Machine while on hire
Damage and theft while the machine is in the hirer's possession.
Dry Hire Insurance
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Dry Hire Insurance
Cover for machines you hire out without an operator.
Dry hire means your machine leaves your control with someone else operating it. Most standard plant policies are written for machines you use yourself, so hiring out generally needs the arrangement declared and worded for it.
What is it?
Dry hire covers plant hired without an operator - excavators, skid steers, EWPs, telehandlers, compaction gear and light plant. The hirer operates the machine, which shifts responsibility for its use while ownership and often insurance stays with you.
What does dry hire insurance cover?
Hirer conduct
Misuse, unauthorised use and failure to return, which wordings treat differently.
Liability
Third-party claims arising from the machine's use while on hire.
What affects the cost?
- Fleet size and machine values
- Typical hire duration
- Whether hirers are trade or public
- Hire agreement terms and deposits
- Tracking or telematics fitted
Worth raising on the call
- Hiring out to the general public is assessed very differently to trade-only hire.
- Your hire agreement terms usually affect what the policy will respond to.
- Telematics and GPS often improve both terms and recovery odds.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Machine never comes back
A hirer stops answering the phone at the end of a short hire and the machine cannot be located. Whether that is treated as theft, as fraudulent hire or as a contractual debt depends entirely on the wording, which is why this scenario is the one to test.
Hirer rolls the machine
An excavator on dry hire is rolled on the hirer's site by an inexperienced operator. Your machine is damaged, the hirer may or may not carry cover that responds, and recovering from them usually depends on what the hire agreement says.
Third party claims against the owner
A machine on dry hire strikes a service or damages a neighbouring property, and the injured party names both the hirer and you as the owner. Defending an owner's liability claim is a real cost even where the operator was clearly at fault.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming how the wording distinguishes theft, failure to return and fraudulent hire, since these are commonly treated as different events with different requirements.
- Worth confirming what identification, deposit, licence and ticket checks the policy expects you to complete and document before a machine is released.
- Worth confirming whether you are covered for third-party claims arising from a hirer's use of your machine, and whether the hirer is required to hold their own liability cover.
Common questions
Does my hirer need their own insurance?
Most dry hire arrangements work best when the hirer holds their own public liability cover and provides a certificate of currency before the machine leaves your yard. Some insurers make that a condition, and it also gives you something to point to if a third-party claim arrives. Your own policy still needs to deal with damage to the machine itself.
Is the damage waiver I charge hirers the same as insurance?
Charging a fee to accept risk on someone else's behalf can have regulatory implications in Australia, so a hire waiver is not simply a substitute for cover. It is a contract term you are offering, and it does not by itself protect your machine. This is worth raising specifically before you build it into your hire rates.
Is trade-only hire treated differently to hiring to the public?
Generally yes. Hiring to known trade customers with tickets and ABNs usually presents better than hiring to the general public off the street, and some insurers restrict or decline public hire altogether. The arrangement needs to be described accurately, because a claim on public hire under a trade-only assumption is a difficult conversation.
What does dry hire insurance cost?
It depends on fleet size and machine values, typical hire duration, whether hirers are trade or public, your hire agreement terms and deposits, whether tracking or telematics is fitted, the excess and claims history. GPS tracking often improves both terms and the odds of recovery.
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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