Electronic Equipment Insurance
Electronic equipment insurance covers damage to electronic devices and systems from virtually all unforeseen events, including operating errors and internal breakdown.
Comparison profile
- Trigger
- All risks
- Insured interest
- Physical damage to and internal breakdown of electronic devices, systems, and installations owned or leased by the policyholder.
- Rating basis
- Sum insured / replacement value of equipment, Type and age of equipment, Operating environment (data centre, industrial, medical), Claims experience
- Typical limits
- Sum insured per item or per location on a first-loss or full-value basis, often supplemented by additional expense and data carrier sublimits.
- Typical deductibles
- Per-occurrence deductible, typically modest for standard IT equipment and higher for sensitive medical or industrial electronics.
- Target segments
- SME, Industry, Healthcare and data centre operators
Insured events
- Short circuit and overvoltage
- Operating and handling errors
- Water damage and humidity
- Material and manufacturing defects
- Theft and burglary (where included)
Key exclusions
- War and nuclear energy
- Wear and tear, and gradual deterioration
- Losses recoverable under a manufacturer's warranty
- Software errors without resulting physical damage
- Consequential loss beyond additional expense/data carrier extensions
Concept
Electronic equipment insurance is a line of engineering insurance that covers physical damage to electronic devices and systems (such as computers, server installations, medical equipment, or control systems) against virtually all unforeseen events, unless expressly excluded.
Coverage Concept
Unlike traditional property insurance, which is limited to named perils such as fire or water, electronic equipment insurance follows an all-risks coverage concept and regularly also includes operating errors, material defects, short circuits, and internal breakdown, which are frequently excluded under other property insurance lines.
Additional Modules
Electronic equipment insurance is frequently supplemented by additional modules, such as additional expense insurance, which covers extra costs for the temporary use of replacement equipment after a loss, and data carrier insurance, which covers the cost of restoring data and programs following an insured loss event.
Comparison and delineation
Electronic equipment insurance is narrower in object scope than property all risks but broader in trigger, since it also covers internal breakdown causes such as short circuit, operating errors, and material defects that all-risks property wordings typically exclude for machinery and electronics. Where a business already carries property all risks, electronic equipment cover can either sit alongside it as a dedicated module for IT-intensive risks or replace the electronics sublimit within the master policy. It is frequently combined with machinery insurance, which covers analogous internal breakdown perils for mechanical plant, and with business interruption cover for the resulting downtime.