Plant is the most expensive thing on most sites and the thing most likely to be somebody else's. Whether you own the excavator, hired it, or hired it out, the cover has a different name and the exposures do not overlap. The one that surprises people is continuing hire: after a hired machine is destroyed, the hire charges keep running until it is replaced, and that liability is not part of the damage cover.
Owned plant, and what a policy actually insures
Owned plant cover answers for damage to and theft of your own machines on site, in transit and in the yard, usually on an agreed schedule with values. Insurers ask about immobilisers, trackers and overnight security because plant theft is organised rather than opportunistic, and the conditions attached to compounds and site storage are where these claims are decided.
Hired in plant, and the hire agreement's terms
Hired in plant remains the hire company's property, and the hire agreement makes you responsible for it, usually for damage, theft and continuing hire charges until it is replaced. Hired in plant cover answers for the first two and the continuing charges are commonly a separate extension with its own limit. Reading the hire terms before signing them is what tells you what limit you need.
Lifting, and the inspection regime
Lifting equipment and accessories are subject to a thorough examination regime, and work equipment generally must be suitable, maintained and used by trained people. A claim involving a lift, a sling or a quick hitch will be assessed against those records, and an insurer will ask about them at quote. They are also the cheapest thing on this list to get right.
Hiring plant OUT is a different business
A firm that hires plant to others has a product and a duty of care in the condition it supplies, and its liability reaches the site it sent the machine to. That is a different rating from a contractor using its own plant, and it brings questions about operator supply, instruction and inspection at handover. Tell the insurer which of the three you are, because the wording follows from it.
Questions people ask about plant hire insurance
What does plant hire insurance cover?
Owned plant against damage and theft, hired in plant for which you are contractually responsible, and usually continuing hire charges after a loss. Public and employers' liability sit alongside it rather than inside it.
Are continuing hire charges covered?
Only with a specific extension. After a hired machine is lost or destroyed the hire charges keep running until it is replaced, and the damage cover alone does not answer for them.
Does the hire company's insurance cover me?
Normally not. Hire agreements almost always pass responsibility for damage, theft and continuing charges to the hirer, which is why hired in plant cover exists. Read the hire terms before signing.
What do insurers ask about plant security?
Immobilisers, trackers, where machines are kept overnight and how compounds are secured. Plant theft is organised, and the conditions attached to storage are what decide a theft claim.