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LIABILITY COVER BUILT FOR INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT RISKS
Why Public Liability Matters for Machinery Builders
Public (third-party) liability is designed to protect your business if your operations cause injury to someone outside your organisation or damage property you don’t own. For industrial equipment manufacturers, OEMs and installers, claims can stem from workshops and yards, loading/unloading, customer visits, deliveries, site work, and installation or commissioning activities.
Underwriters look closely at your most hazardous activities — hot works, lifting, working at height, confined spaces, subcontractor control, and the environments you work in. Clear documentation and good safety management typically improves insurer appetite and pricing.
Public & Third-Party Liability Insurance for Industrial Equipment Manufacturing (UK)
This page explains how public liability works for industrial equipment manufacturers, OEMs and machinery builders — including the main risk drivers insurers price, what information is typically required to quote, and how to avoid common policy gaps where businesses also deliver installations, commissioning and ongoing maintenance.
Insure24 supports manufacturing and engineering businesses across the UK. We help you structure liability cover around your real operating model — premises risk, site activities, subcontractor control and contract requirements — and present risk controls clearly so insurers can offer competitive terms.
- Protection against third-party injury claims arising from your operations
- Cover for third-party property damage at customer sites (where insured)
- Site work disclosures: installation, commissioning, servicing and maintenance
- Higher-risk activities: lifting plans, hot works, working at height and subcontractors
- Contract reviews: required limits, indemnities and “fitness for purpose” wording
- Practical risk improvements that strengthen insurer confidence
What Does Public & Third-Party Liability Insurance Cover?
Public liability is usually intended to cover your legal liability for third-party bodily injury and/or third-party property damage arising out of your business activities, subject to policy terms, definitions and exclusions. For machinery builders, the common triggers tend to be operational rather than “products” related: premises incidents, site work and accidental damage during installation or service visits.
Typical operational scenarios (examples)
A visitor slips in your workshop; a forklift damages a customer’s racking during delivery; a subcontractor drops a component during lifting; your engineer inadvertently damages pipework while fitting a guard; or a cable trip hazard causes injury during commissioning.
- Third-party injury (customers, visitors, members of the public)
- Third-party property damage (customer premises, equipment, buildings)
- Legal defence costs (where covered by the wording)
- Premises and operations cover (workshops, yards, loading/unloading)
- Off-site work disclosures (installations, commissioning, servicing)
- Subcontractor management considerations (depending on arrangement)
Public Liability vs Products Liability vs Contract Works
Industrial equipment businesses often have overlapping exposures: what happens during installation, what happens after handover, and what happens to the machine itself while in transit or being erected. Insurers and brokers have to align these sections to avoid grey areas.
Practical way to think about it
Public liability is typically focused on your operational activities (premises + site work). Products liability is focused on injury/property damage caused by a product you supply once it’s in use. Contract works/erection all risks is focused on damage to the contract works (the thing you are building/erecting) during the project lifecycle — subject to terms.
- Public liability: third-party injury/property damage from operations/site work
- Products liability: third-party injury/property damage caused by the supplied product
- Contract works: damage to the works during delivery/installation/testing (where arranged)
- Transit: damage/loss in carriage (own vehicles/hauliers/specialist transport)
- PI (if relevant): design/spec/software advice causing financial loss/rectification
What Drives Premium and Insurer Appetite?
Liability pricing is heavily influenced by the nature of your work, where you work, and how “severe” a worst-case claim could be. For industrial equipment manufacturers, the biggest swing factors are usually site work, hazardous activities, contract requirements, and the controls you can evidence.
Activities insurers pay attention to
Installation and commissioning, lifting operations, hot works, work at height, confined spaces, and work in high-hazard environments (processing plants, chemical sites, high-value manufacturing) tend to increase underwriting scrutiny.
- Turnover and split between manufacture vs installation/service
- Customer site work: frequency, duration, and supervision arrangements
- Highest-risk activities (hot works, lifting, work at height, confined spaces)
- Subcontractor use and how you verify competence/insurance
- Claims history and corrective actions
- Contract terms: required limits, indemnities, liability caps and LDs
Controls Insurers Like to See (and Why)
A strong liability submission is not just “we have a policy” — it’s evidence you manage risk day-to-day. For machinery builders, the most persuasive controls relate to site work governance and safe systems of work.
Risk management that improves underwriting outcomes
Clear RAMS, permit systems (hot works), lifting plans, training records, supervision, subcontractor vetting and incident reporting frameworks all support better underwriting decisions.
- RAMS library and job-specific method statements for higher-risk work
- Lifting plans, LOLER records and competent appointed persons
- Hot works permits and fire watch arrangements where needed
- Induction / site rules compliance, supervision and toolbox talks
- Subcontractor approval process and insurance verification
- Incident / near-miss reporting and corrective action tracking
What We’ll Ask For to Quote Public Liability
To secure competitive terms, insurers need clarity on what you do, where you do it, and the highest-risk elements of your operations. If you can provide the information below (even in summary), we can approach suitable markets quickly and reduce underwriting uncertainty.
- Business description and turnover (and split: manufacture vs site work/service)
- Nature of site work: install/commission/maintenance, frequency and duration
- Highest-risk activities: hot works, lifting, work at height, confined spaces
- Subcontractor use and how competence/insurance is verified
- Typical client sectors and premises types (factories, warehouses, processing)
- Contractual requirements: limits, indemnities, liability caps and LDs
- Claims history and what’s changed since any incidents
- H&S controls: RAMS, training records, permits, inspections and supervision
“Our engineers are on customer sites most weeks. Insure24 helped us present our RAMS, lifting controls and subcontractor process clearly — and the insurer offered broader site work terms with a sensible excess.”
Operations Manager, Machinery Builder & InstallerPROTECT YOUR BUSINESS
- Access to specialist markets for industrial equipment and engineering risks
- Help aligning public, products and project covers to avoid grey areas
- Support presenting site work controls and contracts to underwriters
- Programme design that fits OEMs, manufacturers and installation teams
- Claims support and practical incident guidance
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What’s the difference between public liability and products liability?
Public liability usually relates to third-party injury or property damage arising from your operations (premises and site work).
Products liability usually relates to third-party injury or property damage caused by a product you supply once it is in use —
the exact split depends on the wording and definitions.
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Does public liability cover installation and commissioning work?
Often yes, but it must be disclosed properly. Insurers want details of site work, hazardous activities (hot works, lifting, work at height),
subcontractor use and controls (RAMS, permits, supervision). Terms and conditions may vary by insurer and contract requirements.
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What limits should an OEM or machinery builder consider?
Limits depend on your client contracts, site environments and severity potential. Higher limits are more common where you work in
high-value facilities, have frequent site work, or face higher property damage exposure. We’ll align limits to contracts and realistic scenarios.
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Will the policy cover damage to the machine you’re installing?
Not usually under public liability (which is aimed at third-party injury/property damage). Damage to the contract works or the machine
itself is typically addressed via contract works/erection all risks or transit cover, depending on the stage and arrangement.
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What helps Insure24 get better terms for public liability?
A clear activity description and turnover split, detail on site work, and evidence of controls: RAMS, lifting plans and LOLER records,
hot works permits, subcontractor vetting, training, supervision and a sensible incident/near-miss process.
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Can public liability be packaged in a combined manufacturing policy?
Yes. Many manufacturers and OEMs arrange public liability alongside products liability, property and business interruption, with project/site
work considerations reflected in the wording and underwriting information.