Machine and receiver
Damage to the compressor, airend and receiver, generally scheduled by unit value.
Air Compressor Insurance
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Air Compressor Insurance
Cover for towable and fixed air compressors used on site.
A portable diesel compressor is small, towable and often left on site overnight, which makes it one of the more frequently stolen items on a plant schedule. It also runs hot, runs long hours and drives tools that can cause damage well beyond the machine itself. Most claims are theft, transit damage or airend failure rather than a site accident.
What is it?
Air compressors on Australian sites run from trailer-mounted diesel units of roughly 100 to 400 cfm up to large skid units used for shotcrete, sandblasting and drilling. Common makes include Atlas Copco, Sullair, Kaeser, Airman and Ingersoll Rand. Fixed workshop units are pressure vessels and are generally treated separately from towable plant, which may also travel on public roads.
What does air compressor insurance cover?
Theft from site
Theft of towable units left on site or in a yard, which commonly carries security conditions.
Towing and transit
Damage while the unit is being towed or floated between jobs, subject to the policy terms.
What affects the cost?
- Unit value, age and hours
- Towable versus fixed installation
- Overnight storage and yard security
- Whether units are hired out
- Work type, such as blasting or drilling
Worth raising on the call
- Towable compressors are a standing theft target, so hitch locks and yard storage change how insurers see the risk.
- Airend failure is often treated as breakdown rather than accidental damage and may need a separate section.
- Hoses, manifolds and tools that live with the compressor are frequently left off the schedule.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Towable unit gone by Monday
A 185 cfm trailer compressor is chained to a site fence on Friday afternoon and is missing when the crew returns. The claim usually turns on the security conditions recorded at quote, so hitch locks, wheel clamps and where the unit was stored are the first questions asked.
Airend seizure on a long shift
A compressor running continuously on a shotcrete or blasting job loses oil through a tired separator and the airend seizes mid-shift. Repair or exchange on an older unit can approach its value, and whether it responds generally depends on whether a machinery breakdown section was added rather than accidental damage alone.
Trailer rolls on a haul track
A towable unit sways on a corrugated gravel access track behind a ute and rolls into the table drain, damaging the canopy, receiver and running gear. Cover typically depends on the towing and transit wording, the roadworthiness of the towing vehicle and whether the trailer was correctly loaded and coupled.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming whether theft of a towable compressor from an unfenced or unattended site after hours is covered, and what hitch lock, immobiliser or secured yard conditions the policy attaches to that cover.
- Worth confirming whether internal failure of the airend, screw element, cooler or drive motor is treated as breakdown needing its own section rather than sitting inside the accidental damage cover.
- Worth confirming whether the hoses, manifolds, jackhammers and air tools that travel with the unit are individually scheduled, or whether they fall under an unspecified small plant limit that may be set lower than their replacement cost.
Common questions
Is my towable compressor covered while it is being towed on a public road?
Damage while towing generally comes under a towing or transit provision in a plant policy rather than the on-site cover, and wordings commonly expect the towing vehicle to be roadworthy and the driver appropriately licensed. Depending on the trailer's mass and your state, the trailer itself may also need registration. It is worth checking the policy terms and the relevant state road authority requirements before the unit leaves the yard.
Do I need separate cover for a fixed workshop compressor?
Fixed units bolted down at a premises are typically rated under a business property or industrial special risks policy rather than a mobile plant schedule, because they are not exposed to site and transit risk. As pressure vessels they can also carry inspection and maintenance expectations. Whether breakdown of a fixed unit is included generally depends on whether a machinery breakdown extension has been arranged.
How much does air compressor insurance cost?
It depends, and no honest figure can be quoted without seeing the risk. The main drivers are unit value, age and hours, whether the unit is towable or fixed, where it is stored overnight, whether it is hired out to others, and the work it does, since blasting and drilling are viewed differently from general site air. Claims history and the excess you accept also move the number.
Does it cover damage the compressor's tools cause to someone else's property?
Damage the compressor or its tools cause to third party property is generally a public liability question rather than something the plant section answers, since the plant section is usually about damage to your own machine. Underground services struck while running a jackhammer or drill can be treated differently again. Confirm the liability limit and any underground services conditions in the policy wording.
General information only. Cover, limits and exclusions depend on the PDS, TMD, eligibility, underwriting and the policy terms. See mobile plant machinery insurance for the wider picture.
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