The forklift
Damage to the machine including mast, forks and battery or LPG system.
Forklift Insurance
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Forklift Insurance
Cover for warehouse and yard forklifts.
Forklifts mostly damage other things: racking, stock, doors and occasionally people. The machine value is modest next to what it can hit, so liability tends to lead the conversation.
What is it?
Forklifts include counterbalance, reach, order picker and rough terrain machines, powered by LPG, diesel or electric drivetrains, from makers such as Toyota, Crown, Hyster, Linde and Komatsu. They operate in warehouses, yards, and increasingly on construction sites as telehandler alternatives.
What does forklift insurance cover?
Goods and premises
Damage to stock, racking and building fabric caused during handling.
Liability
Third-party injury, which is the highest-severity forklift exposure.
What affects the cost?
- Number and type of forklifts
- Indoor, yard or mixed operation
- Goods handled and their value
- Operator licensing and training records
- Whether machines are hired out
Worth raising on the call
- Damage to goods being handled is usually separate from general liability.
- Pedestrian interaction is the exposure insurers ask about most.
- Machines used on public roads or footpaths need this raised specifically.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Tines through a pallet of stock
A load is entered at the wrong height and the tines spear or crush packaged goods belonging to a customer stored in your warehouse. Because the stock is in your care, it usually sits outside standard liability wording.
Racking upright struck and a bay collapses
A mast or counterweight clips a racking upright and a bay comes down, taking stock and neighbouring bays with it. The claim typically includes racking replacement, an engineer's inspection of the remaining runs, damaged stock and the downtime while the aisle is closed.
Pedestrian struck in a shared area
A forklift makes contact with a delivery driver or a visitor in a shared dock area. Injuries to your own employees are generally handled through state workers compensation, while a visitor or contractor is more likely to become a liability claim.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming whether damage to goods being carried on the forks is treated separately from damage to the building, racking and fixtures.
- Worth confirming whether the wording expects a current high risk work licence for each operator, and how a trainee or unlicensed operator affects the response.
- Worth confirming whether use on a public road, footpath or a shared loading dock outside your leased area is contemplated by the policy.
Common questions
Does workers compensation cover a forklift injury, or do I need liability cover?
Injuries to your own employees are generally dealt with through the compulsory workers compensation scheme in your state. Injuries to visitors, delivery drivers, contractors or members of the public are more commonly a public liability matter. Most operators need both, because a busy dock involves people from several businesses at once.
Does my forklift need to be registered?
Forklifts used entirely on private premises generally do not require road registration, but rules differ by state and any travel on a public road or footpath usually changes the position. Operator licensing under work health and safety law is a separate obligation again. Confirm the current requirements with the road and safety regulators in your state.
Does the warehouse owner's insurance cover my forklift?
Generally not. A landlord or building policy responds to the building and the owner's property, not to your machine or to damage you cause. If you lease space, the lease usually makes you responsible for damage you cause to the premises, which is worth reading alongside the policy.
What does forklift insurance cost?
It depends on the number and type of machines, indoor, yard or mixed operation, the value of goods handled, operator licensing and training records, whether machines are hired out, the liability limit selected, the excess and claims history. Liability exposure usually influences the price more than the machine value does.
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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