Do not open the machine. That is the whole playbook in one line.
Machinery breakdown claims are decided by the damaged part, and the damaged part usually leaves the building before anyone thinks to stop it.
What loses itDismantling before the survey. Once the machine is opened, stripped or sent to a workshop, nobody can any longer prove what failed or why -- and cause is the entire argument in this class.
- Stop the machine and leave it aloneDo not dismantle it, do not let the service engineer open it, and do not send anything to a workshop. The failed component in its failed state is the claim.Immediately
- Tell the insurer before you call the repairerIn this class the order matters more than in any other. A repairer who arrives first will have the machine in pieces before the surveyor sees it, in good faith, trying to help.Before repairs
- Photograph the machine in situThe nameplate and serial number, the installation, the control panel, the readings on any gauge or display, and the fault indication. Then the damaged area once it is safe to look.Day 1
- Pull the maintenance historyService records, the last preventive maintenance, the log book, breakdown history, and any AMC. Insurers examine wear and tear and lack of maintenance closely here, and a complete record answers that before it is raised.Days 1 to 3
- Capture what was happening when it failedOperating parameters, load, shift, the operator's account, any power event or voltage fluctuation, and the SCADA or PLC log if you have one. Cause is the argument, so the evidence of cause is the file.Day 1
- Get the manufacturer's or repairer's failure reportIn writing, saying what failed and why -- but arranged with the insurer, and ideally after the surveyor has been. A repairer's invoice is not a failure report.After survey
- Preserve the failed part after repairEven once the machine is back in production. The insurer may want it examined, and a discarded component is often the end of the claim.Until settled
- Record the downtime as it happensIf you carry machinery loss of profit, the lost output starts accruing from the hour it stopped. Log shifts lost, orders delayed and hired-in substitution from day one.From day 1
The quiet oneUnderinsurance. If the sum insured is below the value actually at risk, the average clause reduces the claim in proportion however well the rest of it is run. Check where you stand. It takes three numbers and nothing is stored.
Fire Claim
A fire, explosion, lightning strike or impact loss at a business premises.
Marine Cargo Claim
Goods damaged, short-landed or lost in transit by road, rail, sea or air.
Machine stripped already? It is answerable. Call us.
Whoever placed your policy, and whatever stage the claim has reached.
Three deadlines
- Tell the insurer now, not after the assessment.
- Notice to anybody else responsible the carrier, the contractor, the police, within the time your policy sets.
- Every document within the time the insurer asks for it.