UK Engineering Company Insurance Quotes
Engineering Company Insurance
Cover for established engineering businesses, bringing liability, property, machinery, business interruption and professional exposures together in one arrangement.
Why compare engineering cover here?
- Bring liability, property, machinery, products and BI into one commercial combined policy
- Built for established engineering, fabrication and manufacturing firms
- Cover for machinery, products liability, premises and work at customer sites
What is engineering company insurance?
Engineering company insurance can protect established engineering businesses against a range of commercial risks, including liability, property, machinery, business interruption and professional exposures. Cover can be arranged around the company's activities, turnover, workforce, premises, machinery, products and contracts, with Commercial Combined insurance providing one potential solution for multiple business risks.
The right mix depends on what a company designs, manufactures, installs or maintains, which is why an established engineering business is usually placed through a specialist broker rather than a generic comparison run.
Related commercial cover
How engineering company insurance works
Describe the business
Set out the engineering activities carried out, turnover, employees and wage roll, the value of machinery and specialist equipment, the products manufactured or supplied, and typical and largest contract values. Accurate answers bring back sharper quotes from the broker panel.
Compare specialist quotes
Your details reach brokers who rate engineering and manufacturing risks every working day. They price liability, machinery, products, property and the other exposures against the real business rather than a generic profile.
Set the cover up
Settle on the arrangement that suits the firm: individual policies for each exposure, or a Commercial Combined policy bringing property, machinery, liability, products and business interruption together on one renewal date.
What insurance does an engineering company need?
An engineering company usually starts from liability cover for its people and its work, then builds outward to the property, machinery, products and professional exposures that sit behind a working shop floor. A precision machining firm running CNC cells looks nothing like a welding and fabrication business or a firm that installs plant at customer premises, so the schedule follows the company's activities, turnover, workforce, machinery, products and contracts rather than a fixed list.
The moment anyone works for the company, whether on the shop floor, in the drawing office or out on a customer site, this becomes a legal requirement. It answers claims from machinists, welders, fitters and engineers who are injured or made ill by the work they carry out for you.
If your activities injure a third party or damage their property, at your works or while installing and servicing equipment at a customer's premises, this responds. Contracts with larger manufacturers and industrial clients frequently set the limit, and it often sits well above what a small workshop would hold.
For any firm that manufactures, supplies, installs or modifies products and components, this is central. A machined part or fabricated assembly that later fails carries a very different exposure from consultancy-only work, and selling into the US or Canada raises it further. It answers claims arising from what you have put into the market.
The workshop, factory unit or office the company operates from, together with its contents and business equipment, insured against fire, theft, escape of water, storm and the other standard perils, subject to the policy.
Engineering firms hold a substantial investment in specialist machinery, from CNC machines, lathes and milling machines to welding and cutting equipment, compressors and testing rigs. This covers that plant against physical damage, and the loss of a key machine can halt production long before it is repaired or replaced.
When an insured event stops the company trading, this replaces lost income and meets the overheads that carry on, wages and fixed costs among them. Engineering firms often lean heavily on one premises, a specialist machine, a key supplier or a particular production line, so an interruption can reach far beyond the cost of the equipment itself.
Where the firm provides design, specification, consultancy, technical advice, project management or engineering calculations, it carries professional responsibility as well as workmanship. This meets claims alleging an error in that work, and industrial clients increasingly want it in place before awarding a contract.
For engineering contractors undertaking installation and project work, this protects the works in progress against fire, storm, flood, theft and accidental damage until the project reaches completion, subject to policy terms.
Where the company owns plant or brings machinery in on hire for installation and site work, this covers owned items for damage and theft, and picks up the contractual responsibility that comes with hired-in equipment and its continuing hire charges.
Commercial Combined Insurance for Engineering Companies
Commercial combined insurance brings the main exposures an engineering company faces into a single policy, so premises, machinery, stock, liability, products and business interruption sit under one arrangement rather than a stack of separate products. Established engineering firms rarely carry just one risk at a time: a business running a workshop, employing engineers, owning high-value machinery and supplying manufactured parts is exposed across several areas at once. The sections below are the elements insurers typically fold into a combined policy for that kind of company, subject to the insurer and the individual risk.
Premises
Your workshop, factory unit or offices, along with the contents and business equipment kept there, insured against fire, theft, escape of water and storm, subject to the policy.
Employers' Liability
Required by law from the day you take on staff, this answers injury or illness claims brought by the machinists, welders, fitters and engineers who work for you on the shop floor and at customer sites.
Public Liability
Covers a third party or their property harmed by your activities, at your works or while installing and servicing equipment at a customer's site, and is often written at £5m or £10m to meet contract conditions.
Products Liability
Answers claims arising from the parts, components and assemblies your firm manufactures, supplies, installs or modifies, such as a machined component that fails once it is in service.
Stock and Materials
The raw materials, work in progress and finished goods held at your premises, from bar stock and sheet metal to completed assemblies, covered against loss or damage while in your care.
Machinery and Equipment
The CNC machines, lathes, milling machines, welding and cutting equipment and testing rigs the company depends on, covered for physical damage, with the loss of a key machine able to hold up production.
Business Interruption
Steps in when a fire, flood or machinery loss halts production, replacing lost turnover and meeting ongoing overheads such as wages while the company gets its premises and equipment back into use.
Other selected covers
Professional indemnity for design, specification and consultancy work, owned and hired-in plant, contract works, legal expenses and further lines can be added to the same schedule as the company's activities require.
Because a combined policy is assembled around the way the company works, the sections above are chosen to match your activities, workforce, machinery and products rather than bought piecemeal, subject to the insurer and the risk. Compare commercial combined insurance for engineering companies through FCA-regulated UK brokers.
Who this is for
Insurance for Engineering Companies
Engineering company insurance covers established engineering businesses across the sector, from general and mechanical engineering firms to fabrication companies, manufacturers, machinery installers and specialist engineering companies. It is arranged for engineering companies running real operations with premises, machinery, staff and contracts, not for someone after £50 of public liability, and cover is set against the size of the firm, its activities, its machinery and its products.
Established engineering companies
Engineering companies and manufacturers
This cover is built for established engineering companies, from smaller limited firms to businesses running full workshops, high-value machinery and multiple contracts, rather than someone after £50 of public liability. Cover is arranged around the liability, property, machinery, products and professional exposures a working engineering business carries.
- Engineering companies
- Manufacturers
- High-value machinery
- Higher limits
General engineering
General engineering companies
Firms carrying out general engineering work across a mix of jobs and contracts, needing liability, property and machinery cover under one arrangement.
Mechanical engineering businesses
Mechanical engineering firms machining, assembling and maintaining components and systems, needing liability, machinery and products cover in one arrangement.
Engineering contractors
Engineering contractors undertaking installation and project work at customer sites, where clients often require higher liability limits and evidence of cover.
Fabrication and welding companies
Fabrication companies and welding and fabrication businesses working metal into structures, assemblies and bespoke parts, with machinery, stock and products cover in mind.
Installation and servicing
Machinery installation and maintenance
Machinery installation companies and machinery repair and maintenance businesses commissioning and servicing plant, with exposures at both their own premises and customer sites.
Production
Manufacturing businesses
Manufacturers producing components and products in volume, insuring the machinery, stock and finished goods along with the products liability that comes with what they supply.
Pump engineers
Pump and pumping equipment engineers building, installing and maintaining pumps and systems for industrial and commercial clients.
Heating, ventilation and refrigeration
Heating and ventilation engineering firms and refrigeration engineers designing, installing and servicing systems at their own works and on customer premises.
Insulation engineering companies
Insulation engineering firms applying thermal and process insulation to plant, pipework and equipment across industrial premises and customer sites.
Power and control
Electrical engineering businesses
Electrical engineering firms building, wiring and commissioning control and power systems, covering the works, equipment and liability involved.
Heavy industry
Industrial engineering contractors
Established industrial engineering contractors working on plant and equipment for manufacturers and process sites, with liability arranged so cover lines up across every job.
Specialist work
Specialist engineering companies
Specialist engineering companies working in a defined field or to close tolerances, where machinery values, products supplied and required indemnity limits all sit higher, and cover is arranged to match the nature of the work.
Run an established engineering company or manufacturing business? Compare engineering company insurance quotes and set your cover against the size of the firm, its activities, its machinery and its products.
Engineering machinery and equipment insurance.
Engineering machinery and equipment insurance covers the specialist kit a workshop or factory runs its production on, from CNC machinery and lathes through to welding and testing equipment. Cover has two sides to weigh: the physical damage to a machine itself, and the wider effect on the business when a machine central to the shop floor is out of action and work cannot flow through it. What responds to each depends on the policy wording.
The machinery itself, from accidental damage, fire, electrical fault, breakdown or theft, on the shop floor and where relevant while installed at a customer site. A sum insured set against the replacement value of the machine puts the company in a position to repair or replace it, subject to the policy wording.
- Cover basisReplacement value
- What is insuredThe equipment
- Responds toDamage and theft
The cost of the machine can be the smaller part of the loss. When a computer-controlled machine central to production stops, jobs queue behind it, deliveries slip and income falls while it is repaired or a replacement is sourced and commissioned. This wider trading effect is where business interruption cover comes in, again subject to the terms of the policy.
- Cover basisLoss of income
- What is affectedProduction flow
- Responds toMachine unavailable
Machinery and equipment that can be covered.
Cover can extend across the range of machinery an engineering business runs, from computer-controlled production machines to the specialist tools on the bench. What can be included depends on the insurer and the equipment declared.
Getting machinery cover right
Set the sum insured against the replacement value of your machinery and specialist equipment, and think separately about how long the business could keep trading if a machine central to production went down, since that is what shapes the business interruption side rather than the machine value alone. Compare engineering company insurance to cover machinery and its wider trading effect alongside your other exposures.
What affects the cost of engineering company insurance?
What an engineering company pays turns on the shape of its work, not a single rate card. Turnover, wage roll, the activities carried out, the value of machinery on the shop floor, the products manufactured or supplied and the claims record all pull the figure one way or the other. A firm machining safety-critical components for export is read very differently from one running a small maintenance workshop, so a clear picture up front points the broker straight at the right market.
Put the activities, the turnover, the machinery values, the products manufactured and the contract values in front of the broker before any quote is run. No two insurers view engineering work the same way. Some will not touch safety-critical products, sales into the US or Canada or design responsibility, while others write exactly that. A specialist knows which market to approach, so an honest declaration steers you toward a workable quote instead of a decline weeks later.
MMC Engineering Insurance Specialists, FCA-authorised (reg. 916241)
Turnover, workforce and wage roll
Turnover, headcount and the wage roll sit at the heart of the rating, with years trading factored in alongside. More engineers on the payroll and a heavier wage bill lift the employers' liability exposure, while turnover signals the scale of engineering work passing through the firm each year.
Activities, premises and machinery values
Exactly what the company designs, manufactures, installs or maintains, the industrial or commercial premises it works from and the replacement value of the machinery and specialist equipment on the shop floor all move the number. A workshop full of CNC machinery, presses and welding plant carries a different exposure from a light assembly unit.
Products manufactured and where they are sold
What the company manufactures or supplies, the stock it holds and the countries its products are sold into all weigh on the price. Safety-critical components and sales into the US or Canada push the products liability exposure up, while a firm making non-critical parts for the home market sits further down the scale.
Work away, contract values and subcontractors
How much work is carried out away at customer premises, the typical and largest contract values and the use of subcontractors all count. Installing and commissioning plant on a client site carries exposures a workshop-only firm does not face, so a company working heavily off site rates differently.
Design and consultancy exposure
Once the company takes on design, specification, calculations, consultancy or technical advice, professional indemnity enters the frame and shapes the rating. A firm that only manufactures to a customer's drawings is read differently from one carrying design responsibility, and the further a business moves into design-and-build, the more the cover has to reach.
Claims history, limits and business interruption
Past claims, the liability limits a contract insists on and the level of business interruption cover required all feed through. Larger and public-sector contracts routinely call for £5m or £10m of public liability, an unblemished record works in your favour, and a run of product or liability losses does the opposite.
No two engineering companies are rated alike; the number reflects your own activities, machinery, products, contracts and claims. Compare engineering company insurance quotes to see how your activities, machinery values and products shape the cover across our specialist broker panel.
Products liability for engineering and manufacturing companies
Products liability cover responds where something a company has manufactured, supplied, installed or modified goes on to injure a third party or damage their property. For an engineering or manufacturing business it is one of the most important covers, because a manufactured or supplied component carries a very different exposure from consultancy-only work. What the company makes, the end use it is put to and the markets it is sold into all shape the risk, and each of these is also a question underwriters ask to qualify and rate the cover.
Components and end use
The products, components and parts a company manufactures, supplies, installs or modifies, and the end use they are put to once they leave the workshop. What the part does and who relies on it sits at the centre of the exposure.
- Manufactured or supplied components
- Parts incorporated into other products
- Safety-critical parts and their end use
- The cost of the faulty product itself
- Design advice, which sits with indemnity
Products liability
The cover that responds when a product the company has made, supplied, installed or modified causes injury to a third party or damage to their property. It sits at the heart of the proposition for any engineering or manufacturing business putting parts into the market, and can be written within a commercial combined policy.
- Third-party injury caused by a product
- Damage to third-party property
- Products sold across the UK
- Overseas sales, subject to the terms
- Written within a commercial combined policy
Markets, controls and claims
Where products are sold and how the business controls quality shape the risk an insurer takes on. The same details a company gives about its products double as the signals underwriters use to qualify and rate the cover.
- UK and overseas sales
- Sales into the US or Canada
- Quality control and testing records
- Annual product turnover and claims history
- Assumed without declaring the detail
| Underwriting signal | Makes or supplies products | Consultancy only |
|---|---|---|
| Manufactured or supplied components | ||
| Products incorporated into other products | ||
| Safety-critical components | ||
| Sales into the US or Canada | ||
| Annual product turnover rated | ||
| Quality control records reviewed | ||
| Previous product claims examined | ||
| Products liability a core cover |
Products liability exposure varies with what a company makes, the end use it is put to and the markets it reaches, with sales into the US or Canada, safety-critical parts and previous product claims all weighing on the risk. Cover always applies subject to the policy terms. Compare engineering company insurance to place products liability alongside your other covers.
Engineering insurance for manufacturers and fabricators
Manufacturers and fabricators carry risks that run from the raw material through to the finished component leaving the workshop, and the cover has to answer them all. Metal fabrication, machining, welding, assembly and product manufacture bring together products liability, machinery, stock, property and business interruption exposures that general trade cover was never built for.
Insurance for manufacturers and fabricators brings together products liability, machinery, stock, property and business interruption cover, so an engineering business can make, fabricate and supply components with the right protection behind it. The exact mix depends on what the company manufactures, the machinery it runs, the stock and materials it holds, where the finished products are sold and the people it employs, and it can be arranged as separate policies or brought together under a Commercial Combined policy for an established manufacturing or fabrication company.
Metal fabrication and welding
Cutting, forming, welding and fabricating metalwork puts employees, visitors and the finished fabrications at risk, and hot work carries its own fire exposure. Employers' and public liability answer injury and damage claims, while property and stock cover protect the workshop, materials and work in progress.
Cover to consider- Employers' and public liability
- Hot work and welding exposures
- Stock, materials and work in progress
Component manufacture and machining
Manufacturing and machining engineering components means the finished parts leave the workshop and go into use, so products liability matters most where a component is safety-critical or sold overseas. Cover can answer injury or damage caused by a manufactured or supplied product, and can take account of bespoke and batch production where these are declared to the insurer.
Cover to consider- Products liability for manufactured parts
- Safety-critical and exported components
- Bespoke and batch production
Machinery, stock and premises
Lathes, milling machines, CNC machinery, presses and cutting and welding equipment represent a substantial investment, and a manufacturer usually holds raw materials, work in progress and finished stock alongside them. Machinery and equipment cover, stock, buildings and contents, and business interruption all form part of the picture where a key machine or the premises is put out of action.
Cover to consider- Machinery and specialist equipment
- Raw materials, work in progress and stock
- Buildings, contents and business interruption
Because manufacturers and fabricators work across metal fabrication, machining, welding, assembly, product manufacture, high-value machinery, stock and the management of a workforce, one policy that recognises the full range of the business usually fits better than piecing cover together separately. A manufacturers and fabricators arrangement can also carry professional indemnity where the firm takes on design, drawings or specification responsibility, and public liability limits of £2m, £5m or £10m to meet what customers and contracts require.
Good to know: Manufacturing and fabrication risks vary considerably from one company to the next, so the cover has to be built around the actual business rather than a standard template. Giving a specialist broker detailed information about what is manufactured, the machinery run, the stock held, where products are sold and the contracts undertaken helps them understand the risk and discuss suitable cover and liability limits. MyMoneyComparison.com Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FCA registration number 916241.
Manufacturers and fabricators cover is arranged around the engineering work you actually do. Compare engineering company insurance quotes to see how your products, machinery, stock and contracts shape the cover across the MyMoneyComparison.com broker panel.
Machinery installation and maintenance insurance
Installing, servicing, maintaining, repairing and commissioning industrial machinery and plant carries exposures in two places at once: at the company's own workshop and away at customer premises. Working on a client's equipment, moving and lifting heavy plant, and leaving a machine running after commissioning all bring their own risk. Where a claim is cut back or turned down, the cause sits on a short and familiar list: work away from premises never declared, a liability limit set too low for the site, damage to the item being worked on that the policy was never set up to answer, or a commissioning or advice role not passed on to the insurer. Whether a claim is paid in full usually turns on what was declared to the insurer and where the work was carried out, rather than on the day the fault shows up.
| Scenario | When the claim is paid in full | When the claim is reduced or declined |
|---|---|---|
| Injury or damage at a customer's premises during installation | Paid Public liability is on cover at a limit the site requires and work away at customer premises was declared, so injury to a third party or damage to the customer's building during an installation is answered. | Reduced Where work away from the company's own premises was never declared, the payout can be cut back. A liability limit set too low for the site, or an activity the insurer was never told about, can leave a shortfall. |
| Damage to the customer's plant being worked on | Paid The policy includes cover for damage to property being worked on and to plant in the company's custody or control, this exposure was declared, so accidental damage to the machine being serviced is answered. | Declined Standard public liability often excludes damage to the very item being worked on. Where cover for property in the company's care, custody or control was not arranged, damage to the customer's machine can leave the claim unanswered. |
| A machine fails after installation and commissioning | Paid The installation and commissioning work was declared, and a sudden accident traced to the completed work causes injury or damage to other property, so the liability cover answers the third-party loss. | Declined The cost of putting right or redoing the company's own faulty work is not the same as third-party damage, and a commissioning role never declared can sit outside the terms and leave the loss unanswered. |
| Fire or breakdown at the company's own workshop | Paid The machinery, equipment and premises were insured at their correct values and business interruption was in place, so damage to a key machine and the loss of income while it is out of action are both answered. | Declined Machinery values or sums insured set too low, or a key machine never declared, can leave a shortfall, and business interruption pitched short of the real recovery time can leave lost income uncovered. |
| Loss of tools and test equipment away at a customer site | Paid Tools and specialist test equipment used away from premises were declared and held within the sum insured, reasonable security was in place, and theft of or damage to that equipment at a customer site is covered. | Declined The value of tools and equipment away from premises went past the declared limit, or cover was set for the workshop only with no away-from-premises extension, so a loss at the customer site can go unanswered. |
| Advice or specification on an installation proves wrong | Paid The company gave design, specification or technical advice on the installation, this was declared, and professional indemnity is in force, so a claim arising from that advice is answered by that cover. | Declined A design, specification or advice role was never declared and no professional indemnity was held, so a claim for faulty advice rather than a sudden accident is left unanswered. |
A reduced or refused claim for a machinery installation or maintenance company nearly always comes down to one of a few things: work away from premises never declared, a liability limit set too low for the site, damage to the customer's plant with no cover for property in the company's custody or control, or a commissioning or advice role taken on without the right cover. Giving a specialist broker a full picture of the workshop work, the work carried out at customer premises, the equipment used and the responsibilities taken on lets them set the cover and limits before anything goes wrong.
Specialist engineering brokers build these outcomes into the cover before anything goes wrong. Compare engineering company insurance quotes to see what sits in the policy as standard and what has to be declared for the workshop work, the customer-site work and the equipment your installation and maintenance business relies on.
What information is needed for an engineering insurance quote?
An engineering insurance quote is built from your company details, engineering activities, premises, machinery, products, contracts and claims record. The adaptive form asks about turnover, employees and wage roll, then what your company designs, manufactures, installs, repairs or maintains, the premises and machinery values at risk, the products you supply, your contract values and the covers and indemnity limits you need. Gather the details below before you start and a specialist broker can understand the risk accurately with fewer follow-up questions.
Company details and engineering activities
The form opens with the size of the company and exactly what your engineering business does across the year.
- Annual turnover, years trading and number of employees
- Annual wage roll across workshop, site and office staff
- The engineering activities the company carries out
- What it designs, manufactures, installs, repairs or maintains
Premises, machinery, products and contracts
The property you work from, the machinery you run and what you make or supply set much of the exposure being rated.
- Premises location, construction, security and occupancy
- Rebuild and contents values, plus machinery replacement value
- Products manufactured or supplied and where they are sold
- Typical and maximum contract values
Professional work, claims and required cover
Design or advisory work, time spent at customer premises, your claims record and the covers you need complete the picture.
- Whether design, specification, consultancy or advice is provided
- Percentage of work at customer or third-party premises
- Previous claims and losses over recent years
- Existing insurance, renewal date, required covers and indemnity limits
Professional indemnity insurance for engineering companies
Professional indemnity insurance covers engineering companies against claims arising from their design, calculations, specifications, consultancy and technical advice, and it sits as one part of the wider engineering insurance proposition rather than replacing it. Where a company designs a product, engineers a component, produces drawings or gives technical advice, a claim can allege the professional work was negligent and caused a customer financial loss, which the liability, property and machinery covers within a commercial combined arrangement are not built to answer. Open any heading below to see how professional indemnity fits with the rest of an engineering company's cover and why contracts set the limits they do.
One component of the wider engineering cover
The public liability, employers' liability, products liability, property and machinery covers within a commercial combined policy answer injury and physical damage, but they do not respond where the loss flows from the professional work itself. Once an engineering company designs a product, specifies materials, produces calculations or gives technical advice, it takes on a professional duty, and professional indemnity is the cover built for that exposure. It stays one part of the arrangement, not the whole of it.
A company working strictly to a customer's own drawings usually carries a smaller professional exposure. The moment design responsibility passes to the engineering company, whether under a design-and-build order or through in-house engineering, professional indemnity becomes a core cover to hold alongside the rest. See our professional indemnity insurance guide, or compare engineering insurance to discuss the cover.
Design responsibility and design-and-build work
Where an engineering company both designs and manufactures or installs, it carries responsibility for the whole outcome. The customer looks to one party, so if a bespoke machine, structural component, control system or fabricated assembly is later argued to be badly designed, the cost of putting it right can fall to the company that produced the design and the calculations behind it.
Professional indemnity responds to claims alleging the design was negligent or fell short of the standard expected of a competent engineer. It can meet defence costs and damages where a design failing causes a customer financial loss, subject to the policy terms and the indemnity limit, sitting alongside the commercial combined cover that answers the physical damage and injury risk.
Specifications, drawings and calculations
Design responsibility is not limited to load calculations. Selecting a material, tolerance or component that turns out to be unsuitable for its use, producing a drawing that is wrong, or writing a specification that does not meet the customer's requirements is a professional error even where the machining and fabrication are sound.
A specification or calculation error can lead to a claim for the cost of reworking or replacing parts that were correctly made to a flawed design. Professional indemnity answers the design and specification element of such a claim, working alongside the commercial combined cover that responds to any resulting physical damage or injury.
Negligent design and professional errors
The core of a professional indemnity claim is an allegation of negligence: a design, calculation, specification or piece of advice that fell below a reasonable professional standard and caused loss. Errors in load calculations, tolerance, material selection, control logic or technical advice are typical examples in engineering work.
Cover generally operates on a claims-made basis, meaning the policy in force when the claim is made responds, not the one in force when the work was done. Continuous cover matters, because a design fault can surface years after a product is delivered or a machine is commissioned. Read more on professional indemnity insurance to review your exposure.
Design done in-house or by outside consultants
An engineering company may design in-house or appoint outside design engineers, draughtsmen or specialist consultants to produce the design. Either way the company usually stays responsible to the customer for the design under the order, so a fault in a consultant's work can still result in a claim against the company.
Professional indemnity can respond to that claim, and a broker will look at how design is procured, what the consultants carry and how liabilities are passed down. Any engineering business taking on design responsibility should treat professional indemnity as a core cover rather than an optional extra.
Where design and products risk overlap
Where a company designs and makes a product, a single incident can involve both the design and the manufactured item. A component failure, for example, may be argued as a design fault, a manufacturing defect, or both, and the party bringing the claim will often pursue every avenue open to it.
This is why professional indemnity and products liability are considered together. Professional indemnity answers the design allegation while products liability and the wider commercial combined policy answer injury and physical damage, and holding both avoids a gap where a claim falls between them.
Contractual PI limit requirements
Many engineering contracts, particularly public sector, large commercial and design-and-build work, set out a minimum professional indemnity limit the company must hold and maintain. Common contract requirements sit at levels such as £1m, £2m, £5m or £10m depending on the project.
The required limit is frequently a condition of being awarded the contract, and some contracts ask that cover be maintained for a set number of years after the work is completed. Checking the limit and the run-off requirement before tendering avoids being caught short at award stage.
Run-off cover and continuous protection
Because professional indemnity works on a claims-made basis, cover needs to stay in place after a project finishes, and after a company stops trading, to answer claims about earlier design work. This continuing protection is known as run-off cover.
A contract that requires professional indemnity to be maintained for a period after the work is completed is relying on this principle. Letting cover lapse can leave historic design work unprotected, which is why continuity is a key part of managing professional risk.
For an engineering company with design responsibility, professional indemnity sits alongside the liability, property, machinery and products covers within a commercial combined arrangement, as one component of the whole. Compare engineering insurance quotes to discuss design responsibility and the right indemnity limit with a specialist broker.
Insurance for established engineering businesses
As an engineering company grows, its insurance requirements can become significantly more complex. A business operating from industrial premises, employing engineers and machine operators, owning high-value machinery, manufacturing or installing products and undertaking substantial commercial contracts may need a more detailed arrangement than a smaller engineering contractor. Larger workforces, sizeable wage rolls, work at customer sites, design responsibilities and overseas customers all point toward higher liability limits and a schedule built around the way the company genuinely works, most often a commercial combined arrangement.
Larger workforces and wage rolls
Teams of directly employed engineers, machine operators and workshop staff, a substantial wage bill and any labour engaged that counts as employees for cover. Employers' liability is required by law, set at a £5m legal minimum and commonly written at £10m.
Multiple and high-value contracts
Manufacturing and installation contracts running at once, individual jobs worth more and work won from larger commercial clients. The schedule has to answer for the single largest contract as well as the combined value in progress across the business.
Industrial premises and high-value machinery
A shop floor of CNC machinery, lathes, milling and welding equipment held in industrial or commercial premises, much of it central to production. Cover weighs both the replacement value of the machinery and the trading effect if a machine the business depends on goes down.
Work at client premises and subcontractors
Machinery installed, commissioned or maintained on customers' sites, worked alongside subcontractors brought in for particular jobs. Where the work happens and how that chain is engaged both drive the public liability limit an established firm has to hold.
Design responsibilities and higher limits
Take on engineering design, specification, calculations or design-and-build, and professional indemnity moves onto the schedule. Larger contracts and public-sector work tend to call for liability limits that climb to £5m or £10m as well.
Products, overseas customers and interruption
Products manufactured or supplied, customers overseas and parts moving through import and export all widen the exposure, from products liability to how far a single business interruption could reach. An established firm's claims record then sits alongside as part of how the risk is judged and priced.
The broader the operation, the more a single arrangement shaped around it earns its place. Compare cover for your business to line up liability limits, machinery and products with the way your company genuinely runs.
Commercial combined vs separate policies
One combined policy holds most of an engineering firm's covers together, whereas the separate-policy route places each risk with its own insurer. A fabrication or manufacturing business carrying employers' and public liability, products liability, machinery, stock and premises tends to find that a single combined arrangement leaves fewer gaps at renewal and less paperwork than a shelf of standalone certificates, and it gives one view across the whole business when a customer or contract asks to see cover. The right choice still turns on how many exposures the firm runs and how it prefers to manage them.
Unsure which way to go? The answer usually rests on how many exposures your firm runs and how you want to handle them. Compare engineering company insurance and line the cover up with how your business operates.
The cover detail shown reflects how UK commercial combined policies are generally put together for engineering and manufacturing businesses. It is for illustration only and is not a quotation. Covers, limits and exclusions differ by insurer and by individual circumstances.
Business interruption for engineering companies
Business interruption cover replaces lost income when an insured event stops an engineering company trading, and for engineering firms the loss can run far beyond the cost of replacing the damaged equipment itself. A workshop or factory often depends heavily on particular premises, specialist machinery, key suppliers, utilities, skilled employees or a single production line, so the disruption can carry on long after the physical repair is done.
Business interruption responds to lost income and continuing costs after an insured event, not to the physical damage itself, which the property and machinery covers meet. Engineering firms often rely on one premises, specialist machinery, key suppliers, utilities, skilled staff or a particular production line, so an incident can halt output for far longer than it takes to replace a machine. The sum insured and the indemnity period set at quote stage decide how far and how long the cover reaches, so both need to reflect how long the business would realistically take to recover.
Dependence on one premises
Many engineering companies run from a single workshop or factory. If fire, flood or another insured event puts that building out of use, the whole operation can stop until it is repaired or a new site is fitted out, which can take many months.
Specialist machinery
CNC machinery, lathes, presses and testing equipment can take a long time to replace, especially where a machine is built to order or imported. Business interruption looks beyond the repair bill to the income lost while that capacity is missing. See our engineering insurance guide.
Key suppliers
An engineering firm may rely on one or two suppliers for particular materials or components. Damage at a key supplier can interrupt production even when the company's own premises are untouched, and supplier extensions can bring this within the cover, subject to policy terms.
Utilities
Machining, welding and production lines depend on power, gas and water. A failure of the utility supply feeding the workshop can bring output to a halt, and utility extensions can respond to that loss, subject to the policy terms and any conditions.
Specialist employees
Skilled engineers, machinists and welders are not quickly replaced. Where output depends on a small number of key people, losing them for a period can restrict what the company can produce, and the cover can be arranged to reflect that dependence.
Particular production lines
Where turnover is concentrated on one production line or process, damage to that line can affect the whole business out of proportion to its share of the equipment. The indemnity period needs to allow for the real time to rebuild that capacity.
For an engineering company, business interruption often matters as much as the property cover itself. Compare engineering insurance quotes and set a sum insured and indemnity period that match how long the business would take to recover.
Engineering companies working at customer premises and overseas
Engineering companies rarely stay inside their own workshop. Machinery is installed, serviced and repaired at customer premises, products are supplied to other businesses, and both work and sales can reach overseas markets, so the liability, products and business interruption covers all need to reach beyond the factory gate. The policy territorial limits and the countries products are sold into decide how far the cover extends.
Work at customer premises
Installation, commissioning, servicing and repair often happen on a customer's site. Public liability needs to answer injury or damage caused while working away, and the percentage of work carried out at third-party premises is a rated factor a broker will ask about.
Products supplied to other businesses
Components and finished products pass into other companies' hands and are used long after they leave the workshop. Products liability answers injury or damage caused by a supplied product, and where those products end up matters to how the risk is rated.
Overseas customers
Selling to customers abroad, or travelling to work on their sites, takes the exposure outside the UK. The policy territorial limits set out which countries the liability and work-away cover reach, so overseas activity has to be declared at quote stage.
Sales into the US and Canada
Products sold into the United States or Canada carry a heavier products liability exposure because of the legal environment there. Insurers treat US and Canada sales separately, and the share of turnover going to those markets is a key underwriting question.
Import and export exposure
Importing materials or components and exporting finished goods brings its own risks in transit and in contract terms. A broker will look at how goods move, who carries the risk at each stage and what cover responds if they are lost or damaged.
How the covers respond together
Public liability, products liability and business interruption each reach beyond the premises in a different way. Setting out the work done away, the products supplied and the countries involved lets a specialist broker arrange territorial limits and product cover that match the real trading pattern.
Work away from the workshop and sales into other countries change how an engineering policy needs to be arranged. Compare engineering insurance quotes and set out your work away, overseas customers and product markets so a specialist broker can match the cover to it.
Specialist Engineering Company Insurance
Comparing engineering company insurance since 2013
MyMoneyComparison.com has been helping UK engineering, fabrication and manufacturing companies find cover since 2013. Whether you run a general engineering firm, machine and fabricate to order, install and maintain machinery, manufacture products or work across several sites, the same specialist broker panel understands engineering risk. Compare engineering company insurance from a panel that knows employers' and public liability, products liability, machinery and equipment, professional indemnity and the full spread of UK engineering exposures.
Why compare engineering company insurance?
Engineering risks sit a long way apart from one company to the next, so a broker who knows the trade can talk through cover that actually fits, which is the whole point of comparing. MyMoneyComparison.com is an FCA-regulated comparison and introducer service (FRN 916241); it is not the insurer, it does not underwrite policies and it does not sell them. It takes your details once and hands them to specialist brokers who can read the risk and rate it properly.
Standard business insurance aggregators
Built for off-the-shelf SME cover. Engineering work tends to be flagged as non-standard and either declined outright or squeezed through without the machinery, products and design detail a proper rating depends on.
Typical limitations- Machinery and equipment values barely accommodated
- Products liability and overseas sales handled poorly
- Design work and professional indemnity omitted
- Work at customer premises missed
- Established firms and £5m to £10m limits off-panel
Specialist engineering brokers
FCA-regulated brokers who work the engineering market day to day. Employers' and public liability, products liability, machinery and equipment, professional indemnity and commercial combined cover are talked through against the risk you set out, rather than forced into a fixed template.
Built around engineering- General engineering, fabrication and manufacturing
- Machinery, equipment and specialist tools
- Products liability, including US and Canada sales
- Design and build with professional indemnity
- Established firms needing £5m or £10m limits
One engineering company's exposure looks nothing like the next, so the fuller the picture you give, the better a specialist can read the risk and talk through cover that suits it. Setting out your activities, machinery, products, contract values and claims record from the start helps match you with brokers who write this market, and the Insurance Act 2015 expects a fair presentation of the risk to hold the policy good when a claim is made. MyMoneyComparison.com introduces you to those brokers; it is not the insurer and it neither underwrites nor sells the policy.
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Everything You Need to Know
Clear answers to the questions engineering companies and manufacturers ask most often about insuring their business.
What insurance does an engineering company need?
Most engineering companies carry Employers’ Liability once staff are employed in the workshop or office, Public Liability for third-party injury or property damage, and Products Liability where components are manufactured, supplied or installed. Cover for machinery, commercial property, stock and business interruption is common, with Professional Indemnity added where design or technical advice is provided.
What is engineering company insurance?
Engineering company insurance protects established engineering, fabrication and manufacturing businesses against a range of commercial risks, covering liability, property, machinery, business interruption and professional exposures. The mix is arranged around the company’s activities, turnover, workforce, premises, machinery, products and contracts. Commercial Combined insurance can bring several of these covers together within a single arrangement.
Can engineering companies get Commercial Combined insurance?
They can. Commercial Combined insurance suits established engineering businesses with exposures across several areas at once, bringing premises, machinery, stock, Employers’ Liability, Public Liability, Products Liability and business interruption together within one policy. What is included depends on the insurer and the individual risk, so cover is shaped around the company’s activities and values.
Do engineering companies need Employers' Liability insurance?
Once an engineering company employs anyone, whether in the workshop, on the factory floor or in the office, Employers’ Liability insurance is a legal requirement. The legal minimum is £5m of cover, though many engineering firms hold £10m. It responds to claims from staff who suffer injury or illness connected with their work.
Does engineering insurance include Products Liability?
It can, and Products Liability matters greatly for engineering firms that manufacture, supply, install or modify products and components. A manufactured part carries very different exposure from consultancy-only work, since a fault could cause injury or damage after leaving the premises. Sales into the US or Canada raise that exposure and are assessed separately.
Do engineering companies need Professional Indemnity insurance?
Professional Indemnity becomes relevant where an engineering company provides design, specification, technical advice, consultancy, project management or engineering calculations. It responds to claims alleging that this work caused a client financial loss. Firms undertaking only manufacture or fabrication may have less need, so cover is judged against the design and advisory responsibilities the business actually carries.
Can engineering machinery be insured?
Engineering firms hold substantial investment in specialist machinery, and cover can address physical damage to items such as CNC machinery, lathes, milling machines and welding equipment. Just as important is the wider effect of key machinery becoming unavailable, which can halt production. What responds depends on the policy wording and the values declared.
Can manufacturing equipment be covered?
Manufacturing and production equipment can be reflected within an engineering policy, from compressors and cutting equipment to computer-controlled and testing machinery. Cover looks at both physical loss or damage and the disruption caused when a production line stops. Replacement values and the equipment’s role in the business help shape a suitable arrangement.
Can engineering work at customer premises be insured?
Work carried out at customer or third-party sites can be covered, which matters for firms installing, servicing, commissioning or maintaining machinery away from their own premises. Public Liability responds to third-party injury or property damage while working on site. The proportion of work undertaken away from base helps a broker understand the risk.
Can machinery installation companies get engineering insurance?
Machinery installation companies are well suited to engineering insurance, since they face exposures at both their own workshop and the customer sites where equipment is installed or commissioned. Public Liability, Products Liability, tools, plant and business interruption may all feature. Cover is arranged around the type of installation work and the contract values involved.
Can fabrication companies get Commercial Combined insurance?
Fabrication companies are a strong fit for Commercial Combined insurance, as metal fabrication, welding, machining and assembly bring together machinery, stock, property, Products Liability and business interruption within one operation. A combined policy can hold these covers under a single arrangement. What is written reflects the activities, materials and values the business declares.
Does engineering insurance cover business interruption?
Business interruption cover can respond to lost income after an insured event stops the business trading. Engineering firms often depend heavily on one premises, specialist machinery, key suppliers, utilities or particular production lines, so a stoppage can cost far more than replacing equipment alone. The indemnity period should reflect how long recovery might realistically take.
Can engineering companies with overseas customers get insurance?
Engineering companies serving overseas customers can arrange cover, though import and export activity and products sold into other countries add exposure that a broker will want to understand. Sales into the US or Canada in particular are assessed separately under Products Liability. Details of where products go help shape appropriate limits and terms.
What information is needed for an engineering company insurance quote?
Useful details include turnover, years trading, employee numbers and wage roll, plus exactly what the company designs, manufactures, installs or maintains. Premises, machinery and stock values, products supplied and where they are sold, contract values, any design or consultancy work, subcontractors and claims history all help. Existing cover and required limits complete the picture.
Can larger engineering businesses compare insurance?
Larger and established engineering businesses can compare cover, and their requirements often grow more complex. A firm operating from industrial premises, employing engineers, owning high-value machinery, manufacturing or installing products and undertaking substantial contracts may need a more detailed arrangement than a smaller engineering contractor. Detailed information helps a specialist broker match the risk.
Does products liability cover exports to the US or Canada?
Products supplied into the US or Canada carry heightened exposure because of the legal environment in those markets, so this is assessed separately rather than assumed. An engineering firm exporting components there should declare it clearly, along with product turnover and end use. A broker can then discuss suitable limits and terms with insurers.
Can welding and fabrication risks be covered?
Welding and fabrication risks can be reflected within engineering insurance, taking account of hot-work processes, the products made and the machinery used. Public Liability, Products Liability, property and business interruption often feature together. Because these activities carry particular hazards, insurers look closely at the materials worked, the finished products and the controls the firm has in place.
Is CNC and specialist machinery covered?
CNC machinery and other specialist equipment such as lathes, milling machines and computer-controlled tools can be covered against physical loss or damage. The disruption caused when these high-value machines become unavailable can also be considered under business interruption. Declaring accurate replacement values matters, since specialist machinery is often costly and slow to replace.
Can engineering consultancy get professional indemnity insurance?
Engineering consultancies providing design, drawings, specifications, calculations, technical advice or project management can arrange Professional Indemnity cover. It responds to claims that professional work caused a client financial loss. Firms combining consultancy with manufacture or installation may hold it alongside other covers, with the limit reflecting the value and nature of the projects advised on.
Are subcontractors covered on engineering insurance?
Subcontractors can be reflected within an engineering policy, and how they are treated depends on whether they are labour-only or work under their own arrangements. Insurers usually ask about the amount of subcontracting and the checks made on those firms. Declaring this accurately helps a broker set terms that match how the business actually operates.
Can stock and materials be included?
Stock, raw materials and finished goods held at the premises can be included within an engineering policy, alongside machinery and business property. Values held, storage and security all matter to insurers. For firms with significant material on site, this cover works closely with business interruption, since a loss can also interrupt production and delay orders.
Is MyMoneyComparison the insurer?
No. MyMoneyComparison is an FCA-regulated comparison and introducer service, firm reference number 916241, not the insurer, and it does not sell policies. It puts engineering companies in touch with specialist brokers who understand workshops, machinery, products and contracts. Giving detailed information about the business helps a broker discuss suitable cover with insurers.
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