Manufacturer’s insurance

Manufacturing insurance provides cover for any business involved in the manufacturing industry. It is a very broad category that includes many different hazards and exposures. As a result, the requirements of every manufacturer are different and range from standard liabilities to many different extended covers, with specialist underwriting and wording available, if required. We will ascertain the exposures you face and arrange cover that is tailored to your exact requirements. Most covers can be provided in one combined policy.

There isn’t one specific policy for the manufacturing sector, as every manufacturer’s needs are different. Basically, insurance can be provided to cover every aspect of your business, from your employees to your machinery and the goods you produce. Every manufacturer that has employees is required by law to have employers’ liability insurance. Public and product liabilities are also essential, covering you for claims against you for injury or damage to a third party caused by your equipment or products. Other covers include business interruption, buildings and contents, machinery, stock, raw materials, goods in transit, cyber interruption and vehicles.

Depending on the area of manufacturing in which you operate, you may require additional covers. For instance, if you are involved in food manufacturing, you may need refrigerated or frozen stock deterioration and equipment breakdown. You may also require insurance for warehousing, equipment breakdown, employee theft or product recall. We can advise on the level of cover that best meets your requirements when we have ascertained your level of risk.

Your cover will be tailored to your specific manufacturing requirements, taking into account your size, location, number of employees, plant and equipment, raw materials, warehousing, goods produced, use of hazardous materials, impact on the environment, supply chain logistics and other factors. Your policy will cover buildings and contents, employers’, public and product liabilities, along with a range of extended covers to meet your individual needs.

Employers’ liability is required by law if you employ staff, while public liability and product liability are really essential for any manufacturing company, covering you against costs awarded against you for damage or injury to a third party caused by your products or negligence. We can advise on the level of liability cover you need to have in place and any additional or extended covers, depending on your individual requirements.

Public liability insurance offers protection in the event of a claim made against your business by a third party. Typically it covers against a claim for compensation for:

> Damage to a third party’s property caused by your manufacturing activities
> Illness or injury caused as a result of your business activities or products
> Accidental damage or injury caused as a result of your employees’ action.

For example, this cover would offer protection in the event a visitor is injured by a piece of your machinery or a visitor is subject to toxic exposure and burns as a result of a chemical spill in your premises.

This insurance covers your legal liability in the event your products cause injury, death or damage, up to an agreed limit, along with associated costs and expenses. This cover is tailored to your individual requirements, and exclusions and limitations may apply, which we can advise you about.

If you employ staff, whether full time, part time, temporary or casual, apprentice or trainee, you are legally obliged to take out employers’ liability cover. This offers protection in the event a member of staff gets ill or injured while working for your business.

If a crisis such as fire, flood or otherwise prevents your manufacturing premises from operating, business interruption cover provides help and assistance, helping you get through a difficult patch and back on your feet again. Typically, BI insurance covers:

> Lost profit, revenue or rent following the damage to your premises
> Any increases in the cost of working.
 
A number of exclusions apply, which we will be happy to explain, ensuring you have the level of business interruption cover in place that best meets your requirements.

By law you must declare all unspent convictions, including CCJS and IVAs. It is up to the individual insurer to decide if they wish to decline to insure you. While it may be more difficult to get insurance, a panel of specialist insurance providers offers cover for people in such circumstances, helping to provide an insurance solution.

As well as the standard employers’, public and product liabilities insurance required by all  manufacturing companies, speciality insurance is also available, depending on the area in which you operate. We deal with many specialist and niche providers and are able to tailor cover to your exact requirements, ensuring you are well protected against risks.