Specialist technology insurance

Industrial Automation Insurance

Automation suppliers can combine design, installation, commissioning and ongoing maintenance in a live production environment. Mercantile helps Australian technology businesses prepare clear underwriting information and review the interaction between products liability, technology professional indemnity, cyber and other relevant policies.

What makes this risk different?

Underwriters need to understand the product or service, who relies on it and what could happen if it fails. For this activity, describe control architecture, installation scope, production criticality, shutdown plans, acceptance testing, OEM obligations, subcontractors and maintenance contracts. Separate your own design and delivery responsibilities from those of component suppliers, installers, customers and subcontractors. Give the insurer a realistic account of maximum potential loss and any past claims or incidents.

Insurance questions to review

• Public and products liability: alleged third-party injury or property damage from operations, products and completed work, subject to exclusions and declared activities.
• Technology professional indemnity: defined professional services, software and advice exposures, often on a claims-made basis with notification and retroactive-date conditions.
• Cyber: incident response, privacy and covered network events, which may differ from a product defect or implementation error.
• Other cover: recall expense, property, stock, transit, management liability or crime where the actual operation warrants it.

Check limits, excesses, aggregate limits, exclusions, territorial and jurisdiction clauses and any contractually required insured parties. No item listed here is automatically included.

Illustrative exposure

Hypothetical example: An integration error stops a production line. Physical damage, financial loss and contract penalties raise different insurance questions. This example describes an exposure only; a claim outcome depends on the facts and policy.

Industrial automation project detail

List the processes controlled, site industries and whether systems affect safety, production or utilities. Explain how equipment is commissioned, tested, handed over and maintained, and who can change control logic remotely. Contracts should show acceptance criteria, service levels, indemnities and any liability cap. A small component may have a large impact when it stops a whole line.

Review the boundary between property damage, pure financial loss and cyber events. An interruption after faulty implementation does not automatically fit a cyber definition. The precise professional services description, product liability wording, property being worked on terms and any contractual liability exclusion should be checked together.

What to send for a quote

Provide a concise business and product description, turnover split by activity and country, principal contracts, customer industries, manufacturing and supplier arrangements, testing and quality processes, existing schedules and claims history. Where relevant, include technical documentation through a suitable secure follow-up channel.

Frequently asked question

Does public liability cover lost production alone?

It depends on the policy trigger and the loss; technology PI and contractual exclusions need review.

See also scada and control systems, our technology insurance guide and existing quote areas.