Plumbers Insurance NZ: Public Liability and the Covers Around It

Who asks plumbers for proof of cover

• The Board requires appropriate insurance for a self-certification endorsement
• Body corporates and property managers
• Main contractors, often with a stated limit
• Councils, on larger contracts

A slow leak

Water behind a vanity can run for weeks before a stain shows.

Drains built over

A drain laid at the wrong fall may only fail once the section is built on.

Specialist gear

Pressers, a drain camera and threading gear in one van.

Work out what to raise

Tick what applies to you

• We do general plumbing

  Water behind a vanity can run for weeks before a stain shows.

  Covers to raise: Public liability, Tools and equipment

• We do gasfitting

  Covers to raise: Public liability, Statutory liability

• We lay or repair drains

  A drain laid at the wrong fall may only fail once the section is built on.

  Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works

• We hold, or want, a self-certification endorsement

  The Board's notice asks for appropriate insurance for the work being certified.

  Covers to raise: Public liability

• We work mostly on commercial sites

  Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works

• We have apprentices or employees

  Covers to raise: Statutory liability

• We use subcontractors

  Covers to raise: Statutory liability, Public liability

• A drain camera or pressers ride in the van

  Covers to raise: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles

What these covers do not pay

• Fixing the pipe, joint or fall that you got wrong. Cover is for the damage it causes.
• Your own tools and fittings under public liability.
• Work you were not licensed for.
• Gradual damage from long-term leaks that a policy treats as wear.
• Health and safety fines, which can never be insured (Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, s 29).

General information only. Whether a cover responds depends on the policy wording.

Which clause is in your contract?

• Subcontractor cover

  The contract asks that anyone you sub the work to carries their own insurance, or that your policy responds to their work. Insurers often ask how much work you sub out and whether you check your subbies.

  Covers to raise: Public liability, Contract works, Statutory liability

  What it does not decide: It does not decide whether your policy covers a subcontractor, or whether theirs is enough. Both depend on the wordings and on what you declared.

• Own tools and plant

  The contract says you bring and look after your own tools, equipment or machinery, so damage or theft of them sits with you rather than the client.

  Covers to raise: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles

  What it does not decide: It does not decide whether those items are insured, on site or in a vehicle, or hired in. Contract works and public liability policies usually do not pick up your own tools.

• Who insures the works

  The contract says who arranges insurance for the job while it is being built: the client, the head contractor or you. It also shows who holds the risk until handover.

  Covers to raise: Contract works, Public liability

  What it does not decide: It does not decide whether the policy that exists covers your part, your materials, or your subcontractors. Check who is insured under it and what it leaves out.

General information, not legal advice. The full clause and the policy wording decide how it applies.

Check your certificate of currency against the contract

Clients and main contractors in this trade ask for:

• A certificate of currency from body corporates and property managers.
• A stated limit from main contractors.
• Evidence of cover on larger council contracts.

Check the insured name, limit and dates match the contract. The policy wording, not the certificate, decides what is covered. How a certificate of currency works

What each cover may pay, and what it usually does not

• Public liability

  May respond to

  Damage to floors, joinery or a neighbour's section caused by your work.

  Common trigger

  A leak or drain failure after you have left.

  Usually not covered

  The fix to the pipe or drain itself.

• Tools and equipment

  May respond to

  Pressers, cameras and threading gear.

  Common trigger

  Theft from the van, yard or a site.

  Usually not covered

  Wear and tear, and limits that apply to tools in transit.

• Business vehicles

  May respond to

  The van loaded with fittings and pipe.

  Common trigger

  A crash or theft of the van.

  Usually not covered

  Contents, unless the policy lists them.

• Statutory liability

  May respond to

  Defence costs if a regulator investigates or prosecutes, depending on the wording.

  Common trigger

  A regulator looks into a site incident.

  Usually not covered

  Health and safety fines, which can never be insured.

• Contract works

  May respond to

  New builds and large fit-outs before handover.

  Common trigger

  Damage to the works while you carry the risk.

  Usually not covered

  The cost of redoing faulty workmanship.

If something goes wrong

• A slow leak behind a vanity

  A fitting you installed seeps for weeks, swelling the floor and cabinetry before the owner spots it.

  May respond: Public liability

  Have ready

  • Photos and a moisture report
  • The job record and invoice
  • Notes on when the leak was found

• A drain fails after the section is built on

  A drain laid at the wrong fall backs up once a new slab and driveway are down.

  May respond: Public liability, Contract works

  Have ready

  • Drain plans and as-built records
  • Camera footage
  • The contract and certification paperwork

• Pressers and a drain camera are stolen

  The van is broken into at a job and the specialist gear goes with the threading kit.

  May respond: Tools and equipment, Business vehicles

  Have ready

  • The police report number
  • Purchase invoices and serial numbers
  • Photos of the van and its locks

Typical examples, not real claims. ACC deals with most injuries, so an injury claim is mostly about property and legal costs. Whether a claim is paid depends on the policy wording and the facts.

Licence versus insurance

A licence is not insurance.

What the licence or register says

• Regulates who may do restricted plumbing, gasfitting and drainlaying work.
• A standard licence has no insurance condition. The self-certification endorsement notice asks for appropriate insurance for the work certified.

Source: Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board

Related industries

• Insurance for painters
• Insurance for electricians
• Insurance for builders

Protect the people behind the business

Liability cover protects the business from claims. If you or a business partner could not work, or died, key person and shareholder cover can help keep the business, and your family, going.

• Key person cover, if the business relies on you
• Shareholder cover, so partners can buy each other out
• Income protection for owners and the self-employed

Sort your cover before the next contract asks

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you and asks whether you do plumbing, gasfitting or drainlaying, what is in the van, and what the contract you are quoting on says. If we refer you to another licensed firm, we tell you who first. Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver may receive a commission or referral payment if you buy.

A licensed Smiths adviser phones you. If we refer you to another licensed firm we tell you who first and how they are paid.