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STEEL MANUFACTURING INSURANCE - WHAT COVER DO YOU ACTUALLY NEED?
Steel manufacturing combines high-value assets with high-severity hazards: heat, hot works, moving machinery, cranes and forklifts, heavy loads, sharp edges, dust and fumes, and complex supply chain contracts. The right insurance programme is typically built around five pillars: people, property, production continuity, liability, and financial resilience.
This page is a practical guide to the covers most UK steel manufacturers consider - and the common gaps that can appear when a policy is arranged on “standard” terms without manufacturing detail.
1) Cover for People: Employers’ Liability and Workplace Risk
Most steel manufacturers need employers’ liability insurance - often a legal requirement where you employ staff. The severity profile in steel (crush injuries, burns, struck-by incidents, falls, manual handling and occupational illness) means EL should be treated as a core policy, not an afterthought.
A strong EL placement isn’t just about limit - it’s about matching the policy to how you actually operate: use of labour-only contractors, agency staff, apprentices, site contractors, and the reality of your supervision and control.
Employers’ Liability - What It’s For
- Employee injury claims (e.g. machinery, manual handling, slips/trips)
- Occupational illness allegations (e.g. dust/fume, noise exposure)
- Legal defence costs for insured claims
- Support for claims handling and incident response (policy dependent)
Claims defensibility often depends on documentation: training, RAMS, inspections, maintenance and incident records.
Optional People Covers to Consider
- Personal accident (for key employees / directors)
- Group income protection (support for long-term sickness)
- Key person cover (business continuity)
- Management liability / D&O (for leadership risk)
These aren’t always “must haves” - but they can be high value depending on your reliance on key individuals.
2) Cover for Property: Buildings, Plant, Stock and Work in Progress
Steel manufacturing concentrates a large portion of your balance sheet at one location. The priority is to protect the physical asset base: buildings, plant and machinery, stock, and WIP. The second priority is to protect the trading consequences of loss - business interruption.
Underinsurance is one of the most common issues we see in manufacturing property claims. Buildings should usually be insured on rebuild cost, not market value. Plant values also change as you invest in production capability.
Core Property Covers
- Buildings insurance (rebuild cost basis)
- Contents, plant and machinery (replacement value)
- Stock and work in progress (correct valuation basis)
- Theft and malicious damage (site-dependent)
- Money / fidelity options where relevant
The right values and accurate risk description are crucial for a claim-ready placement.
High-Value Extensions Often Relevant
- Machinery breakdown / engineering cover (internal failure)
- Deterioration of stock (if temperature-controlled exposure exists)
- Increased cost of working (keep production going)
- Specialist tools, patterns and dies (where used)
- Property damage + BI from utilities failure (policy dependent)
For steel sites, breakdown and BI design often determine whether the programme “works” in reality.
3) Liability Covers: Public, Products, Contractual and Specialist Exposures
Steel manufacturers can face liability exposure from two directions: operations (what happens on your site) and products (what happens after your steel components, castings or fabricated items are supplied). Contracts can add further obligations - warranties, penalties, and fitness-for-purpose clauses that need careful review.
Public & Products Liability
- Third-party injury claims (visitors, contractors, delivery drivers)
- Third-party property damage from your operations
- Products liability for supplied goods causing injury/property damage
- Legal defence costs for insured claims
A common gap: policies usually do not cover the cost of replacing your own defective work unless specifically insured.
Other Liability Covers That May Matter
- Professional indemnity (if you design/specify tolerances)
- Environmental / pollution liability (where exposure is material)
- Product recall / rectification (sector and contracts dependent)
- Contract works / installation cover (if you work off-site)
- Directors & officers (management liability)
The “right mix” depends on what you produce, where it ends up, and what your contracts demand.
4) Resilience Covers: Business Interruption, Cyber/OT and Supply Chain
The biggest losses in steel manufacturing are often “secondary” losses - not the physical damage, but the downtime, lost contracts, delayed orders, and cost to recover. That’s why resilience covers matter: business interruption (BI), cyber & OT, and (where relevant) supply chain dependency extensions.
If one critical machine failure (or ransomware incident) can stop production, your insurance should reflect that single point of failure - with realistic lead times and indemnity periods.
Business Interruption - Steel Reality
- Long lead times for plant replacement and commissioning
- Refractory rebuild and requalification requirements (where relevant)
- Customer delivery penalties and lost margin pressure
- Extra cost of working: outsourcing, overtime, expedited freight
BI works best when the indemnity period matches your “worst credible” recovery scenario.
Cyber & OT Risk
- Ransomware and system restoration
- Cyber business interruption and extra expense
- OT/ICS disruption: PLC, SCADA/HMI environments
- Cyber crime / payment diversion (optional)
Manufacturing cyber claims are often downtime-driven - make sure the policy structure reflects that.
Steel Manufacturing Insurance Checklist (Quick View)
If you want a simple, practical checklist to sense-check your programme, use this:
- Employers’ Liability (including labour-only/agency where relevant)
- Public & Products Liability (limits aligned to contracts and worst-case exposure)
- Buildings & Property (rebuild value, plant, contents, stock, WIP)
- Business Interruption (realistic indemnity period and sums insured)
- Machinery Breakdown (plant and critical infrastructure)
- Cyber & OT (ransomware + production downtime focus)
- Environmental / Pollution (where exposure is material)
- Transit / Goods in Transit (raw materials and finished goods movements)
- Management Liability (D&O) (if you want leadership protection)
- Contract Works / Installation (if you work off-site)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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What is the most important insurance for a steel manufacturer?
Most steel manufacturers prioritise employers’ liability, public/products liability, and property + business interruption. The “most important” depends on your site, plant values, customer contracts and how sensitive your business is to downtime.
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Do steel manufacturers need business interruption insurance?
Often yes. Downtime after fire, breakdown or cyber events can be the biggest financial loss. BI can cover loss of gross profit/income and increased cost of working following a covered event, subject to policy terms and an appropriate indemnity period.
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Is machinery breakdown different from property insurance?
Yes. Property insurance typically focuses on insured external perils (such as fire and flood). Machinery breakdown/engineering cover is designed to respond to internal mechanical or electrical failure, subject to policy wording. Many programmes combine both to reduce gaps.
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Do I need cyber insurance if I don’t hold much personal data?
Many manufacturers buy cyber cover primarily for ransomware and downtime risk, not only data liability. If your production or operations rely on IT/OT systems, cyber business interruption and restoration costs can be a key exposure.
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How do I choose liability limits for steel manufacturing?
Limits are often driven by customer contracts and worst-case exposure. Common PL/products limits include £2m, £5m or £10m, but the right level depends on what you supply, where it’s installed, and the severity profile of a failure scenario.
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How quickly can Insure24 arrange steel manufacturing insurance?
Once we have your activities, values (buildings/plant/stock), turnover, claims history and key risk controls, we can usually progress quotes quickly. If you need urgent documentation for a contract or audit, call us and we’ll prioritise your request.