Income Protection for Plumbers

Plumbing wrecks backs, and it does it slowly enough that most plumbers do not see it coming.

Lifting a cylinder up a loft ladder, kneeling under a sink for an hour, carrying a boiler in through a side gate, working bent double in an airing cupboard. None of it is dramatic and all of it accumulates, which is why back trouble is the most common reason a plumber stops working rather than any single accident.

Income protection pays a monthly amount while you cannot work. For a self-employed plumber that is the difference between a bad few months and a genuine problem.

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The short answer

Plumbing is heavy, awkward work done in small spaces, and the injury that stops it is almost always a back. A self-employed plumber gets no sick pay, so income protection is what replaces the money while you recover. The two things worth getting right are the deferred period, because plumbers often have a few weeks of cash flow but not months, and whether the policy judges you on plumbing specifically rather than on any work at all.

What actually stops you working

Back injury, by a distance the most common, usually from lifting cylinders and boilers rather than one dramatic moment
Knee damage from kneeling on hard floors day after day
Shoulder injuries from working above your head under sinks and in cupboards
Scalds and burns from hot systems, and the hand injuries that follow
Hand and wrist problems from pipe work and repetitive grip
Legionella and other exposure when working on systems that have stood

Sick pay, if you get any

Nothing, if you are self-employed. The last invoice you raised is the last money that arrives. Plumbers are often better placed than most trades in the first fortnight because payment terms mean money is still landing from completed jobs, which is exactly why the deferred period is worth thinking about rather than defaulting.

Why the definition of incapacity decides it

A plumber with a damaged back can usually sit at a desk, which is the whole problem with an any occupation definition. If the policy only pays when you cannot do any job, a back injury that permanently stops you kneeling under a sink may not qualify, even though it has certainly ended your plumbing. An own occupation definition asks whether you can plumb, which is the question that actually matters to your income.

Backs Go Gradually, And That Changes The Claim

Most trades insure against an accident. The thing that stops plumbers is usually wear.

A back that has carried cylinders up loft ladders for fifteen years does not fail on a particular Tuesday. It gets worse, you work through it, you take painkillers, you have a few days off, and eventually a consultant tells you to stop lifting. That is a genuine claim and it is also a messier one than a broken leg, because the insurer will look at when the problem started and what was declared when the policy was taken out.

Which is the argument for sorting cover early and answering the medical questions carefully. A back you mentioned honestly at application is a back the insurer has already priced. A back you did not mention is the first thing they will find.

The Deferred Period Is A Cash Flow Decision, Not A Price One

Plumbers get offered the same deferred period choices as everybody else and often pick on price, which is the wrong way round for this trade.

The question is not which is cheapest, it is how long you could actually go. Work out what is still due to land from completed jobs, what is in the bank, and what the house costs each month. Plumbers frequently find they are fine for three or four weeks on money already invoiced and in real trouble by week eight, which points at a particular deferred period rather than the longest one the quote offers.

That is a conversation worth having with the figures in front of you. How the deferred period works mechanically is on our income protection page; what it should be for you depends on your own numbers.

If you stop

Emergency work is the part that disappears fastest. A plumber who cannot attend a leak at eight in the evening loses the customer permanently, because somebody else came out and now has the relationship. Planned work can be rescheduled; call-outs cannot, and they are often the most profitable part of the week.

Common questions

What happens to a self-employed plumber who hurts their back?+

Financially, the work stops and so does the money, because there is no sick pay for the self-employed. Back injuries are the most common reason plumbers stop working, usually from years of lifting cylinders and boilers rather than one accident. Income protection pays a monthly amount while you cannot work, which is what covers the mortgage while you recover or retrain. The deferred period you choose decides how long you wait before it starts.

Should a plumber take a short or long deferred period?+

Work it out from your cash flow rather than from the price. Plumbers often have money still landing from completed jobs for the first few weeks, then nothing, so the honest question is how many weeks you could cover from what is already invoiced and in the bank. A longer deferred period costs less each month, and it is only a saving if you can genuinely survive that long without the benefit starting.

Is a bad back covered if it has been building for years?+

It depends on what was declared and when. An insurer will look at when the problem started, so a back you mentioned honestly at application is a back they have already considered and priced, while one that first appears in your medical records after you claim is the first thing they will find. That is the argument for arranging cover before a niggle becomes a diagnosis, and for answering the medical questions carefully rather than hopefully.

Does income protection cover me for gas work specifically?+

Income protection covers you, not a particular type of work, but insurers do ask what your job involves and gas registration is one of the things they ask about. The important part is how the policy defines being unable to work: if it is written on your own occupation, the question at claim is whether you can do plumbing and heating work, which is the question that matters. Tell us exactly what your week looks like and we will put that to the insurers.

Can I get cover if I do emergency call-outs?+

Yes, and it is worth declaring because out of hours work, driving at night and attending unknown properties are things insurers ask about. Call-out work also tends to be the part of a plumber's income that vanishes first when they stop, since a customer with a leak at eight in the evening will call somebody else and stay with them. That makes it an argument for cover rather than against it.

Cover that often goes with this

The gaps we most often find sitting next to this one.