Many contractors prefer to hire certain items of plant and machinery because it makes more sense to do so rather than buying the equipment if you are only going to be using it for a one-off project.
This construction plant and machinery is at risk of damage or loss due to theft. The risk is increased because often the equipment is out in the open on a construction site. Each year, equipment worth £70 million is stolen from construction sites and vandalism is also an issue. Damage to the equipment is also a risk, and because the equipment is out on the open, the risk of weather-related damage is increased.
You can take steps to prevent losses occurring but nobody can prevent everything that could go wrong from going wrong. You can minimise the risk of thefts taking place, but nobody can stop a determined thief, for instance. As such, it is important to make sure that any equipment that you have hired is protected via insurance.
Insuring hired-in plant & machinery
When you’re hiring in plant and machinery, often the hirer will offer insurance to cover the items at an additional cost. However, it can be better to arrange the hired in plant insurance uk yourself for a number of reasons.
One of those reasons is cost. It can be more cost effective to arrange your own insurance, particularly if you are hiring plant and machinery on a regular basis throughout the year.
The other reason is that the insurance offered by the company hiring the equipment to you may be restricted, and by arranging your own insurance you can get wider cover.
Cost implications
Although the hirer may offer insurance, often that insurance will cost more than the insurance that is available elsewhere. It’s worth getting a quote to make sure that the hirer’s insurance is priced competitively.
However, if you are hiring plant and machinery on a regular basis throughout the year, adding hired in plant and machinery cover to your contract works insurance can be considerably more cost effective.
A contract works insurance policy can provide cover for any plant and machinery that you hire throughout the year, up to a pre-agreed limit. Because it is an annual policy rather than lots of short-term insurance policies, the cost can be much lower.
Cover implications
The hirer’s insurance may contain restrictions which would mean that some claims would not be covered. As an example, cover for accidental damage isn’t always included in the hirer’s insurance.
By arranging your own insurance to cover any hired-in plant and machinery, you have control over what is covered and can make sure that there are no gaps in the cover which could potentially mean that you were uninsured if something happened that meant that you had to make a claim.
Insurance at hard to beat rates
Starting at £59* per yearBy arranging your own insurance via a contract works policy, you will also be covered for continuing hire charges. These are charges that you are legally liable to pay to the hirer even though you are unable to use the equipment due to its damage or theft.
The other advantage of insuring any plant and equipment that you hire in via an annual contract works insurance policy is that there is no risk of forgetting to insure a piece of equipment because the policy will cover anything you hire throughout the year, subject to the value of the hired-in plant and equipment being within the policy limit.
Evidence of insurance
Most hirers will want to see evidence that you have your own insurance if you don’t take their own insurance option when you are hiring plant or machinery. You may need to show them your insurance policy document or get your insurance provider to confirm that cover is in place.
