How insurance looks for plant hire businesses
Plant hire businesses own excavators, loaders, rollers, compressors and other equipment, and hire it out dry, or wet with an operator. Income depends on the fleet staying available and on recovering the cost of damage that hirers cause.
The hire agreement is as important as the policy. It allocates risk between you and the hirer, sets the value the hirer must insure for, and determines whether you offer a damage waiver.
Exposures to assess
These scenarios show where the insurance conversation usually becomes specific for this trade. They are exposures to assess with an insurer, not assurances that any policy will respond.
A hirer damages a machine
An excavator is damaged on a hirer’s site. Assess how the hire agreement allocates the loss, whether the hirer was required to insure, and how your own policy treats a machine on hire.
A damage waiver dispute
You offer a damage waiver for a fee, and a hirer claims it covers a loss you say is excluded. Review the waiver’s wording and its relationship to your policy.
Operated plant causes third-party damage
On a wet hire, your operator damages a client’s property or injures someone. Consider which party’s liability policy would respond and what the hire agreement says.
Theft from a remote hirer site
A machine on hire is stolen from a site you do not control. Ask what security conditions your policy attaches and what the hirer must provide.
Valuation and ageing fleet
Values on the schedule no longer reflect the market. Discuss how values are reviewed and how additions and disposals are managed.
Covers to discuss
| Cover | Why it may matter |
|---|---|
| Owned plant | Structures cover around a portfolio that is bought, hired out and sold during the year. |
| Plant All Risk | The core cover for the machines themselves. |
| Public liability | Addresses liability arising from operated plant and from your operations. |
| Construction fleet | Delivery vehicles and low-beds used to move machines to hirers. |
| Sasria cover | Machines on hire at remote or sensitive sites can be affected by unrest. |
Information that helps us prepare a quotation
- Your hire agreement and any damage waiver terms.
- A plant register with values and the proportion of the fleet on hire at any time.
- Whether you hire wet, dry or both, and who supplies operators.
- What hirers are required to insure and how you check it.
- Tracking and security measures on machines.
- Delivery and collection arrangements.
Frequently asked questions
Does my plant policy cover machines while on hire?
Not automatically. Hire-out can change the risk, and the policy may impose conditions. Make sure the insurer knows that machines are hired out and on what terms.
Should I insist hirers insure the machines?
Many hire agreements require it, with proof before delivery. Whether it is practical depends on your customers and your terms. The agreement should be reviewed alongside your own insurance. See hired-in plant responsibilities.
Related guides
- Hired-in plant: insurance responsibilities explainedWhy contractors should review hire terms and insurance for hired-in plant: who bears risk, damage waivers, wet and dry hire, evidence of insurance and charges.
- What affects the cost of plant insuranceWhat affects plant insurance cost for contractors: valuation, equipment type and age, usage, location, security, operators, excess and claims record. No premium rates.
- Documents needed for a construction insurance quoteA practical guide to the documents and information needed for a construction insurance quote: project, contract, plant, business and claims information.
Related industries
- Earthmoving contractorsPlant, transit, underground services and ground stability for bulk earthworks and site preparation.
- Civil contractorsContract works, liability, plant and guarantees for roads, stormwater, sewers, bridges and bulk earthworks.
- Construction subcontractorsFlow-down requirements from the main contract, liability limits, tools and evidence of cover for subcontractors.