Unlike many other types of insurance, engineering insurance protects against an inevitability rather than a possibility, says Miramar Engineering Team Leader Joel Edwards.

“Engineering insurance covers machinery breakdown, so it is more of a ‘when’ as opposed to an ‘if’ it happens type of cover, such as with fire cover in property insurance. Any business with operational machinery can expect a machinery breakdown failure to occur at some point.”

When it does, engineering cover can help pick up the bill, making it a business essential rather than nice to have.

What does engineering insurance cover?

Engineering insurance protects against losses caused by installed plant breakdown or failure, Barry Regan, Miramar Senior Engineering Underwriter explains.

This may include cover for items such as machinery, boilers, refrigeration equipment, and pressure vessels, among many other items.

“While some businesses budget for maintenance and repair for their plant and machinery, unexpected events do happen. So, engineering cover protects against the repair costs arising from unexpected breakdowns,” Barry says.

The policy also covers accidental damage, which could include cases of employee negligence or a power outage, causing damage to machinery.

In the case of refrigeration or cold storage, the cover can be extended to any stock lost due to machinery breakdown or failure.

The benefits of stand-alone engineering cover

A common misconception is that engineering insurance, which is often sold as part of a business pack or industrial special risks policy, has to be bundled up with property insurance. This is not the case for Miramar, and the team are happy to underwrite this cover as a standalone product.

“In the case of business package or other property products, brokers should be aware that the limits of cover for machinery breakdown can be quite low,” Joel says. “In many cases, the plant and equipment owned and operated by a business are big ticket, expensive items, sometimes worth millions of dollars, so it’s important to ensure there is adequate cover.”

Who needs engineering insurance?

In line with Miramar’s broad risk appetite, our engineering insurance is designed to suit a wide range of industries and businesses of all sizes.

This can include breweries, garages, butchers, cold stores, dairies, engineering firms, office buildings, wineries or woodworking businesses, to name just a few.

“The types of risks we write depend on the operation and maintenance of the plant and equipment, rather than a class of industry,” Joel says. He adds that if brokers aren’t sure a business is within Miramar’s engineering risk appetite, the best thing they can do is contact one of the underwriters to ask.

To learn more about the Miramar engineering insurance policy:

• Download the flyer
• View the product page 

How to contact the engineering team

To contact us, brokers can initially email the Miramar engineering inbox: engineering@miramaruw.com.au.

New business enquiries can also be directed to Barry (bregan@miramaruw.com.au) while renewals or mid-term adjustments can be sent to Joel (joel.edwards@miramaruw.com.au).

Miramar, backed by its security Zurich, offers to arrange a broad range of engineering cover by personal service. To learn more about our products please visit our website.

Miramar Underwriting Agency Pty Ltd (‘Miramar’) acts under binding authority as agent for Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (‘Zurich’), the insurer of the products.