Plumber Insurance in Canada

Plumbing is the trade closest to the most destructive peril in a building. A compression fitting that lets go behind a finished wall, a supply line not tightened under a sink, or a solder joint that fails on a top-floor condo unit can damage every ceiling and floor below it. The water runs until someone notices. By then the claim covers drywall, flooring, cabinets, contents and often the cost of people living somewhere else.

Those claims rarely happen while you are on site. They arrive weeks or months later, after the invoice is paid. That makes completed operations the centre of a plumber's commercial general liability policy. Plumbing sits inside our wider construction and contractors program, and this guide covers what is specific to the trade.

A plumbing program is built around liability, then filled out with the cover that keeps the van rolling and the tools working.

The scenarios below are hypothetical, but they reflect the losses plumbing underwriters ask about on every application.

Many plumbing claims start with someone else's insurer. The homeowner or condo corporation claims on its own property policy, the insurer pays, and then it pursues you to recover what it paid. This is subrogation, and it is why a plumber can face a claim from a company they never dealt with. Pass any letter from an insurer or adjuster to us the day it arrives, and do not admit fault or agree to pay on site.

This is the line that decides most plumbing claims, and the one plumbers most often misread. A CGL policy is written to pay for damage your work causes to other property. It is not written to pay for fixing your own work. Insurers do this through exclusions for damage to "your work" and "your product", and for the cost of repairing or replacing them.

In practice, if a fitting you installed fails and floods a basement, the policy can respond to the ruined drywall, flooring and contents. The cost of the fitting, and the labour to redo your own installation, usually stays with you. Opening walls to find and reach the leak sits in a grey area that depends on the wording. Our guided tour of the CGL policy wording explains how these exclusions are built.

Two practical points follow. Keep warranty reserves for callbacks, because they are a cost of doing business, not an insurance claim. And report every water loss promptly, even if you think it is minor, because late notice can complicate a claim that would otherwise be covered.

In Ontario, Plumber (trade code 306A) is a compulsory trade on Skilled Trades Ontario's list. Skilled Trades Ontario says compulsory trades require you to be a registered apprentice, a provisional certificate of qualification holder, or a certificate of qualification holder to legally work in the trade. An insurer will ask who on your crew holds what, and unlicensed work in a compulsory trade is a fact that can come up in a claim. Other provinces run their own apprenticeship and certification systems, so check with your provincial apprenticeship authority.

Gas fitting, backflow prevention testing and some municipal permits are regulated separately from the plumbing trade. Requirements vary by province and municipality, so confirm them with your regulator and your municipality before offering the service, and list each service on your insurance application.

Workers' compensation is the other mandatory layer. In Ontario, the WSIB says people who own or run a construction business, with or without employees, must have coverage, including independent operators and sole proprietors. A principal hiring you for construction work must obtain a WSIB clearance certificate before work begins. Our post WSIB is not enough sets out what workers' compensation leaves for your liability policies to cover.

Insurers price plumbing differently depending on where the work happens, so describe your mix precisely.

On CCDC contracts, the CCDC 41 insurance schedule sets general liability at $10,000,000 per occurrence for the contractor, and many general contractors pass similar terms down to mechanical subcontractors. An umbrella is the usual way to reach that limit. Builders and property managers write their own requirements, so read every subcontract.

A plumbing business runs out of its vans. Press tools, drain cameras, jetters, pipe threaders and stock fittings can add up to more than the vehicle itself, and they sit in a driveway or a parking lot every night. A standard commercial property policy covers contents at your shop, not tools on the road. A tools and equipment floater does, within its conditions.

In Ontario, the Limitations Act, 2002 sets a basic two-year limitation period that runs from when the claim is discovered, and an ultimate period of 15 years from the act or omission. A slow leak found years after the job can still produce a claim. Most Canadian CGL is written on an occurrence basis, so the policy in force when the damage occurred responds. Keep copies of every policy and every job record, because you may need to prove which policy was in force.

If you sell or close the business, ask how completed-operations claims on past jobs will be handled before you cancel. Other provinces set their own limitation periods.

Plumbing CGL is usually rated on payroll or revenue. The underwriter then adjusts for:

Tools and auto premiums follow your values and vehicles. Marsh's Global Insurance Market Index put overall Canadian commercial rates down 6% in the third quarter of 2026, but plumbing is priced more on its own water loss record than on the market.

The deductible is a real lever. Some insurers apply a higher deductible to water damage claims than to other losses, so compare it, not just the premium. A plumber with a clean five-year record, documented pressure testing and written subcontracts is a very different risk from one without, and the submission should show it. Get a quote with your revenue split by type of work and a list of your largest contracts.