Factory insurance
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Why is factory insurance important?
From equipment breakdown and employee theft to public liability, accidents on factory premises can cost businesses hundreds of thousands of pounds. Slips, trips, and falls, as well as contact with equipment, are some of the most common causes of workplace injury, so a factory insurance policy gives you specific cover, with the option to add product liability, commercial legal expenses, and other popular protection.
- goods in transit and equipment breakdown – all covered up to your policy limit
- rated 4.7/5 based on 39K+ public liability customer reviews
- cyber liability insurance for claims against you, or an attack on your business
What does factory insurance cover?
Property damage insurance is often a priority for factories, built to protect against incidents which cause damage to insured buildings, or contents, fixtures and fittings. Many quotes will feature employers’ liability cover for staff, plus public liability insurance for third party injuries and property damage. From there, you can add specific cover for your factory, including business interruption insurance for an incident that stops operations.
Business interruption insurance
In case a crisis hits your factory premises, and you can’t operate.
Loss of licence insurance
In case your factory premises licence is removed.
Equipment breakdown insurance
In case there’s a problem with your equipment.
Terrorism insurance
In case your factory premises are hit by an act of terrorism.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your business.
Public liability insurance
In case your business causes an injury, illness, or property damage.
Product liability insurance
In case your products cause an injury or damage.
Commercial legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs in connection with your factory.
Cyber liability insurance
In case a cyber risk could damage your business and reputation.
Business interruption insurance
In case a crisis hits your factory premises, and you can’t operate.
What’s typically covered by business interruption insurance?
- lost profit, revenue, or rent following damage to your premises
- increases in the cost of working
For example:
- burst pipes in your factory premises cause flooding, and you’re forced to stop production
- a tree falls through some of your older factory roofing, making half of your premises unsafe for work
What isn’t covered?
- collapse or cracking of buildings
- vehicles required to be licensed for road use, including accessories
- disruption caused by changes in the water table, subsidence, ground heave, or landslip (unless specifically agreed in your policy wording)
Other exclusions apply – read the policy documents carefully to be clear on what is and isn’t covered.
Loss of licence insurance
In case your factory premises licence is removed.
What’s typically covered by loss of licence insurance?
- forfeiture, suspension, or withdrawal of the premises licence
- resulting loss of gross income
- costs incurred by you (within reason), while trying to maintain your gross income
- depreciation in value of the premises, if you can’t get a licence
What isn’t covered?
Loss of licence resulting from:
- any alterations to the premises made without the appropriate authority’s consent
- failure to comply with any direction or requirement of the licensing or other authority
- any town or country planning scheme
- your own misconduct, connivance, neglect or omission, or failure to take necessary steps to keep the licence in force
Equipment breakdown insurance
In case there’s a problem with your equipment.
What’s typically covered by equipment breakdown insurance?
- accidents and breakdowns involving equipment covered under the property damage section of your policy
- insured items typically covered up to £5 million
What isn’t covered?
- loss or damage caused by a pneumatic or gas pressure test of any boiler or pressure vessel, or an insulation breakdown test on electrical equipment
- damage which you can recover under your maintenance agreement, warranty or guarantee
- biomass, biogas and hydroelectric installations
Other exclusions apply – read the policy documents carefully to be clear on what is and isn’t covered.
Some insurers won’t cover certain items, unless they’re specifically agreed in your policy (for example, your manufacturing equipment). You’ll usually need to select property damage insurance and/or specified all risks insurance when building your policy, to get the right cover for your equipment and property.
Terrorism insurance
In case your factory premises are hit by an act of terrorism.
What’s typically covered by terrorism insurance?
- acts of terrorism within England, Wales, Scotland, and the Channel Tunnel, up to the frontier with the Republic of France
- property damage, business interruption, specified all risks, money and goods in transit, where insured by your policy
Exclusions and limitations apply to this cover – read the policy documents carefully to be clear on what is and isn’t covered.
Employers’ liability insurance
In case anyone gets ill or injured while working for your business.
What’s typically covered by employers’ liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- an injury or illness that happens as a result of working for you (including temps and casual workers)
For example:
- an employee badly sprains their ankle while working in your factory, and raises a claim against you
- a former employee is diagnosed with repetitive strain injury in her hands and wrists, and raises a claim
Employers’ liability insurance is required by law if you have people working for you. Without it, you could be fined up to £2,500 a day for each employee.
Public liability insurance
In case your business causes an injury, illness, or property damage.
What’s typically covered by public liability insurance?
Claims against your business for:
- damage to someone’s property, caused by your factory activities
- an injury or illness caused by your business activities or products
- accidental damage or injuries caused by your employees
For example:
- one of your clients visits the factory and becomes entangled in a piece of machinery during a spot test, injuring their hand and arm
- a forklift on your premises causes serious injury to an external training provider, and they decide to sue
If you do employ anyone, you’re usually required by law to have employers’ liability insurance too.
Product liability insurance
In case your products cause an injury or damage.
What’s typically covered by product liability insurance?
- your legal liability for injuries or damage caused by your products, up to the agreed limit
- associated costs and expenses
Exclusions and limitations apply to this cover – read the policy documents carefully to be clear on what is and isn’t covered.
Commercial legal expenses insurance
In case you’re faced with legal costs in connection with your factory.
What’s typically covered by legal expenses insurance?
- legal costs that you’re responsible for, within your business
- property damage, nuisance, or trespass – specifically, the associated legal claims and compensation payouts
- tax and compliance disputes and investigations you need help with
- access to expert advice – including a tax advice phone line, confidential 24/7 legal phone line, and crisis support to help you protect your professional reputation
For example:
- HMRC select you for a randomised tax inspection, and you need to hire a dedicated staff member
- three employees claim they didn’t receive adequate training before using your new forklift, and sue for injuries – you need to pay for associated legal costs
Cyber liability insurance
In case a cyber risk could damage your business and reputation.
What’s typically covered by cyber liability insurance?
- claims against you for data breach, virus transmission, loss of reputation, or breach of intellectual property rights
- data-breach expense, including professional legal, forensic, IT, PR, and crisis management services
- computer system damage costs and lost income
- cyber crime committed against you, such as telephone hacking or data and money theft
Your insurer may require you to:
- back up original data at least every seven days
- protect your computer system with a virus protection software package which is licensed to you, paid for and updated every seven days
- put appropriate procedures in place for disposing of and destroying hardware and hard copy files in order to protect data
Other exclusions apply – read the policy documents carefully to be clear on what is and isn’t covered.
This content has been created for general information purposes. Make sure you have the right level of business insurance by checking your policy documentation for details. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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Factory insurance FAQ
Whether you’re new to buying business insurance or you’ve been trading for a while, here are the answers to some commonly asked questions about factory insurance. You can also check out our business insurance FAQs.
If you provide other services, make sure you’re covered:
Other types of insurance
Each insurer looks at CCJs and IVAs differently – some apply stricter rules than others, but having a CCJ or IVA doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to buy insurance.
You can choose the payment type that suits your business and cash flow best. Some customers prefer to pay in one go, while others prefer to pay a regular monthly amount, like you do with lots of other bills. Simply Business offer three ways to pay for your policy:
- one-off credit or debit card payment
- BACS payment
- Direct Debit
If you choose to pay by Direct Debit, our credit provider, Premium Credit, pays Simply Business the full amount for your policy up front. You then repay Premium Credit in 10 monthly instalments.
This will depend on whether you have employers’ liability insurance in place. Public liability insurance is designed to protect your business against the consequences of legal action brought by members of the public for injuries or damage to their belongings. But when it comes to your employees causing injury or damage, this protection only activates if you also have employers’ liability insurance.
If you employ people, you’re required by law to have employers’ liability insurance.
There’s one exception here. Family businesses that aren’t incorporated as a limited company are not legally required to have employers’ liability insurance. The government defines a “family business” as one where all your employees are closely related to you (as a spouse, civil partner, sibling, child, parent, grandparent, grandchild, step-parent, stepchild or half-sibling). So if you run an unincorporated family business and you choose not to get employers’ liability insurance, it’s important to know that your public liability insurance wouldn’t cover you against damage or injury caused by your team.
We create this content for general information purposes and it should not be taken as advice. Always check policy documentation for details and seek professional advice. Read our full Terms and Conditions
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