Plumbing contractor insurance in West Virginia

West Virginia's two-layer plumbing licensing

West Virginia licenses the plumber and the business separately. The Division of Labor certifies individual plumbers, and the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board licenses contracting businesses with a plumbing classification.

The Division of Labor's plumber certification page lists exam and renewal steps.

Every plumber needs a card. Since January 1, 2009, anyone doing plumbing work must hold a state certification, whatever the job size. Each worker on a job needs a personal certification, and the employer needs a contractor license with a classification that covers plumbing.

The certification levels:

• Plumber in Training. Hasn't passed the journeyman exam yet. The fee is capped at $25.
• Journeyman Plumber. Passed the journeyman written exam with 70% or better.
• Master Plumber. Passed the master exam with 70% or better. You can't sit it until a year after passing the journeyman exam.

The business needs a contractor license above set dollar amounts. Under the Contractor Licensing Act, W. Va. Code 30-42, a plumbing contractor needs a license for jobs of $5,000 or more on residential work, or $25,000 or more on commercial work. The test is the total contract amount, not just the plumbing share.

Local building officials can't issue a permit to anyone who lacks a required contractor license. You show the license, or file an affidavit that you aren't subject to licensing.

That law was recodified from 21-11 to 30-42 in 2021, so older paperwork may cite the old chapter.

One carve-out matters to sewer crews. The certification law exempts work on water distribution or drainage lines outside a building's foundation walls, along with sewers and underground utilities. Lateral and site-utility work can be done without a plumber certification, though the contractor license thresholds still apply.

We found no liability insurance or license bond requirement in the certification law or in the Contractor Licensing Act sections we reviewed. Contracts of $10,000 or more must be in writing.

Workers' comp in West Virginia after the monopoly

The Legislature found a "long-term actuarial funding crisis" in the old state-run comp system. It moved the fund to an employers' mutual company that began operating January 1, 2006, and opened the state to private carriers on July 1, 2008.

The Insurance Commissioner now oversees comp; see its workers' compensation page.

One regular employee is enough. Every person, firm or corporation "regularly employing another person or persons" in the state must carry comp. Casual employers are exempt: no more than three employees, on temporary or sporadic work, for no more than 10 calendar days a quarter.

A plumbing shop with one steady helper is in.

Owners can step out. A partnership, sole proprietorship, association or corporation may choose not to cover its partners, its sole proprietor or its corporate officers and directors. An officer who also does ordinary employee work, in what the law calls a dual capacity, is treated as an employee. An LLC may exclude up to four people acting as managers, officers or members.

Going bare is a heavy bill. An uninsured employer is liable to injured workers for comp benefits and for common-law damages, and the Insurance Commissioner posts a default notice at the business. Unpaid amounts become a personal obligation and a lien on the employer's property, and the Commissioner can sue, seize property and seek injunctions.

Our page on workers' comp for plumbers explains how classes and payroll drive the premium. Get a quote for your plumbing business →

What makes West Virginia plumbing work risky to insure

Deliberate-intention lawsuits

W. Va. Code 23-4-2 lets an injured worker sue an employer for damages beyond comp when the employer acted with "deliberate intention." One way to prove it is to show a specific unsafe working condition that broke a safety statute or industry standard, which the employer actually knew about.

For plumbers, think open trenches, confined spaces and excavation on sewer laterals. A comp policy's second part, employer's liability, typically defends injury suits that fall outside the comp system. Ask exactly how your policy handles a deliberate-intention claim, because the answer turns on its wording.

Example scenario: A four-person shop replaces a sewer lateral in a narrow side yard. The trench runs seven feet deep, and the crew skips the trench box to beat the dark. A wall slumps and pins a helper's legs. Comp pays the medical bills and lost wages, and then the helper's lawyer files a deliberate-intention suit. How much protection the shop has left may come down to its employer's liability limit, any umbrella above it, and the policy wording.

Very old housing

About 31.2% of West Virginia's homes were built before 1960 and 14.6% before 1940. Nationally, those shares are 24.8% and 11.5%. In Wheeling, 41.2% of homes predate 1940.

Old galvanized and cast iron gives way when you work on it, and a leak that starts after you leave becomes a completed operations question. That's the part of general liability for damage that shows up after the job is done, within your policy's limits and exclusions.

Flash flooding in the hollows

FEMA's disaster DR-4273 covered severe storms, flooding, landslides and mudslides from June 22-29, 2016. It paid $42.4 million in individual assistance on 4,949 approved applications and $172.9 million in public assistance.

Floods wipe out basement mechanicals and create weeks of water heater and repipe work. They can also swamp vans and tool rooms, and loose tools usually need an inland marine floater because commercial auto covers only gear attached to the van.

Where we cover plumbers in West Virginia

What goes into plumber insurance prices in West Virginia

We can't post a fair West Virginia price without your numbers. Your price depends on payroll, revenue, claims history, the work you do and the limits you choose. These state factors shape it.

A surcharge set in statute. Private comp carriers collect a regulatory surcharge on premium. The statute set it at 5.5% for fiscal years starting July 1, 2008, with Insurance Commissioner review every five years. Carriers may also pass through an Uninsured Employer Fund assessment as a policy surcharge. Ask for the current figures on your quote.

Owner elections. Excluding partners, a sole proprietor, officers or up to four LLC managers or members takes their pay off the comp calculation.

Trench and sewer work. Shops that dig laterals carry more injury exposure, so expect questions about excavation, shoring and confined-space practices.

Housing age and floods. Repair-heavy shops in the river cities and shops with low-lying yards look different to an underwriter than a new-build shop in the Eastern Panhandle.

The plumber insurance cost guide has national figures by coverage. Get a quote for your plumbing business →

Our West Virginia license

Plumbing Insurance Group is a brand of The Allen Thomas Group, licensed in West Virginia (License #3004137444, NPN 7642818). We quote plumbing contractors across West Virginia, from the Eastern Panhandle to the Ohio River. See every state on our licenses page.