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COMBINED INSURANCE FOR INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURERS
Why a “Combined Package” Works Better for Industrial Equipment Manufacturing
Industrial equipment manufacturers don’t just have a “factory risk”. You often have a blended exposure: high-value premises and stock, machinery downtime, employers’ injury risk, public & products liability, and frequently design/specification responsibility plus installation / commissioning at customer sites.
When these are bought as disconnected policies, gaps creep in: conflicting definitions, mismatched territories, unclear treatment of contractors, ambiguous cover for working away, and limits that don’t match real contract requirements. A combined programme lets you align the story and the wordings — which is exactly what underwriters want when the severity potential is high.
Insure24 builds combined programmes for manufacturers of conveyors, handling systems, plant and machinery, hydraulic/pneumatic equipment, industrial automation, fabricated assemblies, OEM components, and engineered installations — designed to support production continuity and protect the balance sheet if something goes wrong.
1) What’s Typically Included in a Combined Package
A combined industrial equipment manufacturing insurance package bundles your core covers under one coordinated programme. The exact sections depend on your activities, contracts and risk profile — but most programmes include: property & business interruption, employers’ liability, public & products liability, and often professional indemnity where design/spec duties exist. Many manufacturers also add engineering breakdown, goods in transit and cyber.
The benefit is not just convenience. It’s that the insurer (or lead underwriter) can evaluate your operation as one coherent risk, rather than pricing each section in a vacuum with “worst case assumptions”.
Core covers manufacturers usually need
- Property (Buildings/Contents/Plant/Stock) – fire, flood, storm, escape of water, theft and other insured perils.
- Business Interruption (BI) – protects gross profit / revenue after an insured loss disrupts production.
- Employers’ Liability (EL) – injury/illness claims by employees (and often labour-only workers).
- Public & Products Liability – third-party injury/property damage arising from your premises, operations or products.
- Professional Indemnity (Design/Spec) – where you design, specify, advise or take responsibility for performance/safety.
Practical tip: for industrial equipment, underwriters focus on severity (what happens if a failure injures someone or stops a production line). A strong QA/testing story and clear contract scope makes a material difference.
Common add-ons that often matter
- Engineering / Machinery Breakdown – sudden internal failure of plant and equipment (not just fire/flood).
- Machinery Business Interruption – downtime losses specifically triggered by breakdown.
- Goods in Transit – damage/theft in transit, including high-value components and finished units.
- Cyber – ransomware, data breaches, operational disruption and extortion risks.
- Tools / Plant / Hired-in Equipment – if you use specialist kit off-site or hire plant for installs.
- Environmental / Pollution – if your processes involve oils, coolants, fuels, chemicals or waste exposures.
We’ll recommend only what matches your real exposures — and we’ll explain what each section is actually doing, so you can defend it internally.
2) The Big “Gap Areas” a Combined Programme Helps You Avoid
In manufacturing, the biggest insurance problems are rarely “we forgot to buy a policy”. They’re usually wording gaps, unclear responsibility, or misaligned limits that only appear when there’s a serious claim. A combined programme makes it easier to align the moving parts.
Where separate policies commonly misalign
- Installation / commissioning – are you “manufacturing only” or also doing on-site works?
- Products vs completed operations – does liability cover respond after handover and once installed?
- Design responsibility – is a loss “product failure” or “design/spec error” (PL vs PI trigger)?
- Territory/jurisdiction – UK only, EU, worldwide exports, US/Canada exposures.
- Contractors & labour-only staff – do EL/PL definitions match your real workforce model?
- Property vs breakdown – fire/flood is one thing; internal mechanical failure is another.
Practical tip: if you export, fit overseas, or ship high-value units, we’ll check that territories and jurisdictions align across PL/Products, Transit and PI.
How Insure24 “stitches” the programme together
- We map your workflow: design → manufacture → test → ship → install → service and match cover to each stage.
- We align key definitions across sections (products, work away, contractors, heat work, lifting operations).
- We sanity-check limits against contracts (including customer requirements for EL/PL/PI and sub-contract conditions).
- We position risk controls as evidence: QA, testing, inspection records, traceability, RAMS, permits and competence.
- We keep the submission underwriter-friendly: clear splits, clear scope, clear story.
The result: fewer surprises at claim time, and less renewal volatility because the underwriter already understands your “whole risk”.
3) What Underwriters Really Look At for Industrial Equipment Risks
For industrial equipment, insurers price the programme around your severity potential and the credibility of your controls. Even if claims frequency is low, a single high-severity failure can be costly — especially where equipment is safety-critical or supports high-throughput production lines.
The good news: manufacturers that can clearly show engineering discipline, QA governance and documented risk control often achieve better terms than “generic manufacturing” submissions.
Key underwriting questions (translated into plain English)
- What do you make? – product types, end-use, safety function, typical client industries.
- Do you design/specify? – drawings, calculations, load ratings, controls, automation integration.
- How do you test? – FAT/SAT, commissioning checks, QA inspection points, calibration.
- What’s your traceability? – serialisation, batch records, supplier control, sub-assembly documentation.
- What’s the install/service exposure? – rigging, electrical isolation, lift plans, RAMS, permits to work.
- What’s the worst case? – injury potential, line shutdown potential, contractual penalty exposure.
Practical tip: a short “controls pack” (QA overview, training matrix, maintenance/inspection examples, site RAMS approach) can outperform a long narrative. Underwriters want signals, not novels.
Controls that consistently improve terms
- Quality management – inspection regimes, NCR process, corrective actions, supplier approvals.
- Testing & sign-off – documented FAT/SAT, load testing where relevant, functional safety checks.
- Design governance – change control, peer review, version control for drawings/specs/software.
- Site controls – RAMS, permits, isolation procedures, lift planning, toolbox talks and competence evidence.
- Fire & hot works – permits, housekeeping, extraction, storage of flammables, separation of bays.
- Business continuity – spares strategy, contingency suppliers, backup/restore discipline (including OT).
We’ll help you present these as real operational habits with examples — not as “marketing statements”.
4) Picking Limits, Indemnity Periods & “What Matters Most”
Combined packages only work if the limits and BI basis match your real exposures. In industrial equipment manufacturing, the most common weak points are: understated sums insured, BI indemnity periods that are too short, and liability limits that don’t match contracts.
We’ll build the programme around the numbers and scenarios that actually keep directors awake at night: “What if the factory is out for six months?”, “What if a unit failure injures someone?”, “What if a breakdown kills output for weeks?”, “What if a cyber incident hits the OT network?”
Property & BI: avoid the classic traps
- Sums insured – buildings, contents, plant, stock and WIP should reflect real replacement cost.
- WIP / projects – unfinished assemblies can be high-value and overlooked.
- BI basis – gross profit / revenue basis should match your accounts and reporting reality.
- Indemnity period – many manufacturers need 12–24 months depending on lead times and rebuild complexity.
- Increased cost of working – overtime, outsourcing, temporary equipment and expedited shipping.
- Dependencies – critical suppliers, utilities, and key machines (consider breakdown BI if relevant).
Practical tip: if a single machine (or cell) is the bottleneck, a small breakdown event can be more damaging than a partial fire. That’s where engineering + BI alignment matters.
Liability & design risk: align to contracts
- EL limit – commonly £10m, but customer requirements vary.
- PL/Products limit – driven by severity potential and contract requirements (and territory).
- PI limit – where design/spec is material; check contract liability caps and consequential loss exposure.
- Install/service scope – confirm work away, completed operations, and any heat work / lifting duties.
- Territory/jurisdiction – particularly if you export, have EU work, or any US/Canada involvement.
- Contract review – we can help flag insurance “red clauses” that create uninsured exposures.
We’ll help you set sensible, defensible limits — not “guesswork limits” — and present them in a way insurers will accept.
“The best combined programmes don’t just ‘bundle cover’ — they align the real manufacturing story: design responsibility, site works, breakdown exposure, and what happens when a customer’s line stops. Underwriters reward clarity.”
Insure24 Manufacturing Team5) How to Get a Combined Package Quote (and what we’ll ask for)
To quote a combined industrial equipment manufacturing package accurately, insurers need a clear view of your activities and the numbers behind the risk: property values, BI exposure, liability profile, design/install responsibilities and your claims history. Don’t worry — we’ll structure it for you so you’re not battling insurer forms or losing days pulling documents together.
Your “risk snapshot” (what insurers need)
- Business description: manufacture only vs design vs install/service split.
- Turnover split: UK vs export, product lines, and key customer industries.
- Workforce: headcount + payroll split (shop floor vs office vs site work), contractor usage.
- Premises: construction, protections, housekeeping, hot works areas, security and any storage of flammables.
- Claims history (3–5 years) and what changed afterwards.
Practical tip: if you have formal QA processes, include examples (inspection sheets, sign-off records, calibration logs). It’s persuasive.
The numbers & cover decisions
- Property sums insured: buildings/contents/plant/stock/WIP (replacement cost).
- BI: basis (gross profit/revenue), indemnity period, and any critical dependencies.
- Liability limits: EL, PL/Products and any contract-required levels.
- PI need: do you design/specify, provide drawings/calcs, or take responsibility for performance/safety functions?
- Add-ons: breakdown, transit, cyber, environmental — based on exposure.
If you’re unsure on any of these, call us — we’ll guide you through a “minimum viable” submission that still presents well.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What is a combined industrial equipment manufacturing insurance package?
A combined package brings multiple core covers into one joined-up programme, typically including property (buildings/contents/plant/stock),
business interruption, employers’ liability, public & products liability and—where you design/specify—professional indemnity.
Many manufacturers also add engineering/machinery breakdown, transit and cyber depending on exposure.
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Why bundle cover instead of buying separate policies?
Bundling can reduce gaps between wordings, simplify claims handling, and make it easier to align limits and contract requirements.
It also helps present the whole risk story to underwriters (factory exposures + products/design liability), which can improve terms when the submission is strong.
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Does the package include products liability once equipment is installed?
It often does, but you must confirm the products liability wording, territorial limits, and whether installation/commissioning activities are included.
For industrial equipment, insurers will focus on the severity potential of failures and your QA/testing controls.
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When should we add professional indemnity (design/specification liability)?
If you design systems, provide calculations/drawings, specify load limits or safety functions, advise on layouts/throughput, integrate automation,
or take responsibility for engineering performance, PI is usually worth considering. It can respond where a design/spec error causes a third-party loss.
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Is machinery breakdown included within property insurance?
Not always. Property cover typically responds to insured perils like fire or flood. Sudden internal mechanical/electrical failure can require
separate engineering/machinery breakdown cover, sometimes paired with machinery business interruption if breakdown would halt production.
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What do insurers need to quote a combined manufacturing package?
Usually: activities (manufacture/design/install/service), turnover split (UK/export), product types and use-cases, key contract terms, claims history,
building/plant/stock sums insured, BI basis and indemnity period, payroll split for EL, quality/testing controls, and any high-risk processes (hot works, lifting, site work).
Insure24 can help structure this into an underwriter-ready submission.