What Insurance Does a Metal Fabricator Need?

The Short Checklist: Core Covers Most Metal Fabricators Need

Most UK metal fabrication businesses need a combination of liability cover and asset protection. The “base” package often starts with public & products liability and employers’ liability (if you employ staff), then expands to include workshop/property, tools, stock/materials, goods in transit, and business interruption.

If you also provide drawings, design assistance, specification advice or technical sign-off, you may need Professional Indemnity to protect against financial loss claims that liability insurance does not cover. And if you do on-site installation or erection, you may need contract works and cover that reflects height work, hot works and hired-in plant exposure.

The right insurance programme is not about ticking boxes. It is about matching cover to your real risks: your products, your contracts, your site environments, your workforce model, your turnover, and the value you have at risk in premises, tools and stock.

1) Public Liability Insurance (Site Visits, Deliveries & Third-Party Damage)

Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business if your activities cause injury to a third party or damage to their property. For metal fabricators, public liability claims commonly arise from site surveys, deliveries, installation work, and interactions with other trades. Even workshop-only operations can face public liability exposure if customers visit your premises, if you load/unload at third-party sites, or if your drivers damage property during deliveries.

Many clients and principal contractors require evidence of public liability cover before you start work - commonly £2m, £5m or £10m. The correct limit depends on the environments you work in and the contracts you sign. A small job can still create a large third-party claim if a member of the public is injured or if a high-value property is damaged.

Public liability is not simply “a certificate”. It is the legal and financial safety net that keeps one accident from becoming a business-ending event. We help you choose limits that satisfy contract expectations while keeping premiums sensible.

2) Products Liability Insurance (When You Supply Fabricated Items)

Products liability covers claims where a product you manufactured or supplied causes third-party injury or property damage. This is vital for metal fabricators because your outputs can be used in safety-critical or high-usage environments: handrails, guarding, platforms, brackets, enclosures, gates, railings, ducting, frames, stairs, balustrades and more.

Products liability is especially important where you supply to third-party installers or where the product is used by the public. Even if you did not install the item, a claim may still allege a manufacturing defect, incorrect material selection, welding failure, or inadequate design (depending on the responsibilities you accepted).

The key is to describe your products accurately and ensure your policy reflects the real use-case. Insurers underwrite differently for decorative items versus load-bearing structures, guarding versus architectural staircases, and simple brackets versus bespoke assemblies. Clear descriptions help secure appropriate cover and avoid later disputes.

3) Employers’ Liability Insurance (Usually a Legal Requirement)

If you employ staff in the UK, employers’ liability insurance is typically a legal requirement (subject to limited exceptions). Metal fabrication involves risks that can lead to workplace injury or illness: manual handling, sharp edges, burns from hot works, eye injuries, welding fumes, grinding dust, noise exposure, slips/trips, and (for installation teams) work at height and lifting operations.

Employers’ liability covers compensation and legal costs if an employee is injured or becomes ill due to work. It protects your business financially and helps demonstrate that you take compliance seriously - something that can matter for principal contractors and larger procurement processes.

Workforce structures can be complex: employees, apprentices, labour-only subcontractors, bona-fide subcontractors, and temporary labour. The way people are engaged can affect how cover should be arranged. We help you align your policy with the reality of your workforce and supervision model.

4) Workshop, Buildings, Contents & Stock (Fire, Theft, Flood)

Your workshop is often the engine of your business - and it’s where the highest concentration of value sits: machinery, welding bays, tools, jigs and fixtures, raw materials, partially completed work and finished goods awaiting delivery or installation. Property and contents insurance protects these assets against insured events such as fire, theft, flood, storm and malicious damage.

Metal fabrication claims frequently involve fire and smoke damage (particularly where hot works are present), theft of tools and copper/stainless materials, and flood/water ingress in industrial units. Even when the damage is contained, the downtime and clean-up can be significant.

Setting sums insured properly is critical. Underinsuring can create reduced claim settlements; overinsuring can inflate premiums. We help you value buildings (if owned), tenant improvements, machinery, tools, and stock - and structure cover to suit your premises security and how you store high-value materials and finished goods.

5) Tools & Portable Equipment (Workshop + Off-Site)

Tools are the lifeblood of fabrication and installation. A theft can stop production instantly; replacing specialist welding sets, grinders, torque tools, drills and measurement equipment at short notice is costly. If you do site work, the risk increases because tools move between locations and may be stored in vehicles or temporary site storage.

Tool cover can be arranged for equipment at your premises and away from premises, subject to conditions. The most important detail is matching policy conditions to your actual storage and security practices. For example, theft from vehicles may require locked compartments, visible forcible entry, and time-based restrictions.

We help you set realistic sums insured and avoid the “we didn’t realise that condition applied” problem that often appears at claim stage.

6) Goods in Transit (Deliveries, Loading/Unloading & Transit Damage)

Fabricated metalwork is often awkward to transport. Damage can occur through load movement, poor restraint, impacts during loading/unloading, or insufficient edge protection. This risk is amplified for finished and coated items where cosmetic damage can mean complete refinishing.

Goods in transit insurance can protect your business against loss or damage while goods are being transported - whether in your own vehicles, using a courier, or via a haulier. The correct structure depends on who is responsible under the delivery terms and whether you transport high-value assemblies, staged deliveries, or time-critical items for installation programmes.

If you have customers collecting items themselves, or if you deliver to construction sites with limited laydown space, it’s worth clarifying where responsibility transfers. We can help you align cover with your delivery terms to avoid unexpected gaps.

7) Business Interruption (Loss of Income After an Insured Event)

Many businesses insure their workshop and contents but overlook business interruption - the cover that protects your income if you cannot trade after an insured event such as fire or flood. If a major incident shuts your workshop, you may still have rent, rates, wages and finance agreements to pay, plus the pressure of client deadlines and contractual commitments.

Business interruption cover can replace lost gross profit and contribute to fixed costs during recovery. It can also include “increased cost of working” - additional expenses you incur to keep trading, such as outsourcing, temporary premises, or hiring replacement equipment.

Choosing a realistic indemnity period is critical. Some workshops can restart quickly; others may face long lead times for machinery replacement, power upgrades, extractor installs, and reinstatement. We help you select an indemnity period that matches the real-world rebuild timeline, not an optimistic guess.

8) Contract Works / Installation Works (If You Install or Erect)

If you do supply-and-fit, installation or erection, you need to think beyond standard liability cover. Liability insurance protects you when you are legally liable to a third party. But many losses during installation involve damage to the works themselves before completion - dropped sections, impact damage, theft from site, or accidental damage to coated finishes before handover.

Contract works (sometimes called “contractors’ all risks” or “installation works”) can cover the value of the works in progress - subject to policy terms. This is important because many contracts place the responsibility on the contractor until practical completion, even if items are stored on site.

Installation work also introduces exposures such as hot works, working at height, lifting operations, and hired-in access equipment. Your insurance declarations must reflect these realities. If the policy is set up as “workshop only” but you regularly install on site, that misalignment can create problems. Insure24 helps you structure cover that matches the truth of your operations.

9) Professional Indemnity (If You Provide Drawings, Design Assist or Spec Advice)

Professional indemnity (PI) insurance protects you when a client alleges your professional services caused them financial loss - for example, errors in drawings, specifications, tolerances, advice, interpretation or technical sign-off. It is commonly required if you produce shop drawings, provide design assistance, or accept design responsibility within contract terms.

This is a key distinction: liability insurance generally responds to bodily injury or property damage claims. PI is designed for “pure financial loss” claims: rework costs, redesign costs, delay costs, and disputes about professional duty of care.

Many metal fabricators unintentionally take on design responsibility through emails, value engineering suggestions, or accepting contract wording without review. If you are asked for PI, or if you regularly provide drawings and technical input, we can arrange PI alongside your operational covers so there are fewer gaps.

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Compliance & Contract Requirements: Avoiding Common Insurance Gaps

Many metal fabricators buy insurance to “tick the box” for a contract, then discover later that the cover did not match how they operated. The most common gaps happen when the insurer thinks you are workshop-only but you install on site; when you provide drawings/design input but do not have PI; when tools are insured but vehicle and site conditions are not followed; or when contract terms create liabilities your policy was not designed to cover.

Practical steps to reduce gaps: disclose your activities accurately (installation, hot works, height work, lifting), review contractual liability clauses, keep evidence of RAMS and permit-to-work compliance, and structure cover for the value you truly have at risk (tools, stock, works in progress, interruption).

Insure24 helps you build an insurance programme that supports onboarding, tenders and compliance portals - without overcomplicating it. If you have complex contract wording, we can help you understand what insurers will and won’t cover so you can make informed decisions before you sign.