Most manufacturers we meet have some insurance — usually fire cover, maybe motor insurance for company vehicles. Far fewer have looked at their coverage as a complete system. Here's the checklist we actually use when reviewing a manufacturing business end to end.
1. Property & Asset Protection
- Fire insurance on building, machinery, and stock, at current reinstatement value — not an outdated figure from three renewals ago
- Machinery breakdown cover, separate from fire — mechanical and electrical failure isn't covered by standard fire policies
- Business interruption cover — the loss of profit while you're rebuilding, which is often larger than the physical repair cost itself
- Burglary cover for stock, equipment, and fixtures
2. People & Workforce
- Workmen compensation insurance — your statutory liability under the Employee's Compensation Act, which exists whether or not it's insured
- Group health insurance for employees — increasingly expected, and a genuine retention tool
- Group personal accident cover, distinct from workmen compensation, addressing broader accidental injury or death
💡 Workmen compensation and group personal accident are often confused. WC is your statutory liability specifically for employment-related injury. GPA is a broader, voluntary benefit. Most manufacturers need both, not one instead of the other.
3. Goods in Transit
- Marine/inland transit cover for raw materials coming in and finished goods going out — a genuinely common gap, since fire insurance stops at your factory gate
- Fleet insurance if you operate your own delivery or transport vehicles, rather than insuring each one individually
4. Liability Exposure
- Product liability — if your product causes harm after leaving your factory, this is what responds, not your property policy
- Public liability for visitors, contractors, or third parties on your premises
- Directors & Officers cover if you have a formal board — this exists regardless of company size
5. Emerging Risk Categories Manufacturers Often Skip
- Cyber insurance — increasingly relevant as production lines become IT-dependent, since a ransomware attack can halt physical operations, not just data access
- Trade credit insurance, if you extend significant payment terms to customers and carry real exposure to buyer default
The Questions Worth Asking Yourself
Beyond the checklist itself, a few honest questions reveal most gaps:
- If my main production line went down for two months, would my current insurance actually replace the lost income, or just repair the machinery?
- If a product I made caused harm to a customer after it left my factory, what actually covers that?
- If a contract labourer was injured on my site, is that covered — not just my direct payroll employees?
- Has my sum insured across any of these policies been updated in the last 12 months, as the business has grown?
Why This Needs to Be Reviewed as a System, Not Individual Policies
The real risk in manufacturing insurance isn't usually one glaring gap — it's several small, individually-reasonable gaps that compound. A factory with good fire cover but no business interruption, workmen compensation but no group personal accident, and product liability that hasn't been reviewed since the product line expanded, looks fully insured on paper and isn't, in practice. A proper review looks at all of it together, not one renewal notice at a time.
