Digger Insurance

Whether bought new, second hand or hired it is vital that at all times you have full digger insurance.

When insuring a newly purchased digger it makes sense to get a quote from a specialist insurer used to dealing with heavy plant and construction machinery.

Some specialist insurers that offer liability insurance to the construction industry may extend their cover to provide insurance for excavators and jcb diggers. This can be a simple and cost effective route to heavy plant insurance.

When you hire a digger, insurance may not be offered for the rental term. It is therefore the hirer’s responsibility to arrange adequate insurance cover for the duration of the hire period.

The hire company will provide you with the necessary information to insure the digger on hire. Before approaching an insurance company or broker you will need the make, model, year of manufacture, value and serial number of the vehicle.

The insurer will also want to know where the digger will be used, for example at a private residence, by the roadside or on an isolated site. For insurance purposes you will be asked if the digger will be driven on the public highway; this may increase your premium. It will also be important to state (accurately) whether the vehicle will be locked up overnight and/or attended at all times and if it has an immobiliser.

You can arrange your JCB insurance from one day to whatever set period you specify, to begin immediately or at a predetermined date and time, for example from the moment of delivery on site.

Due to the high rates of theft of plant (and low rates of recovery), equipment and vehicles such as diggers, dumper trucks and excavators, are increasingly being security marked with CESAR mini electronic transponders tags as well as high visibility tamper proof triangular identification plates and fitted with other telematic locating devices such as Tracker or A-Track. Where these are fitted the insurer will want to know; providing this information should help reduce your premiums. Insurance companies, hire companies and the construction industry itself are very supportive of such measures.

Indeed, A-Plant, for example has recently introduced CESAR in many of its hire vehicles including mini excavators, telehandlers and dumpers. Digger insurance will be reduced where such technologies are fitted.