Insurance for gas fitters
Customisable insurance for the qualified experts who specialise in installing and maintaining gas supplies.
Bespoke insurance for gas engineers
Do gas fitters need insurance?
Whether you're a self-employed gas engineer or run a gas fitting business, you and your employees will work day in, day out facing a number of industry-specific risks, as well as the kinds of risks that affect any business or sole trader.
Buying insurance for your business offers protection for you, your team and your equipment as well as your liability to customers, suppliers and the general public.
10% of gas fitting businesses paid £27.69 a month or less for their Superscript business insurance between January and March 2023.
- Tailor your policy to suit your unique needs
- Protection against gas-specific risks
- Get standalone cover for your tools and equipment
- Adjust your cover without admin fees
- Access instant policy documents upon purchase
- Hassle-free claims, UK-based support
Public liability insurance for gas engineers
Our customised business insurance for gas engineers is built around the standard core of public liability cover.
You can choose the level of cover that is most appropriate for you or your business, with options of £1m, £2m or £5m limits of public liability cover.
The core public liability insurance covers you or your business' liability for injury or property damage caused to third parties, including your customers and members of the general public. You'll be protected in the event that a claim is made against you or your business and your legal and compensation costs can be covered.
Additional covers
In addition to public liability insurance, you can choose from a range of covers to create your perfect business insurance policy, ensuring that you, your equipment, your reputation, your employees and your customers are protected
Portable tools and equipment cover
Tools insurance can offer you peace of mind as you work, knowing that the specialist equipment and tools that you use as a gas fitter are covered against theft, loss or damage. Choose from the following levels of cover:
- £1,000
- £2,500
- £5,000
- £7,500
- £10,000
You can even opt to include cover against theft if your tools are left in your vehicle overnight.
Plant and machinery cover
Whether you use plant and machinery that you own yourself or your lease from a third-party, you can get cover for and construction plant, machinery, trailers, site huts or caravans that you use in the course of your work.
For plant and machinery that you own, you can choose up to £25,000 cover
For plant and machinery that you hire, you can choose up to £50,000 cover.
Stock cover
As you install and repair gas appliances day in, day out, you may want to consider cover for the stock you hold to install in a customer's premises. Stock insurance covers accidental damage to your stock-in-trade un to £5,000 while at your premises, or in transit or locked storage anywhere in the UK.
Contract works cover
Sometimes, things don’t go to plan. Contract works cover insures you for things beyond your control, like fire, theft, water damage and wind damage once a project is in progress - and we can offer you limits of up to £500,000.
Accident and sickness cover
Due to the physical nature of work in the trades, an accident can mean anything from a few days to a prolonged period off of work. Accident and sickness insurance comes in three parts to cover workers aged between 16-69.
Firstly, it’s designed to provide financial support for up to 50 weeks if you or an employee goes on long-term sick leave. It can also provide financial assistance for up to 180 nights if you, or an employee, were hospitalised.
And finally, a lump sum benefit of up to £50,000 can be paid out if you or an employee suffers a serious injury or up to £25,000 in the unfortunate event that an insured person dies.
Employers' liability insurance
Employers' liability insurance is a legal requirement for most employers in the UK. If you hire any employees, including apprentices, part-time, or even temporary workers, you’ll likely need to make sure you’re covered with a minimum of £5 million limit.
Our employers' liability cover offers a £10 million limit as standard. It also includes 50 days’ cover for temporary employees, who do not need to be registered with us, each year.
We cover a wide variety of activities for gas engineers
As you will know well, the work of a gas engineer can cover a great variety of different activities. With Superscript, you can be covered for activities including:
- Fixing gas leaks
- 24-hour emergency call-outs
- Boiler fitting
- Conducting gas safety inspections
- Piping system maintenance
-
Installing gas meters
And much, much more...
Gas engineers' insurance claims examples
There are various different types of insurance claim that a gas engineer or gas fitting business may have to make, so here are a few examples of specific claims that would be covered by Superscript’s customisable policy:
Stolen tools
Your van is broken into while you are attending a gas installation job and a specialist pipe bending tool is stolen. Your portable tools and equipment cover can cover the cost of replacing the stolen item so you can get on with your work without being out of pocket.
Destroyed work
Following a storm, the property that you are doing a major gas installation for is flooded meaning you have to repair and re-do most of your work. Contract works cover can pay the cost of re-doing the work up to £500,000.
Fire damage
Despite always taking preventative safety measures, an accident while using a blow torch means that a customer's home is set on fire. Your public liability insurance can cover the cost of repairing the damage should a claim be made against you.
Unsafe equipment
An employee of your gas fitting business is repairing some gas piping up a step ladder. The ladder gives way and the engineer falls, injuring themselves. If a claim is made against your business, employers' liability should cover your legal and compensation costs.
How do insurance claims work for gas fitters?
The below is a good guide to the process and timescales you can expect when you need to make a claim under your policy.
If you’re ever unsure whether you can or should claim, it’s best to get in touch and we can let you know.
Notify us of the claim
Contact us by email at claims@gosuperscript.com, by 24/7 freephone on 0800 772 3059 or by logging in to your customer portal.
Ideally this should be done as soon as possible and within 30 days of you becoming aware of anything (and we mean anything, even if it may seem trivial to you) which you think may be covered by your insurance.
A good indicator of whether or not to let us know is if there’s an issue which may require a payment to be made on your behalf.
We'll get on the case
We’ll acknowledge your claim within 24 hours, and sometimes in as little as 30 minutes! This means you’ll receive email confirmation of your Superscript claims reference and contact information should you need to speak to us.
We will then reach out to you within 48 hours to request any extra information we need to progress your claim.
We’ll keep you updated on the next steps as the claim progresses.
A decision is made
We’ll let you know if your claim is successful or not. At Superscript, if your claim isn’t covered, we will always try to point you in the right direction and support you as best we can in getting back to normal.
Read about the most common reasons claims aren't paid.
If your claim is successful, once we have all the documents we need, we will aim to settle claims such as accidental damage, theft and lost equipment within 5 working days.
Gas fitters' insurance FAQs
Do gas fitters need insurance?
Most business insurance is optional rather than mandatory. An exception to this is employers' liability cover, which is a legal requirement for anyone with employees. Despite this, the majority of businesses that have lots of contact with clients consider public liability an essential, as many would be unable to afford an uninsured claim.
How much does insurance cost for gas engineers?
This depends on the level and types of cover you choose for your gas fitting business. Public liability cover is a core element of our insurance and almost all businesses with employees (including temporary staff) will be legally required to hold employers' liability cover as well. Depending on the size of your business and the levels of cover you opt for, the cost of your premium will vary.
10% of gas fitting businesses paid £27.69 a month or less for their Superscript business insurance between January and March 2023.
What does public liability insurance cover for gas engineers?
For gas engineers and gas fitting businesses, public liability is considered an essential cover as it covers your legal and compensation costs in the event that a claim is made against you or your business for injury or property damage caused to a member of the public or a customer.
From small damage such as an accidental stain on an item of a customer's furniture cause through to injuries to members of the public caused by a gas explosion, public liability can help cover your costs so you are not left out of pocket.
Do I have to be on the Gas Safe Register to be insured?
Yes, in order to be insured all employees that directly work with gas must be legally compliant and this involves being fully registered with the Gas Safe Register.
You must also have your ACS gas qualification, which must be renewed every five years.
Can I insure my tools and equipment?
Yes, if you have portable tools and equipment cover then your specialist tools and electronics (including laptops and phones) will be insured.
Can I be insured for using heat equipment?
Yes, you will be covered for using heat equipment in the course of your work as a gas fitter. However, there are some conditions that you must agree to in order to be covered.
Your work must not involve any:
- Discharge of fumes, effluent or anything of a noxious nature
- Use of welding or flame cutting equipment
You must also do the following every time you do hot work:
- Inspect and clear any combustibles from the work area and from the other side of any wall where there is a danger of either direct ignition or conduction
- Protect any immovable combustible property with non-combustible material at least 6 metres around the site of the work
- Have at least one fire extinguisher kept adjacent to the area of work ready for immediate use
- Not leave any heat producing equipment out of view of its operator whilst lit, powered or hot
- Regularly check for signs of fire or combustion around, above or below the work area for at least 30 minutes after the completion of each period of hot work
How many employees of my business can be insured under employers' liability cover?
There is no limit on the number of employees that can be covered by your employers' liability insurance. However, we do have an upper limit on the size of business that can be insured online, based on your annual turnover. You can be covered for public liability and employers' liability insurance if your business has a turnover of up to £1.2 million.
Authorised by the FCA
The FCA supervises UK financial services firms to protect consumers. We are directly authorised and regulated by the FCA and our Firm Reference Number is 656459. These details can be confirmed on the Financial Services Register at www.fca.org.uk or by calling the FCA on 0845 606 1234.
A-rated financial strength
Our insurance products are underwritten by Standard & Poor’s A-rated financial strength or higher. This means the underwriter has been independently assessed by the world’s leading credit rating provider and found to have a strong capacity to meet financial commitments (pay claims).
Protected by the FSCS
If you are a business with an annual turnover under £1m, charity with an annual income under £1m, or trust with net assets under £1m, then you will be entitled to compensation from the FSCS in the unlikely event we cannot meet our obligations. Full details and further information on the scheme are available at www.fscs.org.uk.