Income Protection for Steel Erectors

Steel erecting is the part of a frame nobody watches and everybody depends on.

Men walk steel, connect it while it is still on the hook, and work in wind at heights where the weather decides the day. The frame is not a safe platform until it is complete, which is the whole point: you are building the thing that would have protected you.

Income protection pays a monthly amount while you cannot work. For an erector it is worth arranging with a long absence in mind rather than a short one.

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The short answer

Steel erecting puts people at height on narrow steel in weather, connecting loads that are being craned in above them. The injuries are falls and crush rather than wear, and a self-employed erector has no sick pay. Income protection replaces a monthly amount while you cannot work, and this is a trade where the benefit period deserves thought, because the realistic bad outcome is long.

What actually stops you working

Falls, which at this height are rarely minor
Crush injuries from steel being landed or swung while being connected
Hand and finger injuries from bolting up and from pinch points between members
Back and shoulder damage from manoeuvring steel into position by hand
Hand-arm vibration from impact wrenches used all day
Cold and wind exposure, which makes everything above more likely

Sick pay, if you get any

None for the self-employed, which most erecting gangs are. Work is priced by the job or the tonne, so there is nothing owing once you stop and no retainer. Employed erectors with a fabricator may have a scheme, which is worth checking rather than assuming.

Why the definition of incapacity decides it

There is no reduced version of walking steel. Somebody with a repaired shoulder or a reconstructed knee may be fit for most work and must not be at height on a frame, because the margin for a stumble is nil. An any occupation definition will find them fit; an own occupation definition asks whether they can erect steel, which is the only question their income cares about.

You Are Building The Thing That Would Have Caught You

This is the specific feature of steel erecting that makes it different from other work at height.

A scaffolder builds a platform and then uses it. A roofer works on a completed structure. An erector is walking and connecting a frame that does not yet exist as a safe place to stand, which is why fall arrest, exclusion zones and lift planning carry so much weight in this trade and why a lapse costs so much.

For insurance that matters because the injuries are sudden and severe rather than cumulative. The question to plan for is not six weeks with a bad back, it is what happens if the answer is a year, or permanent. That points at the benefit period and at holding a lump sum alongside.

Weather Decides The Week

Steel erecting stops when the wind gets up, and that shapes the finances of the trade in a way worth understanding.

Lifting cannot happen safely above certain wind speeds, so a windy fortnight is unpaid for a gang on price. Erectors are therefore used to absorbing lost days and tend to have thinner reserves than their day rate suggests, because the money has already covered the days the crane could not lift.

That is an argument for a deferred period set against what you could genuinely survive in a bad month rather than a good one, and for not assuming a high rate means a deep cushion.

If you stop

A gang that loses a connector cannot simply work slower, because the lift plan assumes a certain number of people in certain positions. They bring somebody in, and that person is in your place for the rest of the contract.

A Gang Is Not A Business

Erecting gangs are groups of self-employed people with tools, and there is nothing to inherit.

No premises, no stock, no customer list that belongs to anybody in particular. The work comes from fabricators and main contractors who will use the next gang on their list. If the money stops, it stops completely and immediately.

So life cover carries the whole household, and given the injury profile of this trade it is worth arranging early and at a figure that reflects the mortgage rather than what felt affordable at the time.

Capital For A Trade You Cannot Go Back To

The realistic worst case here is not an illness, it is an injury that leaves somebody able to work and unable to work at height.

Anything affecting balance, grip or confidence ends steel erecting permanently, and plenty of people who recover physically never go back up. Monthly cover is designed to bridge an absence; it generally stops when you are assessed as fit for some work, which may be years before you could earn comparable money.

A lump sum funds the change: moving to fabrication, inspection or supervision, or clearing debt so a lower paid role works. For this trade it is worth looking at alongside the monthly cover rather than after it.

Common questions

Do steel erectors get sick pay?+

Not if you are self-employed, which most erecting gangs are. Work is priced by the job or the tonne, so there is nothing owing once you stop turning up and no retainer holding your place. Employed erectors working directly for a fabricator may have an occupational scheme, so check your own position before deciding how long you could wait before cover starts.

Why does the incapacity definition matter for steel work?+

Because there is no reduced version of walking steel. Somebody with a repaired shoulder or knee may be fit for most jobs and must not be at height on a frame, where the margin for a stumble is nil. An any occupation policy will find that person fit for work; an own occupation policy asks whether they can erect steel, which is the only question their income depends on.

How long should an erector insure for?+

Longer than you might in a wear-and-tear trade. The injuries here are sudden and severe rather than cumulative, so the scenario to plan for is not six weeks with a bad back, it is a year or a permanent change. That points at a longer benefit period and at holding a lump sum alongside the monthly cover, which we can price for you both ways.

Does bad weather affect what cover I need?+

It affects the deferred period more than the amount. Lifting stops above certain wind speeds, so a windy fortnight is unpaid for a gang on price, and erectors tend to have thinner reserves than their day rate suggests because the money has already absorbed those days. Set the wait against what you could survive in a bad month rather than a good one.

Can I get cover with a previous fall or joint injury?+

Often yes, though it may be excluded or the premium loaded, and insurers differ considerably on previous injuries in height trades. Declare it accurately: an old injury disclosed at application has been considered and priced, while one appearing for the first time in your records at claim becomes the focus of the investigation.

Cover that often goes with this

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