COVERING UNIQUE
ROAD RISKS
THE ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE INDUSTRY OPERATES IN ONE OF THE MOST DYNAMIC AND HAZARDOUS WORK ENVIRONMENTS, AND WHILE THERE ARE NUMEROUS FACTORS BEHIND CONSTRUCTION SITE CLAIMS, MOBILE PLANTS AND MACHINERY ARE INVOLVED IN A NUMBER OF THESE.
T
he basic engineering principles used in the construction of advanced plant and machinery involves the full spectrum of both mechanical and structural design. While some of these machines share a common goal and function, the types and uses of machinery fall into a wide array of applications. These uses are subject to a number of environmental conditions and external forces, which include geographical location, terrain, wind, weather and frequency of use, as well as the operator’s experience and skill level. According to Stan Alexandropoulos, Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA) Chief Operating Officer, the unique exposures that mobile plants and equipment face means adequately covering the sector is not a job for everybody. “When we have machinery claims, they are usually low in frequency but high in
UAA has an array of comprehensive policies designed to protect road-making equipment. 54
ROADS FEBRUARY 2020
severity, such as serious property damage and personal injury, so you need a very specialised product that identifies those exposures and makes sure that they are actually being covered and the insured’s business is effectively protected,” Mr. Alexandropoulos says. “We’ve got a very comprehensive policy called the Industrial Special Plant (ISP) policy, which has been developed for mobile plant and machinery such as road making equipment.” UAA, the largest specialist underwriting agency for mobile plant and construction equipment in Australia and New Zealand, has seven sections in its ISP policy, which cover the different exposures associated with the equipment. The first section is Damage cover, where UAA will indemnify the insured against damage to a machine that occurs within the territorial limits and period of insurance.
“It’s what we call an ‘all risks’ policy, which pays for the machine to be repaired or replaced depending on the severity of the damage, while also covering other exposures likes theft and malicious damage. Basically, if it is not listed as a specific exclusion in our policy, then it is covered,” Mr. Alexandropoulos explains. Under section two – Hired-in Plant cover – UAA will indemnify the insured against liability to the owner arising from damage to a machine hired by the insured that occurs within the territorial limits. This must be during the period of insurance, during the period of hire, and while the machine is in the physical possession and control of the insured. “If the insured hires equipment in from an equipment hire company, we will cover it even though they don’t own it, because these places require them to have some sort of insurance cover in place when
