Crane truck insurance has to deal with a machine that changes identity when it stops. On the road, a hiab or crane truck is a vehicle, and the motor policy is in charge. Once the outriggers go down, it is a crane lifting someone’s property over someone else’s land, and the motor policy may no longer be the policy that answers. Our crane truck and hiab insurance page sets out the policy options. This guide looks at the handover between motor and lifting cover, because that is where claims fall through.
Lifting Operations Exclusions on Motor Policies
Motor policies are written for vehicles being driven, parked and loaded in the ordinary way. Wordings for trucks fitted with cranes can exclude or restrict:
- Liability for damage caused by the crane while it is being operated, as opposed to the vehicle being driven.
- Damage to the vehicle caused by the lifting operation itself, such as overturning while lifting or outrigger failure.
- Damage to the crane caused by overloading or use beyond the manufacturer’s rated capacity.
- Damage to property being lifted.
At the same time, public liability policies commonly exclude liability arising from the use of registered motor vehicles, sometimes with a write-back for vehicles operating as a tool of trade or as mobile plant. If the motor policy excludes the lift and the liability policy excludes the vehicle, a crane truck swinging a load into a neighbour’s roof can sit in neither. The fix is to read both wordings side by side and confirm the tool of trade write-back, or its equivalent, applies to your truck. Our article on lifting liability for crane and hiab trucks looks at that section in more detail.
Crane Arm and Boom Damage
The crane can be worth as much as the truck it sits on, and it is exposed to losses the truck is not: a boom striking a structure, an outrigger punching through a driveway or soft ground, hydraulic hose failure while extended, and a crane stowed incorrectly striking a bridge or overhead structure in transit.
- List the crane separately with its own replacement value, not bundled into the vehicle value.
- Check whether the policy distinguishes damage while lifting from damage while driving, and whether a different excess applies.
- Mechanical and hydraulic breakdown on its own is typically excluded. Resulting accidental damage may be treated differently, depending on the wording.
- Keep inspection and maintenance records for the crane. Periodic inspection requirements vary by state and crane type, so check what applies to yours.
When the Load Is Dropped
A dropped load raises two questions: who owns the load, and what else did it hit.
- Damage to the load. Liability policies typically exclude property in your care, custody or control, and a load on the hook is plainly in your control. Cover for goods being lifted is usually arranged as a specific extension or separate section, with its own limit.
- Damage to other property. A load falling onto a roof, a car or a new slab is third party property damage. Whether it lands in the motor policy or the liability policy depends on the wordings, which is why the side-by-side check matters.
- Injury. Doggers, riggers, site workers and members of the public near the lift zone are all exposed. Injury to your own employees is generally a workers compensation matter, arranged under state schemes with rules that vary by state.
Contract Lift Versus Own Goods
The type of work changes who carries the risk.
Delivering your own goods. A landscape supplier unloading pavers, or a building supplier placing trusses on a slab, is lifting goods it owns until delivery is complete. Damage to that load is a loss to your own stock, which a goods in transit policy or a specific extension may respond to.
Lifting other people’s goods. When you are paid to lift or deliver a customer’s property, you carry liability for it. In the crane industry, jobs are commonly distinguished between crane hire, where the customer directs the lift, and contract lifts, where the crane operator plans and manages the lift and takes on more responsibility. The terms you trade on decide which applies, and insurers will ask. Declare the vehicle use correctly as well: carrying goods for others for payment is hire and reward, as our post on hire and reward versus private use explains.
If you also run dedicated mobile cranes, see our crane operators insurance page.
What Principals and Customers Ask For
Builders, principal contractors and site operators commonly ask crane truck operators for a certificate of currency showing public liability at a specified limit, confirmation that lifting operations are insured, evidence of operator licences, and lift plans for more complex lifts. Licensing for high risk work depends on the crane type and is regulated at state level, so check the current requirements. See what a certificate of currency is and what it does and does not prove.
Some principals also ask to have their interest noted on your policy, or for their own liability to be picked up under it. Do not agree to that in a contract before checking with your broker, because it depends on what the insurer will accept, and a clause you cannot meet is a breach of contract waiting to happen.
What to Check on a Crane Truck Insurance Programme
- The crane is listed with its own replacement value.
- You understand the motor wording on lifting operations, including any crane-specific excess.
- Public liability includes a tool of trade or mobile plant write-back that fits your truck.
- Goods being lifted have their own limit where you lift for others.
- Vehicle use is declared as hire and reward where it applies.
- Your trading terms state whether a job is crane hire or a contract lift.
- Operators know the policy conditions around overhead power lines and underground services.
Common Questions
Does my truck policy pay if the crane damages a building while lifting?
It depends on the motor and liability wordings together. Some motor policies restrict liability while the crane is operating, and that is the gap a public liability policy with a tool of trade write-back is meant to fill.
Who pays for a load I drop?
If you own it, it is your loss unless you have cover for your own goods. If a customer owns it, you may be liable, and that liability typically needs specific cover for goods being lifted.
Is a hiab rated like a mobile crane?
Not usually. Underwriters look at crane capacity, the work done, and whether the truck mainly delivers goods or mainly lifts for hire.
Talk It Through
Request a quote or call 1300 983 940 and we will read your motor and liability wordings side by side to find where your crane truck insurance leaves gaps at the hook.
General advice only. This article does not take your objectives, financial situation or needs into account. Consider the relevant PDS and Target Market Determination before deciding on a policy.