(BM) Boiler and Machinery Insurance Agency

A business is much more than its employees. Machines and boilers are fundamental components of most businesses even ones that don’t operate 24/7. You and your employees might be going home at 5 but some machines stay on permanently. Alternatively, you might not be aware of the load on the machines in your business because you don’t attend the night shift.

Boilers and machines tend to be expensive pieces of equipment that are essential to operating business functions.  Often times a boiler or key piece of machinery going down can cause not only damage to the physical plant of a business but also slow down or even stop the business functions and productivity.  In addition, there is also the additional time lost in order to repair or replace the equipment and anything that it may have damaged. The resulting halt in production or work due to their damage will also be financially costly. So, getting boiler and machinery (B&M) insurance should be a priority for every business owner.

Boiler and machinery insurance covers accidental or sudden breakdowns to the machines in your company. Relying on business property insurance to do that for you could prove to be a costly mistake. Business property insurance doesn’t cover most equipment and doesn’t normally provide the type of coverage you would get with boiler and machinery insurance.

The list of equipment and machines covered by boiler and machinery insurance is quite extensive. It includes heating and air conditioning systems, steam and hot water boilers, refrigeration systems, pressure vessels, electric apparatus and generators, compressors, pumps, communication systems, piping, and lots more.

As you can see, B&M insurance can cover most of the major mechanical equipment in your business operation. The great thing is that apart from coverage for machinery damage, boiler and machinery insurance will also provide coverage for collateral damage. For example, if manufactured products are damaged from water from a leaking pipe, then the products can also be covered by B&M insurance. Loss of income and extra expenses due to machine damages are also covered by most boiler and machinery insurance policies.

Regardless of the type of business you own or run, B&M insurance should be thoroughly considered. It’s obvious that businesses who rely strongly on machines and manufacturing should consider getting this kind of insurance since their business operations depend heavily on the equipment, but other businesses shouldn’t discard boiler and machinery insurance either. It may seem like your business doesn’t have a heavy reliance on machinery, but that’s probably because you’re not taking certain aspects into account.  Even if you own a traditional American office (not a manufacturing plant), you’ll still have heating and air conditioning systems, pipes, electricity, and communication systems. If one of these breaks down, your office will likely suffer. A great way to way to guarantee that any damage to these key pieces of equipment is quickly repaired and that the repair costs are covered is by getting boiler and machinery insurance.

You should focus on maintenance and regular check-ups regardless of whether or not your business is covered by B&M insurance.  Proper maintenance of equipment is always recommended and is still mandatory even if you purchase B&M insurance.  You could of course take the risk of not getting insurance, but the bigger your business and the more reliant it is on machinery, the higher the risk. Uninsured damages could end up costing you millions in repairs and downtime.