Welding & Boilermaker
Insurance Australiasorted.
Mobile welder, boilermaker or fabrication business? We help arrange insurance around the work you actually do — from workshop jobs and repairs through to site welding, shutdowns, structural steel and hot-work exposure. Cover built around the jobs you quote — not just the word "welder".
Is Your Current Cover Actually Fit for Hot Work?
- Welding, cutting and grinding disclosed properly — including hot work, fabrication, repairs and installation?
- Working on-site, at height or in confined areas? Where you work can affect insurer appetite and conditions.
- Tools, welders and generators valued at accurate replacement values?
- Subbies and labour hire declared upfront?
- Need a certificate for a builder or project? Send through the site requirements before the job starts.
- A broker who answers the phone when you call?
What is welding insurance?
Welding insurance is a package of business insurance policies arranged around the way welders, boilermakers and metal fabricators actually work in Australia. It typically combines public liability, tools & equipment cover, commercial motor and — depending on the work — contract works, personal accident and professional indemnity.
Why can't you just grab a generic tradie policy? Because welding is hot work — sparks, heat, flammable environments and other people's property in close range. Insurers treat welding, oxy cutting, grinding and brazing differently depending on where the work happens and what it's near. If the activity isn't accurately disclosed, or a hot-work condition isn't followed, a claim can be reduced or declined. Getting the disclosure right up front is most of the battle.
Welding Trades We Cover
If you're striking an arc in a workshop, off the back of a ute, or 20 metres up on structural steel — we've probably already helped sort cover for someone doing the same job.
Mobile Welders
Repairs, maintenance, call-outs, site jobs and welding from a ute or trailer setup.
Boilermakers
Maintenance, fabrication and installation across industrial, commercial and construction environments.
Metal Fabricators
Fabrication shops producing steel, aluminium, stainless or custom metal components.
Structural Steel
Steel erection, installation and welding work where site requirements and height exposure may apply.
Pipe & Stainless Work
Specialised work requiring a closer look at project scope, materials, location and contract requirements.
Shutdown & Labour Hire
Jobs involving subcontractors, labour hire, industrial sites or strict principal contractor paperwork.
What Does Welding Insurance Cover?
A proper welding insurance package looks at the big risk areas: third-party liability, the gear that earns you money, your vehicles, your income, and the projects you're responsible for. Miss one and you've got a hole in the bucket.
Public Liability
Can help protect against eligible third-party injury or property damage claims arising from your work. Limits can be selected around contract and site requirements — commonly $5M, $10M or $20M.
Public Liability InsuranceTools & Equipment
For welders, generators, hand tools, grinders and other gear that keeps you earning — subject to policy limits, storage conditions and insurer acceptance.
Tools InsuranceCommercial Motor & Trailer
Consider cover for the ute, van, trailer, fitted toolboxes and business vehicles you use to move equipment between jobs.
Commercial MotorPersonal Accident & Illness
If you are a sole trader, this can help provide financial support if an injury or illness leaves you unable to work, subject to the policy terms.
Contract Works
Worth considering where you are responsible for work in progress, materials or a project site — particularly on larger installation or construction jobs.
Contract Works InsuranceWorkers Comp & PI
Workers compensation may be required where you employ people. Professional indemnity may be relevant where you provide design, engineering or specification advice.
What Actually Costs Welders Money
These are the kinds of incidents that generate claims for welding and fabrication businesses in Australia. Dollar figures are illustrative examples only — actual claims vary widely.
Sparks Start a Fire on a Customer's Site
Hot work near combustibles is the classic welding claim. A stray spark into insulation, packaging or dry grass can turn a two-hour repair job into a structure fire — and cover often depends on hot-work precautions being followed.
Grinding Sparks Damage Nearby Vehicles
Hot metal particles embedding in car paint and glass near a worksite. Small per-vehicle cost, but multiply it across a car park and the bill climbs fast.
Welder & Tools Stolen From the Ute
Multi-process welders, generators and hand tools stolen from a vehicle, trailer or site overnight. Theft cover usually comes with storage and security conditions worth understanding before you rely on it.
Failed Weld on a Structural Component
A fabricated or site-welded component fails after handover, causing property damage. Whether and how a policy responds depends heavily on the cover arranged and the circumstances — a big reason to disclose structural work.
Injury to Someone Near Your Work Area
Arc flash, hot slag, dropped steel or trip hazards around a mobile welding setup injuring a bystander or another worker on site. Liability claims involving injury escalate quickly once lawyers get involved.
Damage to the Thing You're Working On
Heat distortion or damage to a customer's machinery, tank or structure during repair work. Policies treat "property being worked upon" differently — another clause worth reading before a claim, not after.
Public Liability for Welders
Public liability is the backbone of welding insurance. For hot-work trades, the detail matters more than the limit — insurers want to know exactly what you weld, where, and near what. Tell us the full picture and we'll help arrange cover that lines up with it.
- ✓ Tell us the activity — MIG, TIG, stick welding, oxy cutting, grinding, brazing, gouging, fabrication, repairs and installation work.
- ✓ Tell us the location — workshop, construction site, customer premises, factory, shutdown, commercial project or remote location.
- ✓ Tell us the exposure — heights, confined spaces, structural steel, marine environments, pressure systems, subcontractors or labour hire.
What Most Brokers Forget to Mention
Plenty of welders assume "public liability" automatically means "hot work covered". It doesn't always work that way.
Policies for welding trades commonly include hot-work conditions — things like keeping a suitable extinguisher within reach, using fire blankets or screens, clearing combustibles, and following hot-work permit procedures on commercial sites. Welding away from your own premises can carry its own conditions or exclusions too.
We walk you through the fine print before a claim — not after.
Builders, principal contractors and commercial projects commonly require $5M, $10M or $20M public liability before you start. Send us the contract or site request and we'll help you work through it — same-day certificates available for eligible existing policies.
Three Steps and You're Back on the Tools
Tell Us What You Do
Give us the basics: your welding work, where you operate, turnover, staff, subcontractors and the cover you need.
We Review Your Options
We look at insurers that may suit your work and explain the key information, limits and conditions before you decide.
Get Back on the Tools
Once your policy is accepted and in place, we can help with your certificate and ongoing insurance questions.
What We Need to Quote You Properly
The more accurate the picture, the better the outcome — on price, on conditions, and most importantly at claim time. Here's what to have handy.
- ✓ Your main welding, cutting and fabrication activities
- ✓ Whether you work from a workshop, mobile setup or on-site
- ✓ Estimated annual turnover and staff numbers
- ✓ Subcontractor and labour-hire payments
- ✓ Details and values of expensive equipment
- ✓ Any contract, site or Certificate of Currency requirements
- ✓ Work at height, shutdown, confined-space or specialist exposure
- ✓ Claims history and current insurer details, where applicable
Why Disclosure Beats a Cheap Premium
The cheapest welding policy is the one that doesn't respond when you need it.
If structural work, site welding, heights or shutdowns aren't disclosed, an insurer can rely on that at claim time. Accurately described work costs a little more up front and a lot less on the day something goes sideways.
Most welding businesses combine Public Liability Insurance, Tools Insurance, Commercial Motor Insurance and, where relevant, Contract Works Insurance. Need proof of cover? We can arrange a Certificate of Currency for eligible policies.
What Does Welding Insurance Actually Cost?
There's no flat rate for welding insurance — it depends on your activities, where you work, turnover, staff, subbies and equipment values. But here's an indicative guide based on typical Aussie welding businesses.
The One-Man Band
- $5M–$20M public liability options
- Tools & equipment cover
- Personal accident options
- Same-day certificates available*
The Growing Welding Mob
- $10M–$20M public liability
- Workshop & mobile work combined
- Tools, welders & generators scheduled
- Subcontractor considerations
- Commercial vehicle options
The Full Fabrication Outfit
- $20M public liability
- Contract works where relevant
- Full equipment schedule
- Structural, site & shutdown work
- Management liability options
Why Welders Choose Us
We're not a comparison website. We're not a call centre. We're Aussie brokers who specialise in tradie insurance — so we know what's actually going to bite you on a claim.
Hot-Work Literate
We understand hot-work conditions, away-from-premises work, height and confined-space exposure, and what insurers actually need disclosed. Not just ticking boxes.
Conditions Explained
Extinguisher requirements, storage conditions on tools, structural work questions — we walk you through the fine print before a claim, so you know exactly where you stand.
Same-Day Certificates*
Need a certificate of currency for a builder or site starting Monday? For eligible existing policies, we'll sort it — most COCs issued within hours during business days.
Real Brokers, Real Phones
No script-reading call centre. You deal with an actual Aussie broker who knows the difference between MIG and TIG and what a shutdown roster looks like.
What Welders Say About Us
⚠️ Placeholder testimonials — swap these for real ones with names, trades and suburbs. Real reviews convert best and help with local SEO.
Had my whole rig stolen off the trailer — welder, gen, the lot. ProTrades had already made sure everything was listed at proper replacement values. Claim went through, back working within the fortnight.
Picked up a shutdown contract and the principal wanted $20M and a certificate with specific wording by Friday. One call and it was sorted. Saved the job.
My old policy had me down as "general engineering". Turns out site welding and heights weren't even disclosed. ProTrades picked it up in the first phone call and fixed it properly. Proper legends.
Reviewed by Shivonne Martin
Shivonne has over 18 years specialising in trade insurance across Australia, including welding, boilermaking and metal fabrication businesses from sole-trader mobile welders through to multi-site fabrication operations. This page was last reviewed and updated on the date below to ensure technical accuracy and current market conditions.
Welding Insurance FAQs
The right limit depends on your contracts, clients and job sites. Builders, principal contractors and commercial projects may specify a required limit — commonly $5 million, $10 million or $20 million. Send us the contract or site request and we'll help you work through it.
Never assume they are. Welding, oxy cutting, grinding and other hot-work activities should be accurately disclosed when arranging cover. Acceptance, exclusions, conditions and limits can vary by insurer and policy.
Tools and equipment cover may be available for items such as welders, generators, grinders and hand tools. You will need realistic replacement values, and the insurer may have conditions around storage, vehicles, trailers or unattended equipment. See our Tools Insurance page for more.
The cover arrangement may differ because mobile work can involve customer sites, travel, equipment in vehicles or trailers and changing job conditions. A workshop business may have different premises, stock, product and equipment exposures. Tell us both where and how you work.
Yes. Once cover is accepted and in place, we can assist with Certificates of Currency. Let us know early if a builder, council, mine site or principal contractor has specific wording or a deadline.
Tell us upfront. Insurers generally need to understand who works for your business, what they do and how they are engaged. The treatment of employees, subcontractors and labour hire can vary between policies, so it is important to get it right before the policy starts.
These exposures need to be disclosed clearly. We can check available options based on the job type, height, work location, safety procedures and the full scope of the welding work.
Premiums vary based on the welding activities performed, where you work, turnover, staff and subcontractor use, and equipment values. A sole trader mobile welder may see public liability premiums starting from around $900–$2,000 per year, while larger fabrication operations with site work, staff and plant typically pay more. The only way to get a real number is a quote based on your actual work.
Fast Quotes. Real Cover.
No Call Centres.
Whether you're running beads in a fab shop, welding off the back of a ute or flying out for a shutdown — we'll help arrange cover built around the work you actually do. Get a proper quote in writing from a real Aussie broker.