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INSURANCE BUILT AROUND REAL RIGID PCB RISKS
What Makes Rigid PCB Manufacturing Unique for Insurance?
Rigid PCB manufacturing is not a “generic manufacturing” risk. A PCB facility typically combines high-value plant (lamination presses, drill/route, plating lines, imaging, etch, AOI, test), hazardous chemicals (acids/alkalis/solvents), strict quality and traceability requirements, and a tight delivery schedule driven by OEM supply chains. That mix creates specific exposures: fire and corrosion risk, pollution events, customer-owned materials, scrap and rework, contamination, equipment breakdown, and liability disputes that can escalate quickly when boards are used in safety-critical systems.
Insure24 structures insurance for rigid PCB manufacturers by matching cover to your process, customers and contracts — not by forcing your business into a one-size-fits-all policy. Whether you produce prototypes, small-batch high-reliability boards, or volume production, we help you protect the balance sheet against incidents that would otherwise consume cash flow.
Call 0330 127 2333 for specialist advice or request a quote online.
Rigid PCB Manufacturers We Typically Help
“Rigid PCB manufacturing” covers multiple business models and process routes. Your insurance needs depend on what you do in-house versus outsourced, how you handle chemicals and effluent, and where your boards end up. We commonly assist:
- UK rigid PCB fabricators producing single- and multi-layer boards
- Prototype and NPI specialists with fast-turn production and frequent changeovers
- High-reliability PCB manufacturers for automotive, industrial, aerospace/defence supply chains
- Rigid PCB + assembly operations (fabrication plus SMT/THT build and test)
- Contract/OEM suppliers needing evidence of high liability limits and strict traceability
- Special processes (heavy copper, controlled impedance, surface finishes, conformal coats)
If you outsource stages (for example, specialist finishing, certain plating, or test), that doesn’t remove the risk — it changes it. Your contracts, quality controls, and inbound/outbound transit exposure become more important. Underwriters will want a clear picture of your process map and where liability sits.
If you manufacture boards that go into regulated or safety-critical environments (high voltage, power electronics, medical, rail, automotive), insurers may scrutinise controls more closely. In return, businesses with strong evidence often achieve better terms than generic “electronics” risks.
The Core Rigid PCB Manufacturing Insurance Package
Most rigid PCB manufacturers start with a combined programme that protects people, premises and core liabilities. The “base” package typically includes: Employers’ Liability, Public Liability, Products Liability, Property/Stock, and Business Interruption. From there, you add specialist covers based on chemicals, environmental exposure, contract wording, cyber dependency, customer-owned goods and transit.
Below is what each cover does in the context of rigid PCB manufacturing — and the questions that materially affect underwriting and premium.
Employers’ Liability (EL)
If you employ staff, Employers’ Liability is usually compulsory in the UK. It protects against liability for employee injury or illness arising from their work (subject to policy terms). PCB facilities involve manual handling, sharp materials, rotating machinery, chemical exposure, slips/trips in wet areas, compressed air, lifting, and in some operations, high temperature processes.
Insurers will want to understand your staff roles, training, COSHH controls, PPE, extraction/ventilation, and how you separate pedestrians and vehicles in stores/dispatch areas. A simple, well-documented safety system can improve underwriting confidence and reduce incident frequency.
Typical rating inputs: wage roll, manual vs clerical split, processes, site work, claims history.
Public Liability (PL)
Public Liability covers claims for third-party injury or property damage arising from your business activities (subject to policy terms). For PCB manufacturers, this might include visitor incidents, contractor activity, delivery/collections, or accidental damage at a customer site if you provide installation support or technical assistance. PL is also commonly required by landlords and site access policies.
Underwriters consider your premises type, footfall, housekeeping, contractor management, and any off-site work. Clear inductions, signage, and controlled access often make a tangible difference.
Common limits: £2m / £5m / £10m depending on contracts and site access requirements.
Products Liability (Critical for PCB Manufacturing)
Products Liability covers liability for injury or property damage caused by products you manufacture or supply (subject to policy terms). PCBs are “hidden” components, but they can still cause substantial downstream damage: arcing, overheating, fire, equipment failure, safety system malfunction, or cascading damage in high-value assemblies.
Your exposure depends on where boards end up and the contractual structure. Some manufacturers sell to UK OEMs who export finished equipment globally, which can create worldwide exposure even if your invoices are UK-based. Limits and territorial scope must match your real distribution, not just your immediate customer list.
Insurers will also ask about quality controls: traceability, test regimes, controlled impedance verification, plating thickness checks, soldermask integrity, and how you manage engineering changes and material substitutions. Evidence reduces disputes.
Typical questions: sector split, export territories, highest-risk applications, claims/returns/near-recall history.
Property, Plant, Stock & Work in Progress
Property insurance covers your building (if owned) and/or contents, plant and equipment, stock and materials against insured perils such as fire, flood, storm, theft and escape of water (subject to policy terms). For PCB manufacturers, property risk is shaped by: chemical storage, extraction systems, electrical load, wet process areas, corrosion potential, and the concentration of value in specialist equipment.
“Stock” is not just finished boards. It includes copper-clad laminate, prepreg, chemicals, drilling consumables, photoresist, soldermask, and customer-supplied materials. Accurate peak values matter because underinsurance can reduce claim payments.
Typical questions: sums insured, construction, sprinkler/alarm protection, chemical storage, housekeeping, flood exposure.
Business Interruption (BI)
Business Interruption covers loss of gross profit and/or increased cost of working following insured property damage (subject to policy terms). In PCB manufacturing, downtime risk can be severe: process equipment is specialised, lead times can be long, and restarting isn’t always immediate. Even after repair or replacement, you may need to requalify processes, calibrate, validate test results, and regain customer confidence.
The most common BI problems are (1) choosing an indemnity period that is too short, and (2) underestimating the time it would take to source equipment or rebuild a wet process line. BI is where you protect cash flow while you recover.
Rigid PCB Process Risks That Drive Insurance Decisions
Insurers price PCB manufacturing differently to general engineering because the process creates distinct risk concentrations. Understanding these risk drivers helps you obtain better terms and avoid exclusions that don’t fit your operation.
Below are the common process-related risk themes we discuss with underwriters, along with the insurance covers that typically respond (where applicable).
Chemicals, Wet Processes & Corrosion Risk
Rigid PCB fabrication often involves wet chemistry: etching, plating, cleaning, resist stripping, surface treatment, and rinse stages. These operations can create: accidental spills, incompatible chemical reactions, corrosion of building fabric and equipment, and environmental release risk if containment fails.
Underwriters will look at bunding, storage segregation, COSHH controls, extraction/ventilation, effluent management, and maintenance of tanks and pipework. Strong controls can improve not only environmental underwriting but also property pricing because they reduce the likelihood of a major incident.
Relevant covers: Property, Employers’ Liability, Environmental/Pollution Liability (where arranged), Business Interruption.
Fire Risk in a High-Energy Production Environment
Electrical load, extraction, heating, dryers/ovens (where used), and equipment density can increase fire exposure. Fire severity is influenced by compartmentation, housekeeping, storage of flammables, and fire detection/suppression. Some PCB processes also include resin systems and laminates that contribute to combustible load.
Insurers typically reward: clear separation of chemical storage, documented maintenance, electrical testing regimes, good housekeeping, and appropriate detection/alarms. Sprinkler protection (where present) can materially improve property and BI terms.
Relevant covers: Property, Business Interruption, Stock, Machinery Breakdown.
Equipment Breakdown & Single Points of Failure
PCB production often relies on critical machines: drilling/routing, lamination presses, imaging, plating lines, AOI, and test equipment. If a key machine fails, output can stop immediately, and backlog grows quickly. Even if you can outsource temporarily, you may face requalification, transport delays, and margin erosion.
Machinery Breakdown (engineering) cover can help with repair costs for sudden breakdown events (subject to policy terms), and in some cases can be packaged with BI extensions. The decision is often based on the age/condition of equipment, availability of spares, and the business impact of downtime.
Relevant covers: Machinery Breakdown, Business Interruption, Property.
Quality Escape, Rework, Scrap & Contract Disputes
Many PCB disputes start as “quality” issues: plating thickness variance, drill wander, delamination, soldermask problems, impedance out-of-tolerance, contamination, or intermittent field failures. These can cause costly rework and scrappage — and can escalate into allegations of downstream property damage.
Insurance is not designed to pay for normal scrap or manufacturing defects. Where the defect causes third-party injury or property damage, Products Liability may respond (subject to terms). For pure financial loss, options may include specialist recall/remediation solutions where available, and/or Professional Indemnity if the allegation relates to design/specification responsibility. The key is to understand the boundary and structure cover accordingly.
Relevant covers: Products Liability, Product Recall/Remediation (where available), PI (if design/spec responsibility), Legal Expenses (for disputes).
Customer-Owned Materials, Tooling and Goods in Trust
PCB manufacturers often hold customer-supplied materials: special laminates, copper foils, drawings, test coupons, jigs, and sometimes consignment stock. If you are responsible for these items under contract, you must disclose them. Standard property policies do not automatically cover third-party property unless arranged within the wording. If customer-owned goods are significant, you may need specific “goods in trust/custody” style provisions (subject to insurer acceptance).
This is also an OEM onboarding issue: customers may ask how you protect their property, and whether your policy would reimburse loss if a fire, flood or theft occurs. Clarity here avoids disputes.
Specialist Covers Often Needed by Rigid PCB Manufacturers
Beyond core covers, rigid PCB manufacturers often need specialist policies to match the realities of modern supply chains: strict contractual liabilities, cyber dependency, environmental exposure, and transit risk. The right solution depends on what you do in-house and your customer base.
Environmental & Pollution Liability
Wet processes and chemical storage can create pollution exposures: spills, leaks, and accidental releases. Environmental liability policies (where arranged) can cover certain clean-up costs and third-party claims arising from pollution incidents (subject to policy terms). Underwriters often look for bunding, separation, maintenance, and documented procedures for chemical handling and emergency response.
Even if you have good controls, the cost of specialist clean-up and disposal can be material. Environmental cover can also be a differentiator for OEM onboarding.
Cyber, Data & Operational Technology (OT) Exposure
PCB manufacturing is system-driven: ERP/MRP, production scheduling, CAM files, customer drawings, test records and traceability databases. Ransomware can stop production without damaging a machine. Cyber insurance can provide incident response services, certain cover for cyber business interruption, and liability for data breaches (subject to policy terms).
The best cyber terms usually require baseline controls such as MFA, robust backups with tested restores, patching discipline, and controlled remote access. We help present these controls clearly to underwriters.
Goods in Transit (Inward and Outward)
PCBs and materials can be high value and sensitive. Transit losses happen through theft, moisture ingress, impact damage, and packaging failures. If you ship prototypes or urgent OEM orders, the “max any one shipment” value can be large relative to turnover.
Transit cover can be arranged for inbound laminates and chemicals (where appropriate) and outbound boards/assemblies (subject to terms). Packaging standards and carriers used can materially influence pricing and acceptance.
Professional Indemnity (PI) for Design/Specification Input
Many PCB businesses provide more than fabrication: they may advise on stack-ups, impedance, manufacturability, material selection, or create/modify CAM data. If you provide technical advice or design-related input, you can face “pure financial loss” allegations if a customer claims your advice caused delays, rework, or product failure (subject to contracts).
PI is designed for negligence allegations leading to financial loss (subject to policy terms). If your business model includes design input, PI should be considered.
Product Recall / Remediation (Where Available)
Product liability typically focuses on injury or property damage. Many PCB losses are “containment” losses: retrieval, replacement, expediting, and rework across a customer’s supply chain. Recall/remediation cover (where available and appropriate for your products and territories) can help with certain costs of withdrawing, repairing or replacing affected products subject to specific triggers and wording.
Insurers will look closely at traceability, testing evidence, change control and quality systems because these controls determine whether a recall is targeted or broad, and whether the risk is manageable.
Contracts, Limits and Territories: Getting the Details Right
Rigid PCB manufacturers often work within OEM supply chains where contracts specify insurance limits, territorial scope, and sometimes specific clauses. The goal is to align your insurance programme with reality so you’re not overpaying for unnecessary breadth — and not exposed by a gap you didn’t anticipate.
Three issues create most problems: (1) territory mismatch, (2) misunderstanding what product liability does and doesn’t cover, and (3) accepting uninsurable contractual obligations such as unlimited indemnities or penalty regimes.
Territory Mismatch
If your boards are integrated into equipment sold outside the UK, your liability exposure can follow the end product. Even if you only sell to a UK OEM, your policy may need UK/EU or worldwide territory depending on distribution. This is especially important if products reach the USA/Canada, where legal and claim dynamics differ.
We help identify the likely end territory based on customer type and sector, and match the insurance accordingly.
Limits and Customer Requirements
Many OEMs ask for £5m–£10m products liability as a baseline, plus Employers’ Liability and Public Liability. Some also require PI and cyber, depending on your role and data access. The “right” limit depends on your risk profile, product hazard and the scale of downstream exposure.
Insure24 helps you choose limits driven by evidence and contract reality — not guesswork — and provides documentation that supports onboarding and tendering.
Common Contractual Traps
PCB supply contracts sometimes contain terms that are difficult or impossible to insure: liquidated damages for delay, line stoppage penalties, “all losses” indemnities, or unlimited liability clauses. Insurance can cover certain liabilities, but it is not designed to accept every contractual promise you sign. The safest approach is to review these clauses early and negotiate them where possible. Where clauses must be accepted, we can help you present the exposure to insurers and explore realistic options.
“We had specialist plant, wet process risks and strict OEM requirements. Insure24 understood how PCB manufacturing actually works and structured cover that matched our contracts and controls.”
Director, UK Rigid PCB ManufacturerWhy Choose Insure24 for Rigid PCB Manufacturing Insurance?
PCB manufacturers need more than a certificate — they need terms that match how their plant runs and how their customers buy. Insure24 helps you present the risk properly to underwriters, avoid common wording gaps, and obtain competitive pricing from insurers who understand manufacturing.
- Manufacturing-aware broking for PCB fabrication and electronics supply chains
- Support aligning limits/territories to OEM onboarding requirements
- Guidance on environmental and wet process exposures
- Help clarifying customer-owned goods and goods-in-trust exposures
- Clear underwriting submissions to reduce friction and speed decisions
How to Get a Quote for Rigid PCB Manufacturing Insurance
The fastest way to obtain terms is to provide a concise “risk snapshot” that answers underwriters’ key questions. If you have it available, we recommend sharing: a process overview, turnover and territory split, stock values, chemical handling summary, quality controls, and claims history. Don’t worry if you don’t have everything — we can guide you through it.
- 1. Turnover and export split (UK/EU/Worldwide; any US/Canada exposure)
- 2. Headcount and wage roll (manual vs clerical if needed)
- 3. Process map (key stages in-house vs outsourced)
- 4. Chemical storage/handling and effluent management summary
- 5. Plant values and critical equipment dependencies
- 6. Stock and WIP values (including peak values)
- 7. Quality controls: testing, calibration, traceability, change control
- 8. Claims/returns history and any near-miss incidents
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What insurance is essential for a rigid PCB manufacturer?
Most UK rigid PCB manufacturers start with Employers’ Liability (usually compulsory if you have staff), Public Liability, Products Liability,
Property/Contents/Stock and Business Interruption. From there, businesses often add environmental/pollution cover (where appropriate), goods in transit,
cyber, and machinery breakdown depending on process and customer requirements.
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Do PCB manufacturers need products liability if they only supply components?
In most cases, yes. Even though PCBs are components, they can still cause downstream injury or property damage when integrated into equipment
(for example overheating, arcing, or failure in critical systems). Products liability helps protect against those allegations, subject to policy terms,
limits and territory.
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Does insurance cover scrap, rework or batches that fail test?
Typically, normal manufacturing scrap and rework are not insured under standard policies. Where a defect causes third-party injury or property damage,
products liability may respond (subject to terms). For “pure financial loss” scenarios such as containment, replacement and expediting,
specialist recall/remediation options may be relevant where available, and Professional Indemnity may be relevant if design/specification responsibility is alleged.
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Do we need environmental/pollution liability insurance for wet processes?
If you store and use chemicals and operate wet process lines, environmental exposure is often a key consideration. Environmental/pollution liability
insurance can cover certain clean-up costs and third-party claims arising from pollution incidents, subject to policy wording and insurer acceptance.
Strong bunding, segregation and procedures help both compliance and underwriting.
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We hold customer-owned materials and tooling — can that be insured?
Sometimes. If you hold customer-supplied materials, consignment stock, or tooling on site and you are responsible for it under contract,
you should disclose it. Solutions may be available under goods-in-trust/custody style arrangements, subject to insurer acceptance and wording.
You’ll usually need values, storage conditions and contractual responsibility details.
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How do insurers decide the premium for rigid PCB manufacturing insurance?
Premium is influenced by turnover and export territories, product end use (hazard), required liability limits, plant and stock sums insured,
chemical handling and environmental controls, fire/security protections, business interruption exposure, and claims history.
Clear quality systems (testing, calibration, traceability and change control) can improve terms and pricing.
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How quickly can Insure24 obtain quotes?
If you can provide core details (turnover and territories, staff, premises, sums insured, process summary, chemical controls and claims history),
indicative terms can often be obtained quickly. More complex risks (worldwide territories, higher limits, environmental cover, recall/remediation discussions)
may take 1–2 business days for specialist underwriting.