Machinery Breakdown

All plant and machinery whether in use or in the course of manufacture, is susceptible to damage despite the quality
or reliability or standards of care and due diligence. With rising costs of materials, labour and freight charges, repairs
and replacements are increasingly expensive. Even though machines may individually be of fairly small value, an accident
such as falling load or impact from an extraneous cause may result in machines being severely damaged or wrecked,
causing huge losses. Machinery Breakdown insurance provides cover against a wide range of losses from breakdown
of plant production equipment, boilers, pressure vessels, heating and cooling equipments etc.

The policy covers sudden and unforeseen damage to the insured machine whether at work or at rest and during cleaning,
inspection, over-hauling, and removal to another position within the premises during subsequent re–erection.

The cause of sudden and unforeseen damages could be due to the following:
• faulty material, design, construction and erection
• vibration, mal-adjustment or mal–alignment
• defective lubrication, loosening of parts, abnormal stress, molecular fatigue, self–heating centrifugal force
• excessive electrical pressure, whether due to atmosphere electricity or otherwise
• short–circuits or arcing• Lack of skill and carelessness in handling the machinery.

Thus, the main elements of a Machinery Breakdown insurance are electrical and mechanical breakdown and accidental damage from extraneous causes.  
It excludes gradual damage and loss from any cause, which is foreseeable.