Machinery Breakdown Insurance
Covers plant and machinery against sudden mechanical and electrical breakdown: boilers, generators, compressors, driers, and production lines.
Machinery Breakdown insurance in Kenya pays to repair or replace plant and machinery that suffers sudden and unforeseen mechanical or electrical breakdown: boilers, generators, compressors, driers, production lines, lifts, and power panels. It covers what Fire & Perils excludes, because a fire policy responds to fire and named perils, not to a machine failing from the inside. Premiums are rated on the new replacement value of the machinery: typically about 0.3% of that value a year, varying with the machine type, its age, and its maintenance record. Wear and tear, gradual deterioration, and consumable parts are excluded. Vike places it with IRA-regulated underwriters and adds Machinery Loss of Profits where one breakdown would halt production.
- Typically about 0.3% of replacement value a year
- Sudden mechanical and electrical breakdown: what Fire & Perils excludes
- Boilers, generators, compressors, production lines, and lifts
- Sum insured is new replacement value, not book value
- Wear and tear and consumable parts excluded
Rates shown are typical market rates, given as a guide only. Your actual premium is set by the insurer after underwriting and depends on your risk, sum insured, claims history, and security; government levies are added.
Reviewed by Lawrence, Broking Manager, Vike Insurance
Most factory downtime is not caused by fire. It is caused by a boiler tube failing, a generator seizing, a motor burning out, or a control panel shorting. Fire & Perils does not respond to any of these, because they are internal breakdowns rather than external perils. Machinery Breakdown insurance fills that gap: it pays to repair or replace the machine, including dismantling, freight, and re-erection costs.
Vike places Machinery Breakdown for manufacturers, agro-processors, hotels, hospitals, and property owners with lifts, chillers, and standby generators. We build the schedule from your plant register at new replacement value, confirm the inspection and maintenance conditions insurers attach, and add Machinery Loss of Profits for plant where a single failure stops the line.
What It Covers
Sudden and unforeseen mechanical breakdown
Electrical breakdown, short circuit, and overvoltage
Failure of safety devices and operator error
Explosion and collapse of boilers and pressure vessels (where scheduled)
Dismantling, repair, freight, and re-erection costs
Express freight and overtime to speed repairs (extension)
Loss of profits following breakdown (extension)
Who It's For
Manufacturers and agro-processors with production lines
Tea, coffee, and dairy factories with boilers and driers
Hotels and hospitals with chillers, lifts, and standby generators
Commercial property owners with lifts and building services
Printers, packagers, and plastics processors
Water, power, and utility operators
Types We Cover
Each profile is rated and underwritten differently. Talk to us so we can match your specific situation.
Scheduled Plant
Each machine listed with its replacement value. The standard structure, and the one that keeps the sum insured accurate. Typically about 0.3% of that value a year.
Boiler & Pressure Plant
Boilers, steam receivers, and compressed-air vessels, including explosion and collapse. Insurers usually require a current statutory inspection certificate as a condition of cover.
Standby Power
Generators, UPS systems, and changeover panels for businesses where a power failure stops operations.
Machinery Loss of Profits
Adds the gross profit lost while a key machine is being repaired, for plants where one breakdown halts production.
Real-World Scenarios
Boiler tube failure at a tea factory
A tube ruptures mid-season and the boiler is shut down. Machinery Breakdown pays for the repair, the specialist technician, and the express freight of the parts. With Machinery Loss of Profits added, it also pays the lost margin on the green leaf that could not be processed.
Generator seizes during a power outage
A hotel's standby generator seizes while running through a grid failure. The policy pays to strip down and rebuild the engine, less the excess. Fire & Perils would not have responded, because nothing external damaged the machine.
Optional Benefits & Add-ons
Machinery loss of profits
Express freight and overtime
Deterioration of stock in cold storage after breakdown
Surrounding property damaged by the breakdown
Availability varies by underwriter. Our advisors will confirm what is available on your chosen policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Doesn't Fire & Perils cover my machinery?
How much does machinery breakdown insurance cost in Kenya?
Is wear and tear covered?
What about electronic control systems?
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