Theft and arson on construction sites are two significant reasons why insurance costs are rising. These sites are an easy target for thieves as the lure of high value plant & equipment makes it easy for them to make a quick profit. Plant security is a difficult area to get right as thieves are well versed in both stealing and disposing of plant and equipment with over £ 1,000,000 worth being stolen every week in the UK and with less than 10 % being recovered.
It is not uncommon to find items of plant and equipment, without any form of security, being left vulnerable to theft overnight on open contract sites just waiting to be stolen.
Our suggestions on how to protect such items are:
- Use physical security and on-site security measures to help prevent the loss from occurring in the first place
- Fit security devices to the plant and equipment to improve the chance of the item being recovered
- To remove the keys when not in use and for these to be locked away out of hours. Keys for the plant and equipment tend to be on the basis that a common key fits all, so it is important to do this.
- To have effective marking on the plant and machinery to confirm ownership
In view of the inherent losses, Insurers are now looking for ‘minimum security’ to be implemented on construction and contract sites with warranties/conditions to this effect. These warranties/conditions will still apply if a Sub Contractors plant and equipment is stolen, even if he has no control over the site security.
At ProAktive we are advising policyholders of their responsibilities for security of their plant and machinery to ensure that if a claim occurs they have complied with their Insurers requirements and the claim will be paid. If you would like any further information, please feel free to contact us on either 01302 341 344 or 0114 2439914.
By Martin Singleton Dip CII – Account Executive