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THE FASTEST WAY TO LOWER PREMIUM IS TO LOOK “EASY TO UNDERWRITE”
What Actually Drives PCB Insurance Price?
PCB insurance premium isn’t just about turnover. Underwriters price a combination of exposure and uncertainty. If the risk is complex and the submission is unclear, insurers charge more (or add restrictions). If the risk is controlled and the underwriter can understand it quickly, you usually get better options.
PCB manufacturers have some unique premium drivers: wet-process chemicals and pollution exposure, fire risk and business interruption severity, high reliability end-use (automotive/aerospace/medical), worldwide territories, and defective board/downstream damage potential.
This guide gives practical steps to reduce premiums by reducing loss likelihood, reducing loss severity, and reducing “underwriting uncertainty” — while keeping cover aligned to real-world exposures (always subject to policy terms and insurer acceptance).
If you want a quick review of your current policy and cost drivers, call 0330 127 2333 or request a quote online.
1) Improve Your Insurance Submission (The Biggest “Quick Win”)
Underwriters are not only pricing risk — they are pricing unknowns. Two PCB manufacturers can have similar operations and very different premiums if one presents a clear, insurer-ready submission and the other doesn’t.
A strong submission doesn’t need to be long. It needs to be specific. It should answer the questions the underwriter would ask before they ask them. That usually means: what you make, where it goes, how it’s used, what chemicals you handle, what controls exist, and what your claims story is.
Make Your Products Easy to Understand
- Describe PCB types: rigid, multilayer, high-voltage, controlled impedance, prototypes vs production
- List key sectors: industrial, automotive, aerospace, medical, consumer (and % split if possible)
- Clarify whether you do design/spec advice (PI exposure)
- Confirm territories: where products end up (not only who you invoice)
- State customer contract requirements (limits, territories, add-ons)
Vague descriptions lead to conservative pricing. Clear descriptions create competitive underwriting.
Make Wet-Process & Pollution Exposure “Underwriter Friendly”
- Provide a high-level chemical overview (types and max quantities stored)
- Explain storage, bunding and segregation arrangements
- Summarise drainage and effluent treatment at a practical level
- Outline waste streams and contractor governance
- Include spill response plan and training evidence
If you don’t control the narrative, the underwriter assumes the worst. A clear summary reduces that uncertainty.
Tell Your Claims Story Proactively
If you’ve had claims, don’t hide them. Explain them. Underwriters want to know: what happened, what it cost, and what you changed. A well-explained claim history often results in better terms than a “bare” claims list with no context.
Even if you have no claims, say what you do to keep it that way — especially around quality, traceability, CAPA and change control.
2) Reduce Loss Likelihood (Controls Underwriters Reward)
If you want lower premium year after year, focus on controls that reduce how often losses happen. Insurers reward demonstrated discipline — particularly around fire prevention, chemical containment, and quality controls that prevent defective board incidents.
Fire Risk Controls
- Good housekeeping and documented cleaning schedules
- Electrical inspections and preventative maintenance
- Hot works control and contractor permits
- Segregation of flammables and safe storage practices
- Fire alarm maintenance and emergency response planning
Fire is a major severity driver for manufacturing insurance, especially where business interruption can be long.
Chemical & Pollution Controls
- Bunding/secondary containment that is inspected and maintained
- Drain protection and emergency isolation capability where practical
- Training for chemical transfers and clear SOPs
- Spill kits placed at high-risk points and staff trained to use them
- Clear waste segregation and contractor governance process
Insurers become more competitive when they see you can contain incidents before they become environmental events.
Quality Controls That Reduce Defective Board Claims
Defective board claims are often about evidence. If you can demonstrate traceability, calibrated test systems, controlled change and CAPA discipline, insurers are more comfortable with products liability exposures — especially in high-reliability supply chains.
- Batch/lot traceability for critical materials and shipments
- Test evidence linked to batches (electrical test, inspection, reliability where relevant)
- Calibration programme and record retention
- Supplier approval and incoming inspection controls
- Change control for materials, processes and suppliers
3) Reduce Loss Severity (The Part That Really Moves Premium)
Insurers price severity hard. If the worst-case loss is huge, premium follows — even if losses are rare. PCB manufacturing has severity drivers: fire/BI, pollution clean-up, downstream damage claims, and long lead-time equipment replacements.
You reduce severity by designing your site and processes so that when something happens, it stays small.
Compartmentalise Risk (Physical Separation)
If you can separate high-risk areas, you limit the maximum loss. Underwriters like to see:
- Separate chemical storage from main production where possible
- Defined waste storage area with containment and access control
- Protected server/IT areas and backup strategy (reduces BI)
- Clear segregation of flammables and ignition sources
Even simple separation measures can materially change the loss scenario.
Business Interruption Resilience
BI is where premiums can balloon. If you can prove faster recovery, insurers are more comfortable. Practical BI resilience steps include:
- Documented recovery plan for key process equipment
- Critical spares strategy for pumps, controls and bottleneck equipment
- Alternative processing arrangements (where feasible)
- Supplier resilience planning for long lead-time materials
- Data backups and ability to resume order processing
Underwriters will often ask about maximum foreseeable downtime — show how you reduce it.
Limit Downstream Damage Exposure
If your boards go into high-energy systems or safety-critical equipment, downstream damage is the severity driver. You don’t eliminate it — you manage it through quality evidence, controlled change, and contract discipline.
Contracts matter here. Unlimited liabilities, penalty clauses and broad indemnities can create exposures that insurance is not designed to pay. A sensible contract approach can reduce both claim severity and premium.
4) Structure Your Insurance Programme Properly
Premium reduction is not always “more excess”. Sometimes it’s “better structure”. The right programme reduces duplicated cover, avoids expensive mismatches, and targets premium where the risk actually is.
Below are the programme levers PCB manufacturers commonly use (subject to insurer acceptance).
Excess, Limits and Layering
- Increase excess where you can absorb small losses without stress
- Avoid overbuying limits that your contracts don’t require
- Consider layering for high limits rather than one insurer taking all the risk
- Align limits across PL/Products/Environmental to avoid gaps
The goal: pay for catastrophe protection, not predictable “small losses”.
Remove Unnecessary Extensions (But Don’t Create a Hole)
Some policies carry extensions that don’t match your business. But removing cover without understanding triggers can create a hidden gap. We typically review:
- Territory extensions (where are products actually used?)
- Contractual liability assumptions
- Pollution extensions vs true environmental cover
- Recall/remediation expectations
This is where broker expertise adds value: reducing cost without breaking the programme.
Bundle Policies Where It Makes Sense
Sometimes a combined package (property + BI + liability + engineering sections) can be competitive if the insurer likes the risk. Other times, specialist covers (environmental, recall, high-limit products liability) need specialist markets. The “right” approach depends on your process, end use and claims profile.
Insure24 will test both approaches and show you the trade-offs in plain English.
“Our premium dropped after we improved our submission and showed evidence of controls — not because we reduced cover. Insure24 helped us tell the story underwriters needed.”
Finance Director, UK PCB ManufacturerWhy Choose Insure24 to Reduce PCB Insurance Costs?
Cutting premium without understanding exposure is risky. Insure24 focuses on cost reduction through clarity and control: better underwriting submissions, sensible programme design, and practical risk improvements that insurers reward.
- PCB-specific understanding: wet-process, high-reliability and downstream damage exposures
- Insurer-ready submissions that reduce “uncertainty pricing”
- Advice on environmental/pollution gaps and realistic cover expectations
- Programme structuring across property/BI, liability, engineering and specialist covers
- Support aligning cover to customer contracts without overbuying
Get a Quote (and a Premium Reduction Review)
If you want a meaningful premium reduction, we’ll review your current programme and identify the biggest levers: submission clarity, controls, BI resilience, territories and limits. Share what you can — we’ll do the rest.
- 1. Your current schedule / renewal terms (if available)
- 2. Products, sectors and territories breakdown
- 3. Chemical/waste overview and site controls summary
- 4. Claims history and what changed after any incidents
- 5. Business interruption assumptions (downtime, key equipment)
- 6. Customer contract requirements (limits/wording needs)
- 7. Any planned changes (new processes, expansions, new sectors)
Call 0330 127 2333 or use our online form to start.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What is the quickest way to reduce PCB insurance premium?
Improve the underwriting submission. Clear product/end-use descriptions, territories, chemical/waste controls and a well-explained claims story reduce “uncertainty pricing”.
This often creates immediate competitive tension between insurers.
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Will increasing the excess always reduce the premium?
Not always. It can help, but insurers still price worst-case severity (fire/BI, pollution, downstream damage). The best results usually come from combining sensible excess
with improved controls and a clearer presentation of risk.
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How do chemical and waste controls affect pricing?
Wet-process and regulated waste exposure can be a major rating factor. Strong bunding, segregation, drain protection, spill response and contractor governance reduce the likelihood
of a major pollution event and improve insurer appetite, which can lead to better terms.
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Do high-reliability sectors increase PCB liability premium?
Often, yes. Automotive, aerospace and safety-critical applications can increase severity exposure and customer contract requirements. Strong traceability, test evidence and change control
can offset this by improving underwriting confidence.
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Can we reduce premium without reducing cover?
Yes. Many premium reductions come from better submissions, improved controls, and programme structuring (limits, layering, removing unnecessary extensions) rather than cutting core cover.
The key is reducing uncertainty and worst-case loss severity.
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How quickly can Insure24 obtain alternative quotes?
If you can provide key underwriting information (products/end use, territories, site controls, claims history), indicative terms can often be obtained quickly.
More complex wet-process or high-limit worldwide exposures may take longer for specialist underwriting review.