Who this page is for
This page is for Virginia shop welders, mobile welders, metal fabricators and structural or ornamental metal contractors. Ford Agency works with one-person welding businesses, established shops and difficult-to-place operations that need a specialized market review.
Typical welding operations
- Shop welding and metal fabrication
- Mobile welding at customer locations
- Ornamental railings, gates and nonstructural metalwork
- Equipment repair and maintenance welding
- Structural or industrial welding when fully described
Important differences within this trade
Two welding contractors can present very different exposures. Helpful distinctions include:
- Shop work versus mobile field work
- Structural, pressure-vessel or load-bearing components
- Industrial, marine or other high-hazard customer locations
- Products fabricated for sale versus installation by your business
- Repair work on vehicles, machinery, tanks or pipelines
- Engineering, design or specification responsibility
Hot work, fire exposure and the end use of fabricated components drive underwriting. Include a split of shop versus field work, structural work, hot-work controls and customer industries.
Coverage conversations to have
General liability and completed operations
General liability may respond to certain third-party bodily-injury or property-damage claims, subject to the policy. Welding losses can involve fire, damage to customer property or failure of completed work. General liability should not be treated as a warranty for faulty workmanship, and coverage depends on policy terms, endorsements and exclusions.
Products liability and component end use
Fabricated components can create completed-operations and products liability exposures after they leave the shop. Underwriters may need to understand exactly what is fabricated, who designs it, who installs it and its ultimate use. Structural, load-bearing, pressure-related, transportation, aerospace or safety-critical products may require specialized markets.
Hot-work procedures and fire prevention
Welding, cutting, brazing and grinding away from your own shop can expose customer property to fire. Written hot-work procedures, fire watches, removal or protection of combustibles, extinguishers, permits and post-work monitoring may be important to underwriting.
Shop property and business personal property
A welding shop may need coverage for the building, tenant improvements, fabrication machinery, stock, raw materials, completed products, office contents and business income. Property underwriting may also consider compressed gases, flammable materials, ventilation, housekeeping, fire protection and security.
Vehicles, trailers, tools and mobile equipment
Service trucks, pickups, vans and trailers generally call for a commercial-auto discussion. Welders, generators, torches, leads, compressors and hand tools may need inland marine or contractors-equipment coverage. Leaving property in a vehicle does not mean the auto policy covers it.
Employees and workers’ compensation
Burns, fumes, eye injuries, lifting, machinery, work at height and driving affect the workers’ compensation review. Employee duties and payroll should be classified accurately. Virginia requirements depend on the facts, and subcontractor employees can affect the statutory count. Use official Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission guidance for current rules.
Pollution and environmental exposures
Welding fumes, coatings, solvents, metal dust, fuel, oils and work involving tanks, contaminated equipment or hazardous materials can create pollution exposures that may not be fully addressed by an ordinary general liability policy. Contractors pollution liability may deserve review.
Professional liability
Engineering, design, shop drawings, specifications or consulting can create professional exposures separate from ordinary general liability. Tell us who designs the work and whether a licensed engineer or outside design professional is involved.
Commercial umbrella
Industrial customers and project contracts may require limits above the primary policies. An umbrella may add limits over scheduled underlying coverage, but it does not automatically cover every exclusion.
Subcontractors, certificates and written requirements
Keep written agreements and evidence of insurance from subcontractors. When a customer asks for additional insured, waiver of subrogation, primary-and-noncontributory wording or special limits, send the written requirement. A certificate is generally evidence of insurance and does not ordinarily amend a policy.
What to send Ford Agency
- A detailed description and percentage of each operation
- Shop-work and mobile field-work percentages
- Structural, ornamental, repair and fabrication percentages
- Customer industries and end uses of fabricated components
- Details about design, engineering or specification responsibility
- Annual sales, payroll and employee count
- Hot-work, fire-watch and shop-safety procedures
- Subcontracted cost and written risk-transfer practices
- Vehicle, driver, trailer, tool and equipment information
- Building, machinery, stock and business-property values
- Current policies, recent loss runs and requested effective date
- Contracts, bid specifications or certificate requirements when available