Personal Accident Insurance for plumbers

Introducing Personal Accident Insurance

Do you have your own plumbing business? Whether you work alone or as part of a team, it wouldn't surprise us to hear that there are many things that worry you throughout the day. From having enough work booked in, customers not paying on time or even the rising costs of your everyday materials - owning a business can be hard and every gig presents different challenges.

So, whether you're finding your way around yet another U-bend, or you're on a bigger job installing a block of new facilities, there are plenty of things that can go wrong on site. That's fine, it happens to the best of us, and hopefully you have your Public Liability Insurance in place to help cover the costs of any potential damages or injuries caused to third parties, but have you thought about what would happen if you were injured and forced off the tools?

Many plumbing businesses operate independently, meaning they might lack the additional support available for bigger firms. And days off the tools are likely to hit you in the pocket. In situations like this, having the correct safeguards in place to protect your finances could be vital.

Personal accident insurance – the basics

Whilst working in the trades carries its own risks, Personal Accident Insurance also covers injuries that occur outside of work. So, whether you’ve slipped whilst working on site or are on the end of a bad tackle playing for your local Sunday league team and break your leg, our Personal Accident Insurance will pay out a lump-sum up to your chosen level of cover.

Being out of work can understandably lead to worry about your finances. Whether we’re in work or not, mortgages and rent still need to be paid, the food shop still needs covering and the cost of council tax is forever only going up. Fortunately, this is where Personal Accident Insurance comes into effect. That lump-sum payment can help keep you afloat during your time off the tools. 

Rhino offers three levels of cover, meaning that it can be tailored to your needs, and unlike some of our other policies, it can be purchased as a stand-alone product and not alongside Public Liability Insurance.

There are subtle differences, but it’s important not to confuse Personal Accident Insurance with Income Protection Insurance. More on that here.

Potential Accidents (injury, mistakes and scenarios)

We get it, you’ve been plumbing for years and have barely had a scrape, but you’re getting older, your bodies starting to creak a little more than it used to and isn’t quite as robust as it once was. One day, you’re on site, and another tradesperson has left their tool bag out, you stumble over it and fall to the ground. Your shoulder takes the weight of your fall. You can’t move it. You’re in agony. The pain has been there for days, and you need to see a specialist to get to the bottom of the problem. It turns out that it’s a bad injury, that’s going to take time to heal, and you’re signed off work for the foreseeable.

Fortunately, you have Personal Accident Insurance in place for moments like this, and the lump-sum payout you receive helps keep things at home ticking over whilst you’re on the mend.

Accidents happen on site, no matter how experienced you are. Power tools, as the name states are, well, powerful - certainly more so than what any human would physically be able to do - and can nip off a finger or thumb in no time. And whilst we hope that you only hear water running smoothly through the pipes you’ve installed, leaks and water damage can be prevalent for plumbers as well, and slips can frequently lead to injury. Trust us, we’ve dealt with the claims.

And that’s just dealing with the on-site hazards. What about outside of work? Well, Personal Accident Insurance covers you outside of the 9-5 (or 8 til late as we’re often reminded on the phones!) as well. So, if you find yourself in a car accident and are hospitalised, having a Personal Accident policy in place can help make ends meet as well.

Why do you need the insurance?

Put simply, if you can’t work, you can’t earn. And as with all insurance policies, they’re there to protect you for when you need it most.

Rhino ran a survey in 2024 where we asked our customers how long they could afford to be off work. Almost half said that they’d run out of money in 1-3 months, and a quarter of those would run out in less than two weeks.

The only thing that might hurt more than your injury is your wallet. Workplace injuries can be expensive, so if you’re a sole trader or run a small plumbing business, it's important to know the financial risks you could be exposed to.

The main cause of financial loss during recovery is your limited ability to perform your job. Even if your recovery period doesn’t seem like a long time, the number of jobs missed out on adds up fast.

In addition, you cannot put the cost of running your business on hold when you’re unable to work. You still need to pay for your vehicle, staff as well as your usual business overheads. Knowing that you’re covered by the right insurance can help keep your business afloat.

Rhino can provide support when you need it.

Rhino has supported UK plumbers with affordable personal accident insurance for years. At Rhino, Personal Accident Cover is typically taken alongside our core Public Liability Insurance (although it can be purchased separately), giving plumbers protection should they cause damage to property or injure a third party and support if they’re injured and can’t work.

Personal Accident Insurance starts at less than £8 per month can be quoted online in just a few minutes.

If you’d rather talk it through or have any questions, our team is on hand - just call 0116 243 7904.

Interested in learning more about our personal accident insurance cover? We recommend checking out the following:

What is personal accident insurance?

Why you should consider personal accident insurance.

The difference between personal accident insurance and income protection.