Machine and drum
Damage to the planer, cutting drum, conveyor and levelling system, subject to the policy terms.
Cold Planer Insurance
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Cold Planer Insurance
Cover for road profilers and milling machines on resurfacing work.
A cold planer is a high-value machine doing precise work in a live traffic environment, usually at night. The distinctive risks are hitting something buried in the pavement, pit lids, service covers or unmarked conduit, and damage to the cutting drum and conveyor. Downtime hurts because these machines are booked around a resurfacing programme, not a day rate.
What is it?
Cold planers, also called profilers or milling machines, remove asphalt and concrete pavement with a rotating drum fitted with replaceable picks, discharging through a conveyor into a truck. Wirtgen, Caterpillar, Bomag and Roadtec are the makes commonly seen here, ranging from small kerb-width units to large half-lane and full-lane machines. Water spray and dust extraction systems are standard.
What does cold planer insurance cover?
Buried obstruction strikes
Damage from pit lids, service covers and unmarked services sitting inside the pavement.
Working under traffic
Third-party damage and injury exposure while milling under traffic control at night.
What affects the cost?
- Machine value and cutting width
- Night versus day works
- Traffic management arrangements
- Operator experience on the machine
- Whether the machine is wet hired with an operator
Worth raising on the call
- Picks and drum wear are consumables, and insurers generally separate that from impact damage.
- Working under a road authority contract usually adds specific insurance requirements to meet.
- Machines left on a closed carriageway overnight can attract different theft and vandalism terms.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Drum finds a buried pit lid
Milling a lane at 2am the drum strikes a cast iron valve cover that was never raised or marked, shearing picks and holders and damaging drum segments. Repairs are expensive and the machine is out of the resurfacing programme, which is often the costlier half of the loss.
Truck reverses into the conveyor
A tipper reversing under the discharge conveyor at night misjudges the gap and bends the conveyor frame and hood. Whether this becomes your claim or the trucking contractor's generally depends on the liability position and what the subcontract says about damage on site.
Vandalism on a closed carriageway
A machine left inside a closed carriageway between night shifts has fuel siphoned, glass broken and control panels damaged. Cover often depends on whether leaving the machine off site overnight was declared and what security conditions the policy attaches.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming whether damage from striking pit lids, service covers and unmarked assets inside the pavement is treated as insured accidental damage, or whether it is limited as an expected operating risk.
- Worth confirming whether picks, pick holders and drum wear components are covered when they are damaged in the same event as the rest of the machine, or excluded as consumables regardless of cause.
- Worth confirming whether cover continues while the machine is left on a closed carriageway, in a work zone or under traffic control overnight rather than returned to a secure yard.
Common questions
Does the traffic management contractor's insurance cover my machine?
Generally not. Each party carries its own cover, and a traffic management contractor's liability policy responds to their own negligence, not to damage to your plant in the ordinary course of the works. If a traffic incident damages your machine, recovery usually depends on establishing fault against the responsible party. Your own plant cover is what stands behind the machine day to day.
Is downtime or lost income covered when the planer is out of action?
Loss of income is generally not part of the plant damage section and needs a separate business interruption or loss of hire extension, and some policies also offer cover for the cost of hiring a substitute machine. Waiting periods and indemnity periods vary. Given a planer is usually booked into a programme rather than a day rate, it is worth sizing that extension against a realistic repair or replacement lead time.
How much does cold planer insurance cost?
It depends on the machine and the work pattern, so no figure should be given before underwriting. Machine value and cutting width, night versus day works, traffic management arrangements, operator experience on the specific machine, whether the machine is wet hired with an operator, and claims history are the main drivers. Any downtime or substitute hire extension adds to it.
Does wet hiring the machine with an operator change my cover?
Usually yes. With wet hire you retain operational control, so your liability and plant cover are generally the ones exposed, unlike a dry hire where control passes to the hirer. Insurers commonly want wet hire arrangements declared and may look at the contract terms and the operator's experience. Worth confirming before quoting for wet hire work.
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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