About Plant and Machinery Insurance
Plant and machinery is the gear that does the heavy lifting on a job site. Excavators, skid steers, bobcats, telehandlers, graders, rollers, dump trucks, and the smaller equipment that moves alongside them. The asset value adds up quickly, and the exposure travels with the equipment: between sites, on hire, parked overnight, and operating in conditions that produce damage. Plant and machinery insurance is the cover designed for those assets and the way they earn.
OneSure arranges plant and machinery cover for civil contractors, earthmovers, builders, hire operators, and trades businesses running their own equipment. Our brokers work in this sector every week, which means we know how cover behaves when a machine is damaged on a site, stolen from a yard, or written off in transit.
What plant and machinery insurance can cover
Plant and machinery insurance is generally built around the equipment itself, the way it is used, and the liability that follows it. Cover can typically include:
- Accidental damage to the machine from collision, overturning, or impact while in operation.
- Theft of the machine, including from a yard, depot, or work site.
- Fire, storm, hail, and malicious damage.
- Damage in transit between sites, including loading and unloading.
- Hire-in plant cover for equipment the business uses but does not own, including ongoing hire charges where the policy is endorsed for it.
- Cover for attachments, buckets, and accessories.
- Public liability arising out of the operation of the plant, where bundled.
- Replacement or hire-machine benefits to keep the job moving after a claim.
Policies vary in how each component is worded. The PDS sets out the cover on a given policy, and a broker walks through the detail before a policy is bound.
Earthmoving equipment insurance
Earthmoving equipment insurance is the most common form of plant cover. The class includes excavators, bobcats, skid steers, posi-tracks, loaders, dozers, graders, and the dump trucks and tippers that move alongside them. These are high-value assets that operate in conditions designed to produce damage: rough ground, weather exposure, and tight working spaces.
The exposures that drive most claims are predictable once they are mapped. Rollover and overturning incidents account for a large share. Damage during transport on a plant trailer is the next significant bucket. Theft from sites and yards rounds out the top three. Earthmoving equipment insurance is generally arranged to cover all three, with attention to the wording around loading and unloading because many claims happen in that few-minute window.
Mobile plant insurance for equipment that moves
Mobile plant insurance is the broader term for plant that moves under its own power or is transported between sites. The class extends beyond earthmoving into telehandlers, scissor lifts, boom lifts, mobile cranes, and the agricultural plant used in commercial operations.
The risk profile of mobile plant sits between commercial vehicle and static equipment. Some machines operate on public roads under their own registration, others are transported on trailers between every job. The cover needs to follow the way each machine actually moves and works, not assume one mode of use.
Construction equipment insurance
Construction equipment insurance describes the cover arranged by builders and civil contractors for the equipment they own and operate as part of their work. It often sits alongside contract works insurance on a project, with the contract works policy covering the build and the plant policy covering the machines doing the work. Builders running their own plant generally consolidate cover under a single broker so the wording across contract works, plant, and liability is consistent. A gap between policies usually surfaces at claim time, and a specialist broker spends most of their attention preventing those gaps before they exist.
Why work with a specialist broker
Off-the-shelf insurance treats plant and machinery as an add-on to commercial motor or business cover. The class needs its own attention. The asset values are higher, the operating environment is harder, and the claims experience is shaped by specific incident types that wording can either cover well or cover poorly.
OneSure brokers arrange plant and machinery cover every week. We know the insurers that write the class properly, the wordings that perform when claims are made, and the extensions worth adding for a given operator. We also handle the claim when one happens, which is when the difference between policies is felt.
Related cover
- Construction insurance and contract works cover for the projects the plant works on.
- Trades and services insurance for trades operating their own equipment.
- Commercial motor insurance for the utes, vans, and light trucks alongside the plant.
General advice disclaimer
The information provided by OneSure Insurance Services Pty Ltd on this website is for general information purposes only, and it is not a substitute for professional advice. You should always consider the PDS/policy wording before making a decision.
Coverage may differ based on specific clauses in individual policies. Refer to the FSG for our services and remuneration details.
OneSure Insurance Services Pty Ltd is an Authorised Representative (AR No 1242454) of PSC Connect Pty Ltd, ABN 23 141 574 914, AFS Licence No 344648.
Talk to a OneSure broker
Speak to a OneSure broker for an obligation-free conversation about plant and machinery insurance or earthmoving equipment insurance for your business. We will work through the equipment, how it is used, and the cover that fits.
