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PROPERTY INSURANCE FOR STEEL MANUFACTURING SITES
Steel manufacturing facilities concentrate high values in one place: buildings, furnaces, heavy plant, cranes, electrical infrastructure, stock, work-in-progress and finished goods. A major property loss (fire, explosion, flood, electrical incident, machinery damage, or storm) can stop production for months and create severe cashflow pressure.
Insure24 arranges Factory, Buildings & Property Insurance for steel manufacturers across the UK - designed around industrial hazards, high-value plant, and realistic recovery timelines.
What Is Factory, Buildings & Property Insurance?
Property insurance is designed to cover physical loss or damage to your insured buildings and contents caused by insured perils, subject to policy wording. For steel manufacturing, this usually includes (depending on cover selection) risks such as fire, explosion, lightning, storm, flood, escape of water, impact, theft, malicious damage and accidental damage.
Because steel manufacturing sites are complex and high-value, a “standard” commercial property policy often needs tailoring: correct sums insured, clear descriptions, and the right extensions for plant, stock, specialist equipment, and critical infrastructure.
In many programmes, property is arranged alongside business interruption and sometimes machinery breakdown to protect both the physical asset base and the trading consequences of a loss.
Buildings Cover for Steel Manufacturing Facilities
Buildings insurance is typically based on rebuild cost (not market value). For manufacturing facilities, rebuild costs can be driven by structural steel, cladding, specialist flooring, pits, mezzanines, service runs, cranes support, fire safety systems, and electrical infrastructure.
If you rent your premises, you may still need cover for tenant improvements, internal fit-out, and responsibilities in the lease. If you own the building, underinsurance can be a major risk - especially after expansions, new plant installations, or major refurbishment.
What to Include in the Buildings Sum Insured
- Main building structures, cladding and roofs
- Pits, foundations and reinforced floors
- Mezzanines, internal offices and welfare areas
- Fixed plant forming part of the building (where applicable)
- Electrical infrastructure, cabling, distribution boards and transformers (where owned/insured)
- Fire protection: detection, alarm, suppression systems (where installed)
- External works: fences, gates, yards, signage (as required)
If values are significant, a professional rebuild valuation can help support the sum insured and avoid “guesswork”.
Common Buildings Pitfalls
- Using market value instead of rebuild cost
- Not updating sums insured after expansion or improvements
- Assuming landlords insure everything (leases vary)
- Overlooking pits, slabs, and specialist floors in valuations
- Not declaring high-risk processes and storage that affect fire risk
Clear disclosure and a strong risk narrative can materially improve insurer appetite.
Plant, Machinery & Critical Infrastructure
Steel manufacturing sites often have critical plant that is expensive to replace and slow to procure: furnaces, induction power supplies, rolling equipment, cranes, compressors, extraction and filtration systems, and control systems. Depending on policy design, plant may sit under the property “contents” sum insured, a declared machinery schedule, or a specialist engineering section.
A key point in steel underwriting is understanding the difference between: external perils (fire, flood, storm) and internal breakdown (mechanical/electrical failure). Many programmes combine property with machinery breakdown cover to reduce gaps.
Examples of Plant Typically Insured
- Furnaces and melting equipment
- Power supply infrastructure (where owned/insured)
- Overhead cranes and lifting systems
- Hydraulics, drives, motors and gearboxes
- Extraction/LEV and filtration systems
- Compressors and air systems
- Control systems, PLCs and electrical panels (policy dependent)
Insurers may ask for a machinery schedule, replacement values, ages, and maintenance routines.
Engineering/Breakdown Considerations
- Is breakdown cover included or separate?
- Does it include electrical and control system failures?
- Are cranes and lifting plant included (and are inspections up to date)?
- Is there BI cover for breakdown-triggered downtime?
- Are spare parts and express freight included?
- Are there any warranties/conditions around maintenance?
These details can make a big difference when the loss is not a “classic” fire claim.
Stock, Materials & Work in Progress
For steel manufacturers, stock values can be substantial and can fluctuate with steel and alloy prices, contract demand, and supply chain lead times. Property cover can be arranged to include raw materials, consumables, work in progress (WIP), and finished goods - but accurate values and the right basis is essential.
WIP can be one of the trickiest areas: partly processed items may have material + labour value, and the financial impact of loss is not always obvious from “stock at cost” accounting. If you run long production cycles, WIP values can spike.
Typical Stock / WIP Categories
- Raw steel and alloy materials
- Consumables and refractories (where applicable)
- Work in progress across production stages
- Finished goods awaiting dispatch
- Customer-owned materials or components (if you hold them)
If you hold customer goods, make sure policy wording is correct - it is not always automatically included.
Stock Risk Controls Insurers Like
- Good housekeeping and separation of combustibles
- Safe storage of oils/chemicals away from ignition sources
- Security controls (CCTV, alarms, access control)
- Clear racking and storage practices
- Fire detection and extinguishers appropriate to the risk
- Documented hot works controls
Good risk management can improve underwriting appetite and claim outcomes.
Business Interruption: The “Hidden” Property Exposure
Two steel manufacturing businesses can suffer the same property damage - and have completely different financial outcomes depending on their ability to recover production. Steel facilities often face long lead times for specialist plant, power systems, refractory rebuilds, and commissioning.
Business interruption (BI) cover is designed to protect your gross profit (or revenue basis, depending on wording) after an insured event. It can also fund increased cost of working to keep customers supplied: outsourcing, overtime, expedited freight, hire of temporary equipment, and alternative premises - subject to policy terms.
Key BI decisions include:
- Indemnity period (how long you need to recover - often longer than expected)
- Basis of settlement (gross profit vs gross revenue vs increased cost only)
- Dependencies (utilities, critical suppliers, single machine bottlenecks)
- Claims preparation (how you will evidence loss and increased costs)
We help steel manufacturers structure BI realistically - not optimistically.
What We’ll Need to Quote Steel Property Insurance
To achieve competitive terms, insurers need a clear and accurate risk presentation. Insure24 will guide you through the process, but in general we’ll collect:
Site & Risk Information
- Premises address, construction, age and occupancy
- Processes performed (casting, rolling, machining, heat treatment etc.)
- Fire risk controls: detection, suppression, hot works system, housekeeping
- Security controls: alarms, CCTV, access control, perimeter fencing
- Claims history and improvements implemented
- Any surveys, risk reports or planned upgrades
Values & Dependencies
- Buildings rebuild value / sums insured
- Contents and plant values (and a machinery schedule if available)
- Stock and WIP values (including seasonal fluctuations)
- Business interruption figures and indemnity period required
- Critical equipment and typical lead times to replace
- Utilities dependencies (power, gas, water, compressed air)
With the right detail, we can approach the market effectively and reduce surprises at survey stage.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What does factory property insurance typically cover?
Property insurance is designed to cover physical loss or damage to insured buildings, plant and contents caused by insured perils (such as fire, storm, flood and other listed events), subject to policy wording, conditions and exclusions.
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Do I insure my factory at market value or rebuild cost?
Buildings are typically insured on a rebuild basis (the cost to reinstate), not market value. Manufacturing sites can have specialist elements (floors, pits, infrastructure) that materially affect rebuild cost.
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Will property insurance cover internal machinery breakdown?
Often not. Property insurance commonly responds to external perils such as fire or flood. Internal mechanical or electrical failure is usually addressed by Machinery Breakdown / Engineering cover, depending on your programme and policy wording.
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How long should my business interruption indemnity period be?
It depends on your plant lead times, commissioning requirements and customer requalification needs. For steel manufacturing, recovery can take many months after major losses. Choosing an indemnity period that reflects realistic rebuild/replace timelines is crucial.
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Can I insure stock and work in progress?
Yes. Stock, raw materials, work in progress and finished goods can usually be included within property cover, subject to sums insured and valuation basis. If values fluctuate, it may be important to reflect peak exposures.
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What information do insurers need to quote steel factory property insurance?
Insurers typically need premises details (construction, occupancy, processes), fire and security controls, claims history, sums insured for buildings/contents/stock, and business interruption figures including a realistic indemnity period. A machinery schedule can also help where plant values are significant.
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How quickly can Insure24 arrange factory property insurance?
Once we have your site details, values/sums insured, process description, risk controls and claims history, we can usually progress quotes quickly. If you need urgent documentation for a landlord, lender or contract, call us and we’ll prioritise your request.