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WET-PROCESS CHEMICAL RISK IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST PCB INSURANCE DRIVERS
Why Etching & Plating Are High-Impact Insurance Exposures
PCB manufacturing is a mixture of precision engineering and chemical processing. Etching, plating and cleaning stages often involve corrosives, oxidisers, acids/alkalis, solvents, metal salts and specialist process chemicals. These chemicals are essential to product quality — but they also create a concentration of risk: spills, fumes, contamination, equipment corrosion, and accidental releases to drains or ground.
Underwriters pay close attention to wet-process exposures because a single incident can generate multiple loss categories at once: injury to staff, damage to building/services, contamination clean-up, environmental claims, reputational harm, and business interruption. In severe cases, even a small leak can become expensive if it reaches drains, external areas, neighbouring premises or shared estate infrastructure.
This page explains the most common chemical handling, etching and plating risks in PCB manufacturing, the typical insurance covers involved, and the operational controls that improve underwriting outcomes (always subject to policy terms and insurer acceptance).
If you’d rather talk it through, call 0330 127 2333 or request a quote online.
Where Chemical Risk Shows Up in a PCB Factory
Chemical risk in PCB manufacturing isn’t limited to the “chemical store”. It runs through the process: deliveries, transfers, tanked lines, rinse stages, waste handling, effluent treatment and even maintenance. Underwriters want to understand the route a spill would take and how quickly you could contain it.
Mapping the exposure properly helps you buy the right insurance and also helps you reduce risk. Below are the main zones where incidents occur.
1) Storage & Deliveries
Deliveries and transfers are frequent loss points. Even with trained staff, incidents can happen during unloading, decanting, or moving containers. Underwriters will ask about storage segregation, bunding, labelling, and whether transfer areas are protected from drains.
- Bunded storage sized to largest container/tank and protected from weather where relevant
- Segregation of incompatible chemicals (acids/alkalis/oxidisers/solvents)
- Supervised transfers and secure connections/hoses
- Spill kits and trained responders in transfer areas
The goal is to prevent a small spill becoming a drain-contamination event.
2) Etching, Plating & Wet Process Lines
Wet lines involve pipework, pumps, valves, heating, filtration and chemical tanks. Failures can be mechanical, electrical or human. Common incident triggers include pump failures, hose ruptures, tank leaks, overfills, and incorrect chemical additions.
- Secondary containment beneath lines and around high-risk points
- Inspection and preventative maintenance on pumps/valves/pipework
- Overfill protection and level controls where appropriate
- Clear SOPs and controlled chemical additions
Insurers often focus on age/condition of lines and how you manage corrosion and degradation.
3) Rinse Stages, Drainage & Effluent
Rinse and drainage systems can be where “minor” chemical releases become major clean-up events. The question is always: where does liquid go? Underwriters may ask for drain maps, isolation capability, and effluent treatment details.
- Effluent treatment processes and monitoring (where applicable)
- Drain covers or isolation capability for emergency containment (where practical)
- Bunded or protected areas around wet process discharge points
- Routine inspection to detect leaks early
If liquid reaches external drains, costs can escalate very quickly.
4) Waste Storage & Disposal
Waste chemicals, contaminated filters, sludge and process residues create both pollution and fire exposure depending on the materials. Insurers typically want to know: how waste is stored, for how long, in what quantities, and whether contractors remove it on a defined schedule.
- Bunded, secure waste storage with clear labelling
- Defined removal schedule and licensed contractor controls
- Segregation of incompatible wastes
- Documented waste handling procedures
Good waste discipline supports both compliance and underwriting.
Which Insurance Covers Address Chemical, Etching & Plating Risks?
Chemical risk in PCB manufacturing touches multiple policy sections. There is rarely a single policy that “does everything”. The right approach is to structure a programme where each cover plays its role and gaps are minimised. Below is a practical view of the covers commonly involved (always subject to policy terms and insurer acceptance).
Employers’ Liability (EL): Staff Exposure
Chemical handling creates injury exposure: burns, inhalation, dermatitis, slips due to spills, and manual handling incidents when moving containers. Employers’ Liability protects against liability claims from employees for injury/illness arising out of their work (subject to policy terms).
Underwriters often look for COSHH assessments, training records, PPE policies, eyewash/shower facilities, and incident reporting discipline. Strong safety controls can influence both claims outcomes and insurer comfort.
Public Liability (PL): Third-Party Injury/Property Damage
Public Liability covers third-party injury or property damage arising from your business activities (subject to policy terms). Chemical incidents can create PL exposure if visitors/contractors are affected, or if contamination affects neighbouring premises.
However, PL policies can be restrictive for pollution exposure and clean-up costs. This is why environmental/pollution liability cover is often considered alongside PL for wet-process sites.
Environmental / Pollution Liability: Clean-up & Contamination
Environmental insurance is designed to address pollution-specific exposures, including certain clean-up costs and third-party liabilities arising from pollution incidents (subject to the specific policy wording and insurer acceptance). It can be particularly relevant where your biggest cost is specialist decontamination and waste disposal, rather than a classic “injury claim”.
If you run wet process lines, store chemicals, have external drainage exposure or operate on a multi-occupancy estate, environmental cover is often a key discussion.
Property & Business Interruption: Secondary Losses
Chemical incidents can damage buildings and equipment: corrosion, contamination of services, electrical damage from liquid ingress, and even fire in certain scenarios. Property insurance can respond to insured perils depending on cause and wording. Business interruption protects gross profit after certain insured events (subject to terms).
The reality is that chemical incidents can create messy, overlapping loss scenarios. The best programme considers the interaction between property, BI, environmental and liability covers.
Machinery Breakdown: When Pump/Valve Failures Trigger Spills
Many chemical incidents start as mechanical failures: a pump fails, a valve sticks, a seal gives way, or a control system faults. If you’ve arranged machinery breakdown cover, it may help with repair costs for certain breakdown events (subject to policy terms) — but it won’t automatically cover clean-up and contamination obligations. That is why the programme needs to be joined up.
Insure24 helps you structure the full picture: engineering cover for breakdown, environmental cover for contamination, and a liability framework aligned to your operations.
Controls That Reduce Chemical Losses (and Improve Underwriting)
Insurers don’t expect perfection — but they do reward clarity and control. The best submissions show that chemical risk is managed systematically: the people are trained, the process is documented, and the physical environment limits escalation.
The steps below are common “underwriter confidence multipliers” for PCB wet-process operations.
Physical Controls
- Bunding and secondary containment for stores and lines
- Protected transfer areas (prevent drain entry, controlled connections)
- Eyewash stations and safety showers in appropriate locations
- Ventilation/extraction systems maintained and monitored
- Clear segregation and signage for chemical zones
- Drain mapping and emergency isolation capability where practicable
These controls reduce both frequency and severity — and underwriters will ask about them.
Process & People Controls
- COSHH assessments and SDS access for all chemicals used
- Documented SOPs for receiving, decanting and chemical additions
- Training records and refresher training cadence
- Incident/near-miss reporting and root-cause discipline
- Preventative maintenance on pumps, valves, pipework and tanks
- Contractor controls and permits for maintenance works
Underwriting outcomes improve when you can show your controls are real and routine, not “only in a folder”.
Documentation That Helps You Get Better Terms
If you have them, these documents often speed underwriting and improve acceptance: chemical inventory (max quantities), bunding diagrams, drainage map, effluent treatment overview, spill response plan, maintenance schedule, and an incident log. You don’t need to submit everything — but a clear summary built from these sources is powerful.
Insure24 can help turn your operational reality into a clean underwriting narrative without drowning the insurer in paperwork.
“We assumed our liability policy would cover everything. Once we understood clean-up and drain contamination exposures, we restructured our programme. Insure24 made the process straightforward — and the insurer questions stopped being a headache.”
Production Manager, UK PCB ManufacturerWhy Choose Insure24 for PCB Chemical Risk Insurance Advice?
Chemical risk is one of the most misunderstood areas of manufacturing insurance. The best outcomes come from a joined-up view: safety controls, environmental exposure, liability and property/BI. Insure24 helps PCB manufacturers structure cover that reflects wet-process reality.
- Experience positioning wet-process and chemical exposures to insurers
- Support compiling chemical inventories, controls summaries and drain/effluent narratives
- Programme design across liability, environmental, property/BI and breakdown sections
- Clear explanations of what’s usually covered vs excluded (and why)
- Competitive market access for PCB manufacturing risks
Get a Quote: Chemical Risk, Etching & Plating Insurance
If you want insurance terms that reflect real chemical exposures, the submission matters. Share what you can — even if it’s not perfect. We’ll help you present it clearly and approach insurers with the right questions answered up front.
- 1. Key chemicals used and approximate max quantities stored
- 2. Storage arrangements (bunding, segregation, internal/external)
- 3. Wet-process outline (etching, plating, cleaning, rinse stages)
- 4. Effluent treatment and drainage overview (including any isolation capability)
- 5. Spill response plan, kits, training and emergency contacts
- 6. Premises and neighbours (multi-occupancy, sensitive locations)
- 7. Any prior incidents/near misses and corrective actions
Call 0330 127 2333 or use our online form to start.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What are the main chemical risks in PCB etching and plating?
The most common risks include spills during deliveries or transfers, leaks from tanks/pipework, pump/valve failures, overfills, incompatible chemical mixing,
fumes/ventilation issues, and releases to drains or external areas. Even small incidents can become expensive if they escape containment.
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Does Public Liability cover chemical spills and clean-up?
Public Liability can cover third-party injury or property damage (subject to policy terms), but it may be restrictive for pollution-related clean-up costs
and statutory obligations. Environmental/pollution liability insurance is often used to address these gaps for wet-process operations.
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Which controls help reduce insurance premium for chemical risk?
Strong bunding/secondary containment, segregation of incompatible chemicals, protected transfer areas, drain protection/isolation, documented SOPs,
training records, good maintenance of pumps/valves/pipework, and a tested spill response plan. Insurers price clarity and control.
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Can machinery breakdown insurance help with chemical line incidents?
Machinery breakdown may help with repair costs for certain sudden equipment failures (subject to policy terms), but it won’t automatically cover
clean-up, contamination or environmental liabilities. That’s why wet-process sites often need a joined-up programme including environmental cover.
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What information do insurers need to quote for PCB chemical risk?
Usually: chemical inventory and maximum quantities, storage/bunding arrangements, process summary (etching/plating/rinse stages), drainage and effluent treatment,
spill response plan and training, premises/neighbours, and any incidents or near-misses. Clear submissions often lead to better terms and fewer restrictions.
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How quickly can Insure24 obtain terms for wet-process exposures?
If you can provide a basic chemical/controls summary and claims history, indicative terms can often be obtained quickly. More complex exposures (large quantities,
tank storage, sensitive locations, prior incidents) may take longer for specialist underwriting review.