Property, Buildings & Factory Insurance for PCB Manufacturers

What Does Property, Buildings & Factory Insurance Cover?

Factory property insurance protects physical assets at your premises. For PCB manufacturers, the right policy structure usually needs to account for specialist equipment, high-value stock, and sensitive WIP across multiple production areas.

Typical sections (depending on policy structure and insurer) include:

• Buildings (if owned) – the structure, fixtures and permanent fittings.
• Tenant improvements – fit-out and alterations you have paid for.
• Contents – office and factory contents, tools, fixtures, lab equipment and general plant.
• Stock – raw materials such as copper foil, prepreg, laminates, solder mask materials and components.
• Work-in-progress (WIP) – panels and boards in production (often the highest sensitivity exposure).
• Finished goods – completed boards and assemblies awaiting dispatch.
• Extra cost of reinstatement – additional costs to rebuild to current standards.

Property insurance is typically the trigger for business interruption cover. If the property policy doesn’t respond, BI may not respond either. That’s why the programme must be structured coherently.

Key Property Perils for PCB Factories (What Insurers Care About)

Insurers typically focus on perils that create severe losses and extended downtime. For PCB manufacturing, the most important are fire and smoke contamination, escape of water, flooding and storm, theft, and accidental damage — especially where sensitive WIP is exposed.

1) Fire and smoke contamination

Fire is not only about structural damage. Smoke and residue can contaminate boards and panels, forcing scrapping across production areas. Housekeeping, ignition source controls, and fire detection are critical underwriting factors.

2) Escape of water and sprinkler leakage

Water damage is often catastrophic for PCB WIP. A small leak above a production area can ruin batches. Insurers may ask about roof condition, plumbing maintenance, sprinkler systems, and how critical stock/WIP is protected or stored.

3) Flood and storm

Many factories have low-level storage and yard areas that are vulnerable to flooding. If you are in a flood-prone area, underwriters will focus on flood resilience measures and storage discipline (e.g., raised storage for critical goods).

4) Theft and malicious damage

High-value copper, electronics stock and customer goods can be attractive targets. Security measures — alarm systems, CCTV, access control, perimeter protection and storage arrangements — are core to underwriting and premium.

5) Accidental damage and contamination

Accidental damage can include impacts to clean or controlled environments, contamination events, or process accidents that affect equipment and WIP. Underwriters want to understand housekeeping, segregation and how you isolate production areas from high-risk zones.

Stock & Work-in-Progress (WIP): The Biggest Hidden Exposure

For many PCB manufacturers, the building is not the biggest exposure — the stock and WIP is. High-value copper and laminate inventory can sit onsite, and WIP can accumulate quickly during busy production runs. Because boards are sensitive, contamination and moisture can force scrapping even where physical damage looks minor.

How to avoid underinsurance

Underinsurance is one of the most common issues we see. It can happen when stock and WIP values are declared as “average” rather than peak. Many policies include an average clause which can reduce claim payments if values are understated.

A sensible approach is to:

• Calculate typical and peak stock/WIP levels (e.g., end-of-month, peak contract runs).
• Separate raw materials, WIP and finished goods values for clarity.
• Consider goods held in trust (customer goods) if you are an EMS provider.
• Review storage arrangements and how values concentrate in specific areas of the factory.

WIP documentation

Good records help claims. Traceability systems, batch logs and production tracking make it easier to evidence the value of WIP at the time of loss. This not only supports claim settlement, it also improves insurer confidence at renewal.

Plant, Specialist Equipment & Reinstatement

PCB factories use specialist plant: presses and laminators, drilling machines, plating lines, imaging systems, etch lines, solder mask lines, surface finish, AOI and electrical test. Replacing these is not like replacing generic machinery — lead times can be long, commissioning can be complex, and you may need re-qualification before customers accept output again.

Property policies can cover equipment as part of contents/plant, but many manufacturers also review separate machinery breakdown (for sudden breakdown) and consider breakdown BI to protect revenue if a critical machine fails without a fire/flood event.

Common reinstatement issues

• Replacement cost vs book value: insurance should reflect replacement, not depreciated values.
• Imported equipment: consider freight, duties and installation costs in sums insured.
• Commissioning time: downtime often extends beyond physical replacement.
• Utilities dependencies: compressors, chillers, extraction and water systems can be single points of failure.

Insure24 helps align declared values and reinstatement assumptions so the policy performs when you need it.

Business Interruption: The Cover That Protects Cashflow After a Property Loss

Business interruption (BI) cover is typically arranged alongside your property insurance. It protects your gross profit and ongoing expenses when you are disrupted by an insured peril (like fire, flood or storm). For PCB manufacturers, BI design is crucial because recovery may require more than repairing the building: you may need to replace specialist equipment, stabilise yield, and obtain customer approvals before full output returns.

Two decisions that matter most

• Indemnity period – 12, 18, 24+ months depending on realistic recovery.
• Gross profit sum insured – based on accounts and realistic trading forecasts.

If you underinsure BI, claim payments can be reduced. If you select too short an indemnity period, you can run out of cover before you’re back to normal trading. Insure24 helps you set these figures realistically.

Risk Improvements That Often Reduce Property Premiums

Underwriters price uncertainty. If you can show disciplined controls, terms typically improve. The most common improvements for PCB factories include:

We can help you present these improvements to insurers in a short risk summary so you get credit for the controls you’ve implemented.

Why Choose Insure24 for PCB Factory Property Insurance?

How to Get a Quote

To quote PCB factory property insurance accurately, insurers need clarity on your premises, protection measures, values and production exposure. We’ll guide you through what to provide so underwriting is smooth and terms are competitive.