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Mid-market insurance
Metal fabrication insurance is a combined programme covering a fabricator's premises, stock, plant, employees and products, plus design work where relevant. It matters because hot work, industrial disease and structural product failures drive large claims.
Part of: Manufacturing insurance
In short
A UK metal fabricator usually needs property and stock cover, business interruption, machinery breakdown, employers' liability of at least the £5 million statutory minimum, and public and products liability. Professional indemnity is often needed where the firm designs connections or details. HSE's 2019 change on mild steel welding fume, noise and vibration limits, and machinery rules for powered gates all shape the risk. Underwriters usually look for hot work controls, LEV and health surveillance records, and a clear split of structural and site work.
An established fabricator usually needs a combined programme built around five things: property and stock, business interruption, employers' liability, public and products liability, and cover for any design work. On top of that sit motor fleet, goods in transit, cyber and management liability. The weighting is different from general manufacturing because the shop floor carries hot work, heavy handling, noise and vibration, and because much of the output ends up built into someone else's structure or building.
The products side matters more than many owners expect. A fabricated balustrade, mezzanine, staircase, container or industrial door is a load bearing or safety critical item. If it fails, the claim can involve injury, damage to the building it sits in, and the cost of getting at it. The manufacturing insurance guide explains how these covers fit together; this page focuses on what is specific to sheet metal and structural fabrication.
| Exposure in a fabrication business | Cover that usually responds |
|---|---|
| Fire from welding, cutting or grinding sparks; powder coating ovens and booths | Property damage on the premises, subject to hot work conditions |
| Loss of profit while a press brake, laser or plasma table is rebuilt or replaced | Business interruption, plus machinery breakdown with loss of profits if bought |
| Sudden breakdown of a fibre laser, turret punch or press brake | Engineering or machinery breakdown cover |
| Steel and aluminium stock, work in progress, goods at galvanisers or coaters | Stock cover or stock throughput, with extensions for goods at third party premises |
| Noise induced hearing loss, hand arm vibration, welding fume illness, manual handling injury | Employers' liability |
| Injury or damage caused by a fabricated product after delivery or installation | Public and products liability |
| Damage to a client's building while installing on site | Public liability, with contract works cover for the works themselves |
| Design, connection details or calculations that prove wrong | Professional indemnity (see PI for manufacturers and suppliers) |
| Delivery vehicles, cranes and lorry loaders | Motor fleet, with plant or goods in transit cover |
| Ransomware hitting CAD/CAM files and nesting software | Cyber, including business interruption from a system outage |
| Health and safety prosecution or regulatory investigation of directors | D&O and management liability |
Several pieces of law sit directly behind the claims fabricators see.
Illustrative example 1: hot work fire. Sparks from grinding reach packaging stored near a booth late on a Friday. The fire damages the unit, the laser and finished stock. Property cover usually responds to the building, plant and stock, and business interruption to the lost gross profit, subject to the hot work and housekeeping conditions in the policy being met.
Illustrative example 2: industrial disease. A former fabricator brings a claim for noise induced hearing loss going back many years. Employers' liability usually responds, and the insurers on risk during each period of exposure may share the claim. Old policy records and noise assessments become important evidence.
Illustrative example 3: failed fixing. A fabricated walkway is installed at a client's warehouse and a bracket fails, injuring a worker and damaging racking. Products liability usually responds to the injury and the damage to other property, but not normally to the cost of replacing the defective walkway itself.
A strong submission answers the questions underwriters would otherwise price for. For a fabricator that usually means:
Review the programme before renewal and whenever the business changes shape. Common triggers for a growing fabricator are a move into structural or architectural work, a new laser or press line, a second site, starting to export, buying a competitor, or a main contractor asking for higher limits or a collateral warranty. Each can leave a gap between what the policy assumes and what the business does. An insurance programme review checks the sums insured, the declared activities and the contract terms together. The manufacturers insurance page also covers how combined policies are usually structured, and sister pages cover fasteners and industrial hardware and precision engineering.
Apex arranges insurance programmes for metal fabricators; a broker reads every enquiry.
Only if they design or give advice that a client relies on, for example connection details, load calculations or general arrangement drawings. Products and public liability usually cover injury and property damage but not normally a client's financial loss from a design mistake. If you take on design responsibility under a subcontract, PI is often a contract requirement too.
Employers' liability usually responds to claims from employees for illness caused at work, including hearing loss, vibration white finger and lung disease from welding fume, subject to the policy terms. Because these diseases develop over years, keep records of past policies, assessments and controls, as they matter when claims arrive.
HSE guidance says that a person who assembles a powered gate from components, or converts an existing manual gate, usually becomes the manufacturer under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008. That brings duties on conformity marking and the declaration of conformity, and it should be declared to your liability insurers.
It can be, but it is not automatic. Many policies cover stock at your own premises and need an extension, sometimes with a sublimit, for goods at third party premises or in transit. Tell your broker the typical and peak value held at each outside processor so the cover can be set correctly.
Send us your current schedules or renewal pack and we will review the whole programme and tell you plainly what to keep and what to change. No fee and no obligation. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Book a programme review Get a quoteApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
