Plant Hire Insurance for hire depots and fleets
Plant hire insurance for hire companies that send machines out to customers' sites, with or without operators. Compare fleet, depot and liability cover through brokers who know hire terms, non-returns and operated hire.
- Your hire fleet insured on site, at the depot and in transit
- Loss of hire income while machines are off the fleet
- Operator liability for operated hire and contract lifts
Reviewed October 2026 by the MyBusinessComparison.com editorial team
What is plant hire insurance?
Plant hire insurance is cover for firms that hire machines out to other businesses, either self drive or with an operator. It usually combines insurance for the hire fleet on customers' sites and in the depot, the hire income lost after a loss, liability for operators and the equipment you supply, employers' liability and the depots themselves.
The hire contract does a lot of the work. Under the standard industry hire conditions widely used in the UK, a self drive customer usually takes on responsibility for loss of or damage to the machine, and an operated hire customer directs the operator. Insurers want to see those terms signed every time and customers' insurance checked, because when a hirer is uninsured, insolvent or disputes the terms, the loss lands back with the hire firm.
This page is about hiring plant out. Contractors that own or hire in machines for their own projects will find that cover on our plant and machinery insurance page.
Plant hire insurance at a glance
- Suits
- Plant, tool, crane and access hire companies with depots and delivery lorries
- Hire types
- Self drive (bare) hire, operated hire, crane hire and contract lifts
- Core covers
- Hired-out plant, loss of hire, public, products and employers' liability
- Separate policies
- Low loaders and delivery lorries, insured for road use
- Priced on
- Fleet value and mix, hire terms, customer checks, depots and theft record
- Watch for
- Machines obtained by deception and never returned
What does plant hire insurance cover?
A hire company's programme follows the machine from the depot to the customer and back. These are the sections most hire firms put together.
Plant out on hire
Theft, fire, overturning and accidental damage while machines are on customers' sites. Your insurer pays you, then may pursue the hirer where the hire terms make them responsible.
Fleet in the depot
Machines between hires, in the workshop for servicing or on the wash bay, plus attachments, buckets and spares held in stores.
Loss of hire income
The hire revenue lost while a damaged or stolen machine is off the fleet, for the period the policy allows, so a long repair does not eat into margins.
Theft by deception and non-return
Machines hired using false identities or stolen company details and never returned. Many policies exclude or cap this, so it is usually a specific extension with conditions on vetting hirers.
Operators you supply
Injury to your own operators, fitters and drivers, and liability for what operators do on a customer's site, sized to your operated hire turnover.
Read more about employers' liability insurance
Unsafe or faulty equipment
Claims from hirers or the public hurt by a machine you supplied, such as a burst hydraulic hose, a failed brake or a guard missing at handover.
Read more about products liability cover
Delivery and collection
Machines in transit on your low loaders and beavertails, including loading and unloading at site. The lorries themselves need motor cover.
Read more about HGV insurance
Depots and branches
Buildings, workshops, fuel bowsers and stock at each depot, with business interruption if a fire closes a branch.
Read more about a commercial combined policy
Lift planning and advice
Where you run contract lifts or recommend which machine a customer needs, professional indemnity covers claims that the plan or advice was wrong.
Read more about professional indemnity insurance
Other covers hire companies add
- Engineering inspection: thorough examinations of cranes, telehandlers, access platforms and lifting accessories before they go out
- Environmental liability: fuel and hydraulic oil escapes at depots or on customers' land
- Commercial legal expenses: recovering damage costs and hire charges from customers who dispute them
- Trade credit insurance: contractors that fail owing months of hire charges
Which hire firms need plant hire insurance?
Any established business that earns money hiring machines to others. These are the hire operations we see most often.
Hiring machines in rather than out? Plant you own or hire in for your own contracts is covered on our plant and machinery page, or browse all trade insurance.
- Operated plant hire companies: excavators, dumpers and rollers supplied with operators, where operator training records and competence cards matter to insurers
- Self drive plant hire firms: bare hire of machines to account customers, relying on hire terms and customers' own insurance
- Crane hire and contract lifting firms: mobile cranes supplied for the customer to plan the lift, or contract lifts where you plan and manage it yourself
- Access platform hire: scissor lifts, booms and spider lifts delivered to retail, facilities and industrial customers as well as building sites
- Tool and small plant hire: breakers, saws, compactors and generators from trade counters, with high volumes of hires and more walk-in customers
- Pump, power and welfare hire: generators, pumps, site cabins and welfare units hired by the week to contractors and events
- Groundcare and agricultural hire: compact tractors, mowers and chippers hired to farms, councils and landscaping firms
- Contractors with a hire arm: construction firms that hire spare machines out between jobs, which changes what the insurer needs to know
- Plant dealers with rental fleets: machines sold and hired from the same yard, with dealer road risks under motor trade insurance
How much does plant hire insurance cost?
Hire fleets are priced on the machines, but also on who they go out to and on what terms. These factors carry the most weight.
Fleet value and mix
Compact plant, access platforms and large earthmovers have different theft and damage patterns, so insurers look at the make-up of the fleet as well as its total value.
Bare or operated hire
Supplying operators adds employers' and public liability, while self drive hire depends more on how well your terms pass responsibility to the customer.
Hire terms and customer checks
Which conditions you use, whether every hire is signed for, and how you check identity, credit and insurance before releasing a machine.
Security and tracking
Trackers, immobilisers, marking schemes and locked compounds at depots, and whether tracking is checked when machines are off hire.
Theft and non-return record
How many machines have gone missing, how many were recovered and what was tightened afterwards.
Depots and income
The number of branches, their construction and security, and the gross profit at risk if one is closed.
What plant hire insurance does not cover
Hire firms most often find a gap in one of these areas when a machine fails to come back.
- Machines obtained by deception or kept by a hirer, unless the extension is bought and your vetting conditions were followed
- Wear and tear, gradual deterioration and mechanical breakdown, unless breakdown cover is added
- A customer's lost time on a contract when a machine breaks down without causing injury or damage, which liability policies rarely cover
- Road use of self-propelled machines, which needs motor cover for road-going plant
- Hires into undeclared uses such as demolition, tunnelling or work over water
- Theft from your depot where alarm, compound or key conditions were not kept
- Lift plans and machine selection advice, unless professional indemnity is in place
Bare hire or operated hire: what changes?
Most hire firms do some of each. The balance shifts where the risk sits and what insurers ask about.
| Feature | Bare (self drive) hire | Operated hire |
|---|---|---|
| Who runs the machine | The customer's own operator | Your operator, working under the customer's direction |
| Damage to the machine | Usually the customer's responsibility under the hire terms | Depends on the terms and what caused the damage |
| Your main liability | Supplying a safe, maintained machine with instructions | Supplying a competent operator as well as a safe machine |
| Employers' liability | Depot, workshop and delivery staff | Operators on customers' sites as well, with a larger wage roll |
| What insurers check | Hirer identity, insurance and signed paperwork | Operator training, competence cards and site briefings |
| Common gap | Hirer has no cover for hired-in plant | Customer assumes your policy covers the operator's mistakes |
How to compare plant hire insurance
Hire fleets change every month, so send an up-to-date view of the machines and how they go out.
Send a full fleet list
Make, model, serial number, age and value of each machine, plus attachments and small tools by category.
Split your hire revenue
Self drive, operated hire, contract lifting and sales, with the operator wage roll shown separately.
Share your hire terms
The conditions you use, how they are signed, and the checks you run on new customers.
Describe depots and security
Each branch, its compound, alarm and cameras, tracker use and how machines are released.
List losses, including non-returns
Every theft, damage claim and missing machine, what was recovered and what changed afterwards.
Quotes for hire fleets
Tell us about your hire fleet, depots and how you hire, and a broker who places hire companies will compare cover.
Get a quotePlant hire insurance FAQs
How much does plant hire insurance cost?
It depends on the value and mix of your hire fleet, how much you hire with operators, your hire terms and customer checks, depot security and your theft and non-return record. Two firms with similar fleets can be priced very differently if one hires to vetted account customers and the other takes many walk-in hires.
Do we need insurance if our hire terms make the customer responsible?
Yes. Hire terms only help if the customer accepts them, holds insurance and can pay. Insuring your own fleet means you are paid promptly after a loss and your insurer can then pursue the hirer. Without it, you are left chasing a customer who may dispute the terms or have no cover at all.
Who is liable for an operator's mistakes on operated hire?
Under the standard hire conditions widely used across the UK industry, an operator supplied with a machine is treated as working for the hirer, who directs the work and carries much of the responsibility for it. You stay responsible for supplying a trained, competent operator and a safe machine, so your liability cover still needs to reflect operated hire.
Is a machine covered if a hirer never returns it?
Only if the policy includes theft by deception or non-return cover, which many standard plant policies exclude. Where it is offered, insurers usually set conditions on hirer checks, such as confirming identity and address, credit checking new accounts and not delivering to unverified sites.
What is the difference between crane hire and a contract lift?
With crane hire, the customer plans and supervises the lift and you supply the crane and operator. With a contract lift, your firm plans and manages the whole lift. Contract lifting carries more responsibility, so insurers want to know the split and often expect professional indemnity alongside liability cover.
Are we liable if a hired machine breaks down and stops a customer's job?
Usually not under public liability, which responds to injury and property damage rather than lost time on a contract. Many hire terms limit your responsibility for breakdown to replacing the machine or crediting hire. If customers push for wider liability, ask the broker whether a financial loss extension is available.
Can we offer customers a damage waiver instead of insisting on their insurance?
Many hire firms do, charging a fee in return for limiting the customer's responsibility for damage. A waiver is not insurance: the cost of the damage stays with your business. Insurers will want to know how widely you sell it and what it excludes, and your own fleet cover needs to be sized for it.
Do tool hire counters need different cover from heavy plant hire?
The sections are similar but the weight shifts. Tool hire means many small, portable items, more walk-in customers, more theft by deception and more claims from users hurt by equipment. Heavy plant hire leans on high single values, transit to site and operator risks.
Does plant hire insurance include our low loaders?
Not usually. The lorries sit on a motor policy, usually HGV insurance for the heavier vehicles, and the hire policy covers the machines being carried and the loading and unloading at site. Check the transit limit is at least the value of the largest machine you move.
How do I get a plant hire insurance quote?
Start from the quote button here and your details go to a broker who places hire fleets. A fleet list, your revenue split between self drive and operated hire, your standard hire terms, depot details and a record of thefts and non-returns let them go to insurers without delay.
Ready to compare plant hire insurance?
Your hire fleet, depots, operators and income protected, placed by brokers who read hire terms before they quote.