop
- Claims history and prevention: recorded work permits count
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| A welder drops a partly welded beam on the foot of one of the customer's fitters | Yes | Yes |
| A customer's pump housing cracks through heat input while it is in your workshop | No | Provided that |
| A forklift belonging to your company hits a cyclist on the public road | No | No |
| A platform you supplied fails and the user breaks a leg | Provided that | Provided that |
| The customer has all the welds you made re-radiographed by a third party | No | No |
| A welder reports lung complaints twelve years after starting work, caused by welding fumes | Provided that | Provided that |
Extended means a policy with cover for property being worked on. With late exposure claims it is not the section but the cover basis that decides.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is fire damage at a customer covered if we weld there?
Yes, provided you complied with the clause for work involving a fire risk. That usually requires a completed work form, screening of the surroundings, extinguishing equipment within reach and a follow-up check afterwards. Without that, cover for that fire falls away. Record the measures taken for each job, even for half an hour's work.
Do we need product liability insurance as well as the AVB?
With many insurers product liability is a separate section on the same policy, with its own limit. If you supply structures that are load-bearing or under pressure, have that section included expressly and check the territorial scope. Damage your product causes to others falls under it. The product itself and the cost of replacement do not.
Who pays for grinding out a rejected weld?
That stays at your expense. Putting your own work right is performance of the contract and not damage to anyone else. Insurers exclude this under the provision on goods supplied and work carried out. What a rejected weld causes to others, such as injury or damage to surrounding installations, can be covered.
Does cover apply to our hired-in workers as well?
For your liability towards hired-in welders, Article 7:658(4) of the Dutch Civil Code applies: your duty of care continues, even where the employment relationship lies elsewhere. Report the number of hired-in workers when you apply, because the premium basis is often calculated on the total payroll including hired-in labour. On adjustment, an understated figure leads to a correction.
Read more
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