Mobile crane insurance has to follow a machine that is a road vehicle one hour and a lifting operation the next. A pick-and-carry crane travels between jobs on public roads, then lifts steel across a live site. An all-terrain crane drives itself to site, then sets up on outriggers beside a building. The policy has to respond to both lives, and to the liability that comes with lifting other people’s property. For the cover itself, see our crane operators insurance page.
The Main Types and How They Differ
- Pick-and-carry cranes. Articulated cranes, often called Frannas, that lift and travel with the load. They are exposed to tip-over when travelling with a load on uneven or sloping ground.
- All-terrain and rough-terrain cranes. Higher capacity cranes that set up on outriggers. Values are high, and parts and repair lead times can be long.
- Cranes on truck chassis. Where the crane sits on a truck, the motor policy and the crane cover need to work together. Our guide to crane truck insurance deals with hiab-style cranes.
- Crawler cranes. Moved in components between sites, which makes transport and assembly exposures in their own right.
Crane Damage
Damage to the crane itself is usually insured under a plant or machinery and equipment insurance policy, sometimes alongside motor cover for registered cranes. The events behind serious damage include:
- Overturning. From overloading, incorrect set-up, travelling with a load on a slope, or ground that gives way.
- Ground failure under outriggers. Soft ground, backfilled trenches, voids and underground pits can collapse under outrigger pads.
- Boom damage. Contact with structures, two-blocking or side loading.
- Power line contact. Serious for people and for the machine’s electrical systems.
- Road incidents. Collisions and rollovers travelling between sites.
Some policies exclude or restrict damage from operating outside the manufacturer’s limits, and mechanical or electrical breakdown is commonly excluded unless a breakdown extension is included. Read the exclusions against the way your cranes actually work.
Set the sum insured from the cost of replacing the crane today, including counterweights, jibs and fly jibs. Imported cranes and parts can take months to arrive, so hire income or downtime cover deserves a conversation.
Lifting Liability and the Load Itself
Liability for lifting is where mobile crane insurance gets technical. Two exposures sit side by side:
- Third party liability. Injury to people and damage to property around the lift: the building you swing past, the car parked under the load path, a worker struck by a falling item. This is your public liability exposure.
- Damage to the load. The steel beam, plant room unit or precast panel you are lifting belongs to someone else, and while it is on the hook it is in your care. Liability policies commonly exclude property in your care, custody or control, so damage to the load may need a specific extension or separate cover for goods being lifted.
Our article on crane and hiab lifting liability explains how these exclusions are drafted. Set the limit for load cover by the heaviest and highest-value items you lift, not an average lift.
Crane Hire vs Contract Lift
The crane industry distinguishes between hiring out a crane with an operator and taking on a contract lift. The distinction changes who carries the risk.
- Crane hire. You supply the crane and operator, and the hirer directs and controls the lift: the planning, the rigging and the load. Hire terms commonly aim to place responsibility for the lift with the hirer, although your operator’s own conduct remains your exposure.
- Contract lift. You take responsibility for planning and carrying out the lift, commonly including the lift plan, rigging, dogging and the load. The liability that comes with the lift stays with you.
Tell your broker which you do and how often. A policy written around crane hire may not respond as you expect to a contract lift, particularly for damage to the load. If you take on contract lifts, check your liability limit against what principals commonly ask for, and read the indemnity clauses before you sign.
Principals and head contractors commonly ask crane businesses for a certificate of currency showing public liability and, for contract lifts, cover for the load. Some also ask to be noted on the policy. Send those requests to your broker before the job, so the certificate matches the contract rather than a generic template.
Dry Hire of Cranes
Dry hiring a crane without an operator is less usual for larger machines but does happen with smaller pick-and-carry cranes. The hirer takes on responsibility for operating the crane, but only if the hire agreement says so and is signed. Check that the hirer’s operators hold the right licence, that the agreement places damage and liability with the hirer, and that your policy responds to machines on dry hire. See dry hire insurance and our comparison of wet hire vs dry hire.
Operator Competency
Crane operators need the right licence for the crane type they operate. Licensing is set by work health and safety regulators and can change, so check the current requirement. Underwriters commonly ask about:
- Licences held and experience on each crane type.
- How new operators are supervised and when they work alone.
- Whether dogmen and riggers are employees, labour hire or subcontractors.
- Lift planning procedures and pre-start inspections.
- Inspection and maintenance records, including major inspections where they apply to older cranes.
Transit Between Sites
All-terrain cranes drive themselves, often with counterweights following on separate trucks. Crawler cranes travel in components on floats. Check:
- That counterweights, jibs and components are insured while carried on other vehicles, including third party carriers.
- That oversize movements follow the relevant permit conditions.
- That the registered crane’s motor policy and its plant policy leave no gap during road travel.
- That assembly and dismantling on site fall within the policy.
Mobile Crane Insurance Checklist
- List each crane with its full replacement value, jibs and counterweights.
- Tell your broker how your work splits between crane hire and contract lifts.
- Check the load cover limit against your highest-value lifts.
- Match motor and plant cover so road travel has no gap.
- Keep operator licences, inspections and lift plans on file.
Common Questions
Does my crane’s motor policy respond when it is lifting?
Motor policies commonly exclude or restrict damage and liability arising from lifting operations. That is why registered cranes usually need crane or plant cover alongside the motor policy.
The load fell and was damaged. Is that a public liability claim?
Often not, because the load was in your care, custody or control. It depends on whether you carry cover for goods being lifted and on the policy wording.
We only do crane hire. Do we still need lifting liability?
In practice, yes. Even under crane hire terms, your operator’s actions remain your exposure, and a claim can still be made against you.
Talk It Through
Request a quote or call 1300 983 940 and we will look at your cranes, your hire terms and your contract lifts together. See our crane operators insurance page for more.
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.