Simply Business homepage
  • Business insurance

    • Business Insurance FAQs

    Business insurance covers

  • Support
  • Claims
  • Sign In
Call Us0333 0146 683
Our opening hours

Welding insurance

Join over 220,000 tradespeople like you with public liability cover from £3.19 per month*

Get tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote
Welder working on metal structure

Compare quotes from leading brands

  • Hiscox insurance
  • Axa insurance
  • Zurich insurance
  • AIG insurance
  • Churchill insurance
  • RSA insurance
Liked icon

Rated 4.7/5

Based on 39,755 reviews

Precise icon

Claims paid in 24 hours

For 80% of settled claims

What's on this page

  • Why is insurance important?
  • What does it cover?
  • How much does it cost?
  • How do I choose insurance?
  • How do claims work?
  • FAQs
  • Helpful articles

Insurance for welders – why is it important?

From employer and tools protection to public liability insurance, welding professionals rely on expert, comprehensive business insurance. It’s a backstop for the common risks you face, letting you focus on the job, not the what-ifs. Third party property damage and injuries, an employee claim, equipment theft, and personal accidents – tell us about your business and add the covers you need.

  • mobile welding insurance, or cover on your premises
  • product and public liability between £1 million and £5 million
  • rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews

Start your quote

What does welders insurance cover?

You know your trade best, so we let you design a bespoke policy, focusing on the cover you need. Public liability insurance is often a priority for our welding business customers, and employers’ liability cover is usually a legal requirement, if you’ve hired anybody. From there, you can add cover for your specialist tools and equipment, or our own personal accident protection.

Public liability insurance for welders

In case someone is injured or their property gets damaged, because of your welding business.

What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • damage to someone’s property, caused by your work
  • injuries caused by your business activities
  • accidental damage or injury caused by your employees, if you have any

For example:

  • a customer gets an electric shock while going over work in progress with you
  • a spark from your working area burns your customer’s wooden coving

If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.

Read more about public liability insurance

Employers’ liability insurance

In case an employee gets sick or injured because of working for you.

What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?

Claims against your business for:

  • an employee, including a contractor or casual labourer, suing you after falling ill because of working for your welding business, or
  • making a claim for an injury they’ve had while working for you

**Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.**

For example:

  • your apprentice burns their arm while training with you, and raises a claim
  • a former employee brings a claim against you for an eye injury sustained while working for you

Business and office equipment insurance

In case things like laptops or office filing cabinets are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by business and office equipment insurance?

  • theft, flood, fire, or accidental damage to the equipment you use to run your welding business
  • operational equipment like your laptop, rather than the trade tools you take out and about

For example:

  • your employee drops your phone from a height, damaging it beyond repair
  • a fire in your small rented garage damages your new laptop, which you use for work

Read more about business and office equipment insurance

Tools insurance

In case your welding tools are lost, stolen, or damaged.

What’s typically covered by tools insurance?

  • loss, damage, or theft of your hand tools, power tools, and specialist welding equipment

For example:

  • you buy new tools for a bigger commercial job and these are damaged in a flood over the weekend
  • you invest in three new welders for the team which are stolen from your locked garage during the Christmas holidays

Read more about tools insurance

Stock insurance

In case something happens to the welding stock you keep in supply.

What’s typically covered by stock insurance?

  • loss, damage, or theft of your work materials, or items you’re planning to sell

For example:

  • your stock of screens, wire, and gas are destroyed in a fire at your garage unit
  • a large order of steel electrodes are stolen from the back of your business partner’s truck

Read more about stock insurance

Legal expenses insurance

In case you’re faced with legal costs in connection with your welding business.

  • legal costs attributed to your welding business
  • property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
  • tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
  • includes a tax advice helpline, a 24/7 confidential legal helpline, and crisis support to help you protect your reputation as a trusted trade professional

For example:

  • your contractor disputes their agreement with you, and you need pay for legal services
  • an employee sues you for unfair dismissal, and you need to recover legal costs

Read more about legal expenses insurance

Personal accident insurance

In case anyone you’ve covered is accidentally injured, at or outside of work.

What’s typically covered by personal accident insurance?

  • accidental injury or death at work or elsewhere, for anyone covered on the policy
  • lost income, medical costs, and hospitalisation benefit

For example:

  • you fall off your tower and break your knee, keeping you off work for six weeks
  • an employee breaks their hand while playing squash, and needs time off work during a busy period

Read more about personal accident insurance

This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions

How much does welding business insurance cost?

Find out how much you’ll pay by comparing prices from a range of trusted insurers. You choose what goes into your policy, so you only pay for what you need.

Prices start from £3.19 per month

Get your quotes in 7 minutes – prices are guaranteed for 30 days.

Get your tailored quotes in 7 minutes

Start your quote

10% of our customers paid up to £38.32 a year for a public liability insurance policy between 1st April 2023 - 30th June 2023. Equivalent to £3.19 per month based on a monthly cost when paying for the policy in one annual payment. Paying monthly is usually more expensive as you'll pay interest. Most customers pay more than this but some pay less.

Example welding insurance quotes, real prices

maltings insurance

£14.88 /month

£128.78 /month

A self-employed welder who works locally and does not undertake oxyacetylene welding

  • 1-2 years' experience
  • Sole trader
  • No employees
  • Based in Bristol
  • Public liability

    £1,000,000

  • Employers’ liability

    Not included

  • Tools

    Not included

axa insurance

£209.43 /month

£1861.57 /month

A small limited welding company who work on medium-sized contracts (residential and commercial)

  • 5+ years' experience
  • Limited company
  • 2 employees
  • Based in Cardiff
  • Public liability

    £2,000,000

  • Employers’ liability

    £10,000,000

  • Tools

    £8,000

How we work out example quotes These examples are real quotes from our online system (created 09/06/2021). They’re based on a range of factors, like employees and location. Your own quote will be based on what you tell us about your business. Prices may go up or down from day to day, so the prices you’re quoted may differ to the ones you see here.

What kind of excess should I expect?

An excess is an amount you pay towards any claim you make on your insurance. For example, if your excess is £250 and you make a claim worth £1000, your payout will be a maximum of £750.

Insurance cover

Lowest excess

Highest excess

Public liability

£100

£2500

Employers' liability

No excess

No excess

Tools

£60

£500

Stock

£100

£500

Business and office equipment

£50

£750

The figures above are for guidance only and any excess applying to your quote may differ. You’ll get a breakdown of the excesses for each quote when you compare with us.

How it works

  • Pick what goes into your policy

    Only pay for what you need

  • Get prices from a range of insurers

    Choose the best fit for you

  • Buy online in minutes

    Get your documents the same day

Start your quote

Simply Business

Direct to
insurer

Highstreet
broker

Compare policies from a range of trusted insurers

Buy online or over the phone in minutes

How do I choose insurance?

Making sure you have the right type and level of business insurance can be the difference between getting a claim paid and having to cover the cost of an expensive accident yourself. Read our tips for guidance on what to consider when buying a policy.

Is public liability enough for third party property damage?

In some situations you may need more than public liability to cover certain kinds of property damage. Learn about tools insurance and personal accident insurance.

Can I just cover my most expensive tools?

Make sure you cover the total cost of replacing all your tools or you’ll only get a proportion of your claim paid out if something happens to them. Learn about tool cover.

Which type of workers do I need insurance for?

Employers’ liability insurance is a legal requirement if you employ people.

If you have people working for you, including bona fide subcontractors (BFSC), labour-only subcontractors (LOSC), part-timers, or full-time staff, employers’ liability insurance is required by law.

Read on for our simplified guide to the difference between labour-only subcontractors and bona fide subcontractors.

Will tools insurance cover all my equipment?

Depending on what you use to do your work, you may need other covers.

You may need more than tools insurance – for example, business equipment insurance if you have a work laptop, plant insurance if you use machinery.

Does welders insurance cover my work correctly?

Make sure you're picking the right cover to protect you properly. It's important to know that if you have another trade or job, you'll need additional cover. For example, do you need to consider heating engineer insurance or engineering consultant insurance?

Do I need cover for other types of work?

If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:

Other types of insurance

Which public liability cover limit should I choose?

Think about the maximum possible loss your business could face in the event of a claim, and make sure you take legal fees and damages into consideration. You can choose from three levels of coverage – £1 million, £2 million, or up to £5 million.

Talk to an expert

Our team of UK-based insurance experts are here to help, Mon 09.00am - 05.30pm, Tues 09.00am - 05.30pm, Weds 09.00am - 05.30pm, Thurs 09.30am - 05.30pm, Fri 09.00am - 05.30pm, Sat 09.00am - 02.00pm

Call our team

0333 043 8527

Online

Contact us on our website whenever suits you

Phone

Call our insurance experts during office hours (calls are charged at a local rate)

FAQs

Find answers to common insurance questions

How do claims work?

Unlike price comparison websites, we take the hassle out of claims for you. We know how important it is to get your business back on track quickly – and with a minimum of fuss. That’s why you get access to your dedicated claims any time, day or night. Call them on 0333 207 0560 or claim online. They’ll do their best to be fair and supportive. The figure below is rounded across our range of products. Our claims process may vary for different products and operates on a ‘claim by claim’ basis.

£39 million in claims paid out in 2022

Paying 80% of settled claims within 24 hours in 2022

Example claim

Having welding insurance through Simply Business has saved metal professionals thousands of pounds when the unexpected happened.

Phil saved more than £11,600

Phil (not his real name) and two colleagues were carrying steel bars weighing approximately 200kg, as part of his day-to-day work. He felt a sharp pain in his hand and went to hospital, where he was signed off work for two weeks.

  • Insurance payout

    £11,631.50

    Covering the cost of personal accidents

  • Phil’s costs

    £100

    The excess amount stated in Phil’s policy terms

Chosen by 900,000 small businesses and landlords

We started out as a team of five back in 2005. We’ve grown since then with 900,000 customers across 1,500 trades now trusting us to provide their business insurance.

  • Compare and buy in minutes

    Documents arrive today

  • Rated 4.7/5

    Based on 39,755 reviews

  • Here to help

    Help from UK-based experts

  • 24/7 claims

    Make a claim any time

Welder insurance FAQ

Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about business insurance for welders. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.

  • Yes. You may start offering additional services that require you to use different skills or carry out different tasks. If you find yourself in this situation, it’s important to give us a call on 0333 043 8527 to update your policy before you take on this new work. If you don’t have the correct type of cover in place for the work you do, you may be unable to claim on your policy if something goes wrong.

  • Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.

  • You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:

    • one-off credit or debit card payment
    • BACS payment
    • Direct Debit

    If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.

  • If you change your business legal structure from sole trader to limited company mid-way through your policy, give us a call straight away on 0333 043 8527. It’ll only take us a few minutes to cancel your existing policy and replace it with one that correctly covers your new legal structure. It’s worth bearing in mind that your insurer and premium amount may need to change.

  • This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.

    If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.

    There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.

We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions

Helpful articles for welders

Man constructing a wall outside

7 Jan 2022 • 5-minute read

How to become a self-employed builder: a simple guide

Keep up to date with Simply Business. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter and follow us on social media.

Subscribe to our newsletter
Welding insurance

Insurance

Public liability insuranceBusiness insuranceProfessional indemnity insuranceEmployers’ liability insuranceLandlord insuranceTradesman insuranceSelf-employed insuranceRestaurant insuranceVan insuranceInsurers

About

About usOur teamAwardsPress releasesPartners & affiliatesOur charitable workModern Slavery ActSection 172 statementSocial mediaSite map

Customer support

Contact & supportPolicy renewalMake a claimProof of policyComplaintsAccessibility

Address

6th Floor99 Gresham StreetLondonEC2V 7NG

Northampton 900900 Pavilion DriveNorthamptonNN4 7RG

Careers

Careers at Simply BusinessTech careersCurrent opportunities

Benefits

BenefitsRefer a friendFinance

Legal

Terms & conditionsPrivacy policyCookie policyVuln Disclosure policy

Knowledge

Knowledge centreOpinionsMicrosites

© Copyright 2024 Simply Business. All Rights Reserved. Simply Business is a trading name of Xbridge Limited which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Financial Services Registration No: 313348). Xbridge Limited (No: 3967717) has its registered office at 6th Floor, 99 Gresham Street, London, EC2V 7NG.