Industrial Insurance
Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane & Canberra

Industrial operations are best explained through the work performed at each stage. Set out how raw material arrives, where it is stored, how it is processed and what leaves the site. Identify heat, pressure, chemicals, combustible materials and specialist machinery where relevant. A machining workshop has different characteristics from a coating line or a facility with bulk material handling. Give the broker a clear site plan and a short process description, including outsourced stages. Explain whether your business also designs components, installs them at a customer’s premises or provides maintenance advice after delivery.

Some assets matter because the entire process depends on them. Identify a machine, control system, mould or electrical supply component that has no readily available substitute. Describe replacement lead times and any compatibility issues with the surrounding production line. Include machinery held under finance, hired plant and customer-owned material on site. Ask which insurance sections would be considered for physical damage, breakdown, third-party allegations and interruption, and where separate wording may be required. The discussion should distinguish a damaged machine from lost production and from contractual consequences, rather than treating every cost following a stoppage as the same exposure.

A practical submission combines an asset register with maintenance and inspection information. Record major machines by function, replacement basis and installation requirements, including freight, foundations and commissioning where relevant. Keep details of fire protection, electrical maintenance, hot-work controls and modifications available for review. If an insurer asks about a control, describe its actual use and any known limitations; a procedure stored in a folder is different from a system followed on the factory floor. Explain recent equipment failures and what changed afterwards so the broker can present the operating history accurately.

Customer contracts and product records need their own review. Show specifications, testing requirements, acceptance criteria and any undertaking about performance, replacement or consequential loss. Clarify who approved design changes and whether your business manufactures to another party’s drawings. Batch identification, material certificates and inspection records can help trace a component after a complaint. Where customers leave tooling or unfinished goods at the site, establish who owns it and who has agreed to insure it. Discuss indemnities and guarantees with appropriate advisers, because the contractual amount sought by a customer may differ substantially from what an insurance policy addresses.

After a machinery event or workshop fire, safety and control of the site come first. Preserve maintenance logs, alarm records and relevant production information without exposing staff to the hazard. Record which assets and batches were affected and which areas remained operational. Seek guidance about insurer assessment before major dismantling or replacement where circumstances permit. Keep separate records for damaged property, emergency expenditure, outsourced production and lost orders. That separation helps explain the impact of the event without assuming each item is recoverable. Retain the original facts even if an engineering investigation later reaches a different conclusion about cause.

Ahead of renewal, revisit new processes, production volumes, storage quantities and work performed away from the premises. A small change in product application can matter, particularly when components are used in a more demanding environment than before. Update critical spares and the realistic time needed to restart, including testing and customer approval of resumed production. Explore alternative suppliers and temporary production capacity as operational planning questions. Ask the broker how declared values, interruption calculations, limits and exclusions relate to these scenarios. A current process description makes that conversation more useful than simply renewing last year’s industrial business description.