Plant is the contractor's capital – and the construction site sits at the top of the theft and breakdown statistics. Yet cover for plant is one of the most common blind spots in the CAR world, because it sits on the border of three genres at once: a construction tool, an asset, and a vehicle. This article draws the boundaries.
- Construction plant typically isn't included in CAR's base cover – it can be brought in by endorsement.
- Alternative: standalone plant (breakdown) insurance, which follows the machine independently of any project.
- If the machine also travels on public roads, compulsory third-party motor insurance and casco (own-damage) cover come into play too – that's fleet-insurance territory.
- Small plant and hand tools: typically covered with a sub-limit and an expectation of secure, locked storage.
The three genres
First: the machine as a construction tool – it can be attached to CAR by endorsement, typically for the site and for the duration of the project. Second: the machine as an asset – standalone plant insurance (breakdown, natural-catastrophe loss, theft), which is tied to the machine rather than the project, and protects it even where CAR doesn't reach. Third: the machine as a vehicle – if it's registered and travels on public roads, the world of compulsory third-party motor insurance and casco cover opens up. The details of this three-way border area are on the sister site: plant insurance.
Which one, and when?
If you bring in (or hire) machinery for a single project at a time, a CAR endorsement may be enough. If your plant fleet is a tool of everyday operations across several sites, standalone plant insurance gives you continuous protection – no need to rearrange it project by project. The two can also be combined: a permanent fleet under its own cover, project-specific major items under an endorsement. There's only one wrong answer: assuming that "one of them's sure to cover it", and finding out at claim time that neither does.
Small plant and tools
Hand tools and small plant are typically covered with sub-limits and stricter storage expectations: locked, secured storage outside working hours, and individual identification for higher-value items. A break-in to the site container is the most common loss pattern – the theft article shows what the insurer expects in that case, and what's worth documenting.
Hired plant: the contract decides
With hired machinery, the hire agreement typically puts the burden of loss on the hirer – the question is which insurance actually picks up that burden. The hire company's own cover, the hirer's CAR endorsement, or their plant insurance – at least one of the three needs to actually cover the situation: hired plant article. That's why, when requesting a quote, the plant list (type, value, owned/hired) is a mandatory field on the project data sheet.
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