Machine and attachments
Damage to the telehandler plus forks, jibs, buckets and platforms.
Telehandler Insurance
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Telehandler Insurance
Cover for telescopic handlers on construction and agricultural sites.
A telehandler is a loader, a forklift and a small crane in one machine, and its exposure changes with whichever attachment is fitted that day.
What is it?
Telescopic handlers use an extending boom with interchangeable attachments - forks, buckets, jibs and work platforms - from makers including JCB, Manitou, Merlo, Genie and Caterpillar. They are used across construction, agriculture and warehousing.
What does telehandler insurance cover?
Loads handled
Property being lifted or placed, which needs care custody and control wording.
Work platform use
Where a platform attachment is fitted, height work conditions commonly apply.
What affects the cost?
- Machine capacity and reach
- Attachments in use
- Construction versus agricultural work
- Operator ticketing
- Site conditions and ground stability
Worth raising on the call
- Fitting a work platform changes the risk profile and sometimes the terms.
- Overturning on soft ground is a frequent telehandler claim.
- Attachments swapped between machines should be scheduled clearly.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Overturn at full reach
A load is placed onto a first floor deck with the boom at full extension over recently filled ground, and the machine tips forward. The machine, the load and often the structure it was being placed on are all damaged.
Pallet slides off the forks
A pack of bricks or a bundle of frames slides off the tines onto scaffolding or a parked vehicle below. Damage to the load itself is treated differently to the damage it causes on the way down, which is why both need to be covered.
Travelling with the boom raised
An operator drives across a site with the boom partly extended and strikes a gantry, a carport or a site shed awning. Boom sections and hydraulics are expensive to repair and the machine is usually off the job while parts arrive.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming whether the wording contemplates a work platform attachment being fitted, and whether lifting people changes the cover or adds conditions.
- Worth confirming whether damage to the load being carried on the forks or jib is covered, since ordinary liability commonly excludes property in your care.
- Worth confirming whether the machine is covered while hired in from a rental company and while it is being floated between sites.
Common questions
Is a telehandler insured as a forklift or as mobile plant?
It is generally rated as mobile plant rather than as a warehouse forklift, because the boom, the reach and the site environment create a different exposure. Some insurers will also treat it as a crane for certain attachments and lifting configurations. It is worth naming the attachments you actually use when cover is arranged.
Do operators need a licence for a telehandler?
Telehandlers used to place loads with a jib or hook can fall within non-slewing mobile crane licensing above certain capacities, and work platform attachments bring their own requirements. The thresholds are set by the work health and safety regulator in your state, not by the insurer. Confirm the current position with the regulator for the exact configuration you run.
Am I responsible for a telehandler I hire in?
Hire agreements commonly make the hirer responsible for the machine, including while it sits idle on site and while it is transported. Hired-in plant cover is what responds to that responsibility, and the limit needs to match the machines you actually hire. Reading the hire terms before the machine arrives is the practical check.
What does telehandler insurance cost?
It depends on machine capacity and reach, the attachments in use, whether the work is construction or agricultural, operator ticketing, site conditions and ground stability, whether platforms are fitted, the excess and claims history. No figure can be given responsibly before those are known.
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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