INSURING YOUR HEAT WORK CORRECTLY
Use of heat can affect your premiums and excesses depending on your trade and conditions you make to mitigate any risk involved. In this blog we will explain the different types of heat work you will need to declare in order to arrange adequate cover for your business.
When arranging cover for your business, whether it’s online, through a broker or direct, you will need to declare:
- Electric, oxy-acetylene, welding or flame cutting equipment
- Blow lamps, blow torches or hot air guns
- Tar, bitumen or asphalt heaters
- Angle grinders
- Any other tools that require, use or produce open flames, heat or sparks
Once you have declared your use of heat, you will still be expected to comply with safety requirements or ‘warranties’ issued by the insurer to ensure you’re doing all you can to limit the risk of an incident. These conditions can include:
- Moving combustible materials away from the heat work
- Fire extinguishers, serviced to current standards, should be ready for immediate use
- Operation of heat equipment in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions
- Heat equipment should not be left unattended
- After heat work, the individual or team should have a safety check for signs of fire or combustion
- Adequate ventilation should be available
- No smoking near heat work
As always, it’s important to check the wording of your policy to make sure you’re adequately covered, and that you’re complying with any conditions issued by your insurer.