Do You Need Boiler and Machinery Insurance?

Boiler and Machinery Insurance - H&K Insurance - Watertown, MAIf you own a business you are probably using equipment, machinery, and important heating and cooling systems, like a boiler. Imagine if your boiler were to explode. It could cause tremendous damage to other equipment, raw materials, inventory, or the building itself. Protecting yourself from these risks is an important part of protecting your business and profit.

What Is Boiler and Machinery Insurance?

Boiler and machinery insurance is essentially equipment insurance which covers many vital elements of your company. Air conditioning, electrical, and refrigeration systems are all covered. Mechanical equipment, some office equipment, pressure valves, various types of piping, turbines, pumps, compressors, blowers, generators, transformers, and of course, heating equipment like boilers can be covered. Because of the wide range of coverage available, “equipment insurance” or “equipment breakdown insurance” is probably a more accurate term. It is likely that virtually every time of business or facility has some equipment breakdown exposure.

Do You Need Boiler and Machinery Insurance?

While insurance policies often cover a variety of things and are somewhat customizable, boiler and machinery insurance tends to stand on its own. It’s almost never included with another coverage. Due to this, it to understand what boiler and machinery insurance is and if you need to have it. It covers things that your other insurance policies will not cover. A mechanical malfunction or a spike in voltage might not be the only concern. In fact, during the awful Hurricane Sandy of 2012, many companies found out all too late that much of their equipment was not covered at all.

What Does Boiler and Machinery Insurance Cover?

Your boiler and machinery insurance covers the following expenses:

  • Direct property loss: what it costs to replace or repair damaged equipment/property
  • Lost business income: any business profits you lose, plus cost of temporary equipment
  • Lost value: products or materials which are spoiled by covered breakdown
  • Other expenses incurred to limit the loss or speed restoration of operations
  • Business recovery expense

From this list it’s easy to see how quickly expenses accumulate when equipment breaks down. This is why almost all businesses have some type of equipment insurance.

Do You Insure Your Employees?

Of course you would insure your employees. Not only is it the law, it’s the ethical thing to do. However, after everyone leaves to go home and relax you still have faithful employees working away at your shop. Your equipment and machinery really should be viewed, in this sense, as an employee. They do a great amount of work to enable your company to succeed. While machines are replaceable, they are not cheap.

Remember, while machine and equipment failure doesn’t happen too often, it always seems to come at the worse time. Want to know more about how your company needs to be insured against the dangers of equipment failure? Contact the H&K Insurance Agency in Watertown, MA. Protect your company from liability and provide the right coverage to your unique location and services. We also offer a full business insurance for your company’s liability and ownership liability needs.