Plant and equipment insurance: what it covers and who carries it

What the cover responds to

Accidental damage, theft, fire and overturning are the core perils, with transit between sites usually included. Breakdown is a different question and is generally excluded unless machinery breakdown cover is added.

Where plant is financed, the financier’s interest is usually noted on the policy, which affects who is paid when a claim is settled.

Hired in, hired out

Hiring plant in usually makes the hirer responsible for damage under the hire agreement, and the policy needs to be extended to match that contractual responsibility.

Hiring plant out reverses the question and adds a liability exposure for what the machine does in somebody else’s hands, which is not answered by the property section.

What people get wrong about it

The first error is assuming registration and compulsory third party make a machine covered. They deal with road use and injury, not damage to the machine.

The second is treating a hire agreement as though it transferred the risk to the owner. Most do the opposite.

The third is insuring the depreciated book value rather than what it would cost to replace the machine and get back to work.

Questions

Is hired plant covered by my policy?

Only if the policy has been extended for it. The hire agreement usually makes the hirer responsible for damage while the plant is in their possession, and matching the policy to that agreement is the step that gets missed.

Does the cover include breakdown?

Generally not. Mechanical and electrical breakdown is a separate class, and plant policies commonly exclude it while covering sudden accidental damage.

Clauses that turn up in this cover

• Interested party — A person or entity noted on a policy because they have a financial interest in the insured property or work.

Occupations that commonly carry it

Ordered by how central this cover is to each occupation in the graph. A pattern in the data, not a statement that any business is required to hold it.

• Crane operators — Operation and hire of mobile and tower cranes, usually with an operator supplied.
• Scaffold hire operators — Hire of scaffolding and temporary access equipment, with or without erection.
• Equipment hire operators — Dry and wet hire of tools, plant and access equipment to trades and the public.
• Earthmoving contractors — Excavation, bulk earthworks and site preparation using mobile plant.
• Concrete pumpers — Placement of concrete by boom and line pump, operating over occupied sites.
• Asphalt contractors — Surfacing and resurfacing of roads, car parks and driveways with hot-mix and bitumen.
• Civil contractors — Roads, drainage, subdivisions and utilities work, usually under principal-supplied contracts.
• Farmers — Primary production of crops and livestock, with plant, property and liability exposures.
• Agricultural contractors — Contract farm work such as sowing, baling and cultivation using own machinery.
• Shearing contractors — Contract shearing and wool handling, supplying teams to properties.
• Irrigation contractors — Design and installation of irrigation systems for farms and grounds.
• Spray contractors — Licensed application of agricultural chemicals, by ground rig and aerially.
• Harvest contractors — Contract harvesting with headers and haulage during a narrow seasonal window.
• Viticulturists — Vineyard operation and management, with crop, plant and visitor exposures.
• Demolition contractors — Licensed demolition and strip-out, including work adjacent to hazardous materials.
• Skip bin operators — Delivery and collection of waste bins to domestic and commercial sites.
• Waste contractors — Collection, transfer and disposal of commercial and construction waste.
• Scaffolders — Erection, alteration and dismantling of scaffolding, a high-risk licensed activity.
• Tow truck operators — Licensed towing and vehicle recovery, moving customer vehicles.
• Arborists — Tree assessment, pruning and removal, frequently near structures and services.
• Structural steel erectors — Erection of structural steel frames, portal frames and mezzanines.
• Landscapers — Hard and soft landscape construction, including retaining, paving and irrigation.
• Concreters — Formwork, placement and finishing of concrete slabs, driveways and structural elements.
• Riggers — High-risk licensed rigging and dogging work supporting lifts and structural erection.
• Pressure cleaners — High-pressure cleaning of driveways, facades, roofs and industrial surfaces.
• Event planners — Organisation and running of events in venues that belong to somebody else.
• Warehouse operators — Storage and handling of goods belonging to customers.
• Welders — Structural and fabrication welding, including hot work on site.
• Paving contractors — Laying pavers, kerbs and hard surfaces for driveways, paths and public areas.
• Asbestos removalists — Licensed removal and disposal of asbestos-containing material.
• Carpet cleaners — Steam and dry cleaning of carpets and upholstery in homes and commercial premises.
• Window cleaners — Internal and external window cleaning, including rope access and elevated work.
• Videographers — Video production and filming, on client sites and in public places.
• Commercial cleaners — Contract cleaning of offices, strata common property, construction sites and end-of-lease work.
• Gardeners — Grounds maintenance, mowing and garden care for domestic, strata and commercial clients.
• Formworkers — Construction and stripping of formwork for suspended slabs, walls and columns.
• Gutter cleaners — Clearing and maintaining roof gutters and downpipes, working at height.
• Removalists — Household and office removals, handling other people’s goods end to end.
• Gym operators — Operation of fitness facilities, including unstaffed access hours.
• Panel beaters — Collision repair and refinishing, working on vehicles owned by others.
• Photographers — Commissioned photography on location and in studio, carrying valuable equipment.
• Mechanics — Servicing and repair of vehicles in a workshop, in customers’ custody.
• Mobile mechanics — Vehicle servicing performed at the customer’s home or workplace.
• Physiotherapists — Registered physiotherapy assessment and treatment in clinic, home and hospital settings.

How it is evidenced

• Certificate of currency

Sources

• Moneysmart (ASIC) — General guidance on business insurance from the regulator’s consumer site. A starting point, not a definition of this cover.