Trade coverage
Hot work and sparks cause fires, and the work often occurs on existing structures where a fire spreads quickly. A single unattended spark can become a total loss.
General liability responds to two different things for your trade. The first is injury or damage caused while you are working, which for welding work is a spark igniting a fire inside a wall or attic during hot work. The second is a claim that surfaces after you have finished, known as completed operations, and it is the half of the policy most often missing from a cheap quote.
Often surplus lines for structural, industrial, and high-limit welding because of the severe fire exposure and hot-work history.
These are the loss scenarios that drive claims for this trade, in the order we see them.
Each of these changes what the policy actually pays. Request them at quote stage.
General liability on its own leaves gaps that show up as denied claims rather than as missing coverage.
$1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate is the minimum; industrial and structural welding often requires $2M/$4M or higher. That is the limit, not the premium. The premium depends on your payroll, your state, your subcontractor use and your claims history, and it moves most with the hazard of the trade itself, which for welding is highest.
Often surplus lines for structural, industrial, and high-limit welding because of the severe fire exposure and hot-work history.
In order of how often we see them: A spark igniting a fire inside a wall or attic during hot work; Burns to the welder or a bystander from slag or hot metal; Welding fumes causing metal fume fever or respiratory injury.
These four come up repeatedly: Pollution coverage for welding fumes; Additional insured with completed operations; Waiver of subrogation; Per-project aggregate. Get them written into the quote rather than requested after binding, because that is where the delays come from.
Alongside general liability: Commercial auto; Inland marine for equipment; Workers compensation; Umbrella and builders risk.
Yes. Their policy defends them, not you. If your work causes damage, their carrier can pay the claim and then pursue you to recover it.
Classification and carrier appetite differ by trade, so it is worth seeing how yours compares.
Tell us your payroll, state and what your contract requires.
