Manufacturers Insurance
Manufacturers use metal, wood, plastics, fabrics, lacquers, paint and more to fashion everything from their raw materials. Manufacturers have a tremendous range of products and materials in their manufacturing facilities – including many that are highly flammable. Some employees may at times engage in hazardous work using large, expensive and dangerous equipment, while others may craft pieces with their hands, making them highly susceptible to repetitive motion and other work-related injuries.
Manufacturers need a comprehensive manufacturing insurance program designed to address their unique needs.
What Risks Do Manufacturers Face?
Employees of manufacturers face safety concerns every day using heavy, expensive and dangerous industrial equipment, even when simply using hand-held tools. As a business owner, you need to understand all of your business risks and how to protect your business and your employees from devastating injuries, property damage and financial loss.
Every day, manufacturers face risks from employee injury, equipment breakdown, product defects, fire, weather and other types of interruptions, including the following:
- Employee safety concerns (burns, machinery dangers, slips and falls, etc.)
- Equipment and building damage due to accidents, fire, theft, weather and other natural disasters
- Machinery and equipment breakdown
- Business interruption due to accidents, fire, natural disasters, machinery breakdown, utility interruption and more
- Damage to products in transit
- Product defects and recalls
Protect Your Business Property First
Manufacturers can be considered high hazard businesses because of the numerous flammable materials on the premises as well as the highly valuable parts and inventory that may be on hand.
Your buildings and equipment are susceptible to fire, theft, vandalism and natural disasters. You need commercial property insurance to protect your building and other property in the event of a covered loss.
Commercial property insurance protects your business if a fire, vandalism, smoke, theft or another covered peril (cause of loss) damages your property. It provides coverage for lost inventory, industrial equipment and machinery, warehouses and office space, office equipment, computers, valuable papers, and more. It may also provide coverage for neighbouring facilities and completed products housed on your premises.
Commercial property insurance policies usually include business interruption coverage, or business income coverage, which protects your earnings and helps to pay expenses if your business is unable to operate because of damage caused by some type of covered disruption (fire, hail, wind, equipment breakdown). And you can expand your business income policy to include coverage for breakdowns in utility services (water, electrical) that force you to temporarily close your doors.
Determining how to best to cover all of your business property is essential. You need to work with an experienced independent insurance agent who can help you evaluate and calculate appropriate valuations for your plant and equipment and determine the right policy limits. In order to secure the best coverage and rates, you must be sure to make safety and fire prevention in your plant a top priority.
You may need additional coverage for your product as it is being transported from place to place. Your shipping contracts determine which party is responsible for a product as it is transported, and in cases where you are responsible for items in transit, you may need inland marine insurance.
Goods in Transit (GIT) insurance protects you from losses when cargo is damaged in transit. Any piece of property that is moved from one location to another can be covered with an inland marine policy. The best way to ensure that you find the right type of GIT coverage for your needs is to work with someone like us who has experience working with manufacturers.
Another potentially devastating property risk for manufacturers is damage to or breakdown of equipment. Without your specialised equipment, your business would be unable to operate, pay for expenses and earn revenue.
Equipment breakdown insurance, often referred to as boiler and machinery coverage, supplements your business property insurance. It covers certain costs associated with accidental breakdown of machinery or equipment and the resulting property damage or loss.
Equipment breakdown coverage typically covers breakdowns due to power surges, motor burnout, boiler malfunction and even operator error. You can obtain coverage for mechanical and electrical equipment, computers and computer systems, boilers, and other types of pressure equipment.
Boiler and machinery insurance covers repair and replacement costs, as well as business interruption costs, related to a breakdown of covered machinery or equipment.
Protect Your Employees
The safety of employees in a manufacturing environment is of utmost importance. Manufacturing facilities can be dangerous places. Your workers may come into contact with heat and welding tools, cutting tools, heavy machinery, and numerous dangers to fingers, toes, eyes and other appendages. Employees who regularly work with hand tools are particularly vulnerable to repetitive motion injuries. And constant exposure to lacquers, paints and other chemicals also can be potentially dangerous to workers.
Keeping your employees safe from work-related injuries and illnesses is important for your employees’ long-term health and satisfaction as well as your company’s financial viability. Excessive employee injuries and illnesses can be financially devastating for your business.
Employers Liability provides insurance coverage when accidents happen at the workplace. It ensures that the injured worker gets medical care and income protection while unable to work.
Employers Liability insurance provides benefits to injured workers regardless of who is at fault for their injury. And it provides death benefits for a worker’s dependents if the worker is killed.
Liability Claims Are Common for Manufacturers
Manufacturers are susceptible to a variety of liability risks. You can protect your operations, products and customers with a variety of business liability policies designed for manufacturers.
You may not typically have customers or the general public on your premises, but you still need general liability insurance for occasions in which your business is negligent and causes bodily injury or property damage to a third party. Your Public Liability policy protects you in the event of third-party lawsuits, with coverage for legal fees, court costs, settlements and judgments up to the limits of your policy.
Like any company that manufacturers a product, you may also have product liability exposures. Claims for product-related damages are usually related to manufacturing or production flaws, design defects, or defective warnings or instructions. If you are sued for some type of product negligence, you may be required to pay for medical costs, compensatory damages, economic damages, legal fees, court costs and more.
Product Liability Insurance covers your financial responsibility for losses or injuries to a user, buyer or bystander caused by a defect or malfunction of your product. Some product liability coverage is usually included in standard commercial general liability (CGL) policies, but this coverage may not be sufficient for a manufacturer. You need an experienced broker to help you determine how much product liability exposure you have and how much and what type of coverage you need.
If you own trucks or other vehicles, Motor Fleet insurance covers your vehicle fleet and drivers in the event of an accident or other vehicle damage. Motor Fleet insurance provides coverage for property damage and bodily injury liability claims, vehicle damage and medical bills as well as any costs related to legal costs due to vehicle accidents involving your vehicle fleet.
Fleet safety is very important for any company that engages in the movement of goods. Working together with ourselves, you can design and implement insurance and safety programs that keep your drivers safe, your cargo intact and your insurance premiums under control. Employing only highly qualified drivers and requiring unfailing safety practices should be top priorities.
Find Manufacturer Insurance Tailored to Your Business
Whether you are a large manufacturer or a small artisan woodworker, you need tailored manufacturing insurance to protect you from the unique exposures inherent in your business. You don’t have to spend time chasing down quotes on your own – QI Insurance can function as a trusted adviser who can help you find the right mix of coverage for your needs and budget.
What else do I need?
For more information or a quotation for this type of cover, please Contact Us, call 01702 560230 or email us at [email protected]
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