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Electrical, HVAC & Plumbing
The Exposure Follows the Trade
Established electrical, HVAC and plumbing contractors are the second focus of the agency. Related specialty trades, including welding, concrete, excavation, mechanical and metal-building work, are reviewed here as well.
How the Work Runs
Specific Work, Specific Problems
A specialty trade contractor is usually working inside somebody else’s project, on somebody else’s schedule, under a subcontract written by somebody else. The insurance requirements come down from the general contractor, the classification depends on the specific work performed, and the biggest claims tend to come from the trade’s own hazard rather than from a generic job site accident.
Water inside a finished building. Hot work near combustibles. A trench. An energized panel. A crane pick. Installed equipment that has to work for years after the crew leaves. These are not interchangeable, and they should not be underwritten as if they were.
By Trade
What We Look At, Trade by Trade
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Electrical
Energized work, arc flash exposure, service upgrades in occupied buildings, fire following installation, low-voltage and controls work, and whether design or engineering input is being provided along with installation.
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HVAC
Rooftop units and the rigging to place them, refrigerant handling, work in occupied commercial buildings, service agreements, and the maintenance contract obligations that come with them.
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Plumbing
Water lines in finished space, backflow and drain work, gas piping, water heater and boiler installation, and losses that show up weeks after the work was done rather than the same day.
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Service fleets and payroll
Service vans and trucks driven by technicians, sometimes home overnight, and payroll split between installation, service and office classes. Both change as the company adds crews and service agreements.
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Welding and fabrication
Hot work permits, fire watch practice, shop versus field fabrication, structural work, and whether the company is fabricating a product it did not design.
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Concrete
Forms and shoring, pumping, placement and finishing, cold and hot weather practice, and the cost of remediating work that has already cured.
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Excavation and site work
Trenching and shoring, underground utility strikes and locate practice, soil and spoil handling, haul trucks, and the mobile equipment fleet that does most of the work.
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Mechanical
Process piping, equipment installation, plant and industrial settings, shutdown and turnaround work, and the contract requirements common to industrial owners.
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Metal-building contractors
Erection at height, crane and rigging operations, components in transit and staged on site, foundation and anchor bolt coordination with others, and the difference between supplying a building and erecting one.
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Mobile equipment
Skid steers, excavators, trenchers, lifts, welders and generators. Owned, leased, rented and borrowed items are treated differently, and the line between commercial auto and inland marine depends on the item and how it is used.
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Installation exposures
Materials and equipment being installed but not yet accepted, including items in transit, staged on site and installed but not commissioned. Installation coverage, builders risk and property in transit each address a different part of that.
Coverage That Usually Belongs Here
The Lines a Specialty Trade Program Is Built From
The operation
The trade’s own hazard, the crew performing it, and the liability that follows the installation.
- General liability including completed operations
- Workers’ compensation
- Umbrella and excess liability
- Professional and pollution liability where the scope calls for it
Equipment and vehicles
Service trucks, trailers and the mobile equipment the trade depends on.
- Commercial auto
- Hired and non-owned auto
- Inland marine and equipment floaters
- Rented and leased equipment
Work in place
What has been installed, what is staged, and what is still on the truck.
- Installation coverage
- Builders risk participation
- Property in transit
- Commercial property for the shop and yard
The organization and its people
Office exposures, and the benefits that keep licensed and experienced people in place.
- Cyber liability
- Employment practices liability
- Group health, life and voluntary benefits
- Key-person protection and buy-sell funding
Coverage availability, eligibility and terms are determined by the issuing carrier and subject to underwriting and application.
What We Ask For
Where the Review Starts
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The specific scopes performed
Described in the company’s own words rather than by class code, including anything new in the last year.
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Current policies
Declarations pages and the endorsements that matter for the contracts in force.
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Payroll by classification
Field, shop and office, including crews that cross between scopes.
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Equipment and vehicle schedules
Owned, leased, rented and borrowed, with values and how each item is used.
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Subcontract and requirement documents
What the general contractors above you require in writing.
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Loss history
Loss runs for the current and prior terms.
These are requested after a first conversation, not through the website, and we explain how they will be collected at that point.
Next Step
Tell Us What the Crews Actually Do
Trade programs get built from the specific scope of work, not from a category. Describe the work in plain terms and we will start there.
Direct line: 806-274-0382. Email: wendy@luxestoneinsadvisors.com.