Plant and Equipment Insurance Packages for Construction Contractors

Damage, loss, or theft of expensive equipment and machinery could detonate a catastrophe for a construction contracting business because these items usually represent a very large investment. Choosing Contractors’ Plant & Equipment Insurance can be a like moving through a quagmire of complicated discussion and bewildering advice. You need to understand the options and limitations of the insurance and determine the best coverage for your construction business. Choosing an insurer that offers the best product to suit your needs can also lead to a maze of confusion. So, what do you do?

Use a Construction Insurance broker who offers expert advice, personal service, and down-to-earth guidance. Morgan Insurance will easily navigate you through the quagmire to ensure you choose the best and most suitable Plant & Equipment Construction Insurance.

How much would it cost to replace equipment?

This is an important fact to consider as there is a great deal of variance amongst policies regarding the sum insured. Some insurers will impose true market value as the sum insured. Others provide a replacement value for a limited period of time or offer depreciated value. Plant, machinery, equipment, and tools provisions can include hired items with options available for both on-site and off-site losses. Make sure you choose wisely so if there is an unfortunate event you’re not left short.

Mobile plant

Ensure coverage of any mobile plant is clarified as often it can be confusing. Policies for mobile plant are generic but still have to cover risks across the vast array of businesses that use mobile plant. This brings about a multitude of ‘off-the-shelf’ extensions available. The appropriate extensions for any business depend on the type and the requirements of that specific business.

Road registered mobile plant

If your plant is road registered (or conditionally registered), the core policy can cover ‘road risk’ in a similar way to motor vehicle policies. Some policies can also cover possible gaps in CTP (Compulsory Third Party liability) for road registered plant while on the road and off-road.

Public Liability & Product Liability – what’s the difference?

Public Liability and Product Liability insurance share similar characteristics. They both provide protection for amounts you may become legally liable to pay for compensation (damages), in respect of third party personal injury or property damage as a result of an incident connected to your business. The substantial difference between the two is public liability insurance provides cover for incidents that occur whilst your works are taking place and products liability insurance provides cover for incidents that happen after the works have been completed and handed over. If you only have public liability you’re most likely only insured for half of what you need. No two construction businesses are the same. Therefore, it’s important to consider the needs of your operation to make sure you are adequately covered.

Optional extensions

If your core policy insures the following items then the optional extensions will go beyond them.

Loss or damage to the plant
Road risk (where it exists)
Liability to third parties, including products liability
Business interruption risks

There are many generic extensions and confusingly, they are often labelled differently by each insurer and apply to each of the core covers listed above. Rest assured, a broker like Morgan Insurance can assist with risk identification in your business and walk you through the cover provided by each of the extensions offered by different insurers. This type of help is invaluable.

Exclusions, limitations & requirements

All core covers have exclusions, limitations or requirements against the risk they refer to. Morgan Insurance is happy to help you understand their implications. If you feel it’s necessary to modify any of these, a proposal can be put forward to the insurer for approval. Should any modifications manifest an unacceptably high or unmanageable risk to the insurer for a particular reason, they could possibly be varied. However, these exclusions, limitations, or requirements can usually be handled and/or reduced through good risk management.