Specialist technology insurance

Robotics Company Insurance

Robotics changes the risk where moving equipment, people and software meet. 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 machine types, autonomous functions, operating environments, human interaction zones, emergency stops, testing, integration, service and remote updates. 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: A warehouse robot collides with a customer’s stock after a sensor fault. Investigating the product, installation and maintenance roles helps identify which policy may respond. This example describes an exposure only; a claim outcome depends on the facts and policy.

Robotics questions worth resolving

Describe whether robots are collaborative, autonomous, remotely operated or confined to guarded zones. Identify the system integrator, manufacturer, software supplier and maintenance provider, because a failure may involve several parties. Provide the intended use, foreseeable misuse, deployment sites, testing protocols, emergency stop design and process for software updates after installation.

Ask how the policy addresses bodily injury or property damage caused by movement, and how a separate technology PI wording addresses an alleged programming or integration error that causes financial loss. Recall expense, replacement of the insured’s own product and contractual performance guarantees are separate issues to review.

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

Do outsourced components remove the supplier’s liability?

No. The finished-product supplier and integrator may still face claims, subject to contract and law.

See also industrial automation, our technology insurance guide and existing quote areas.