Liability
- Compulsory motor liability (WAM) cover for machines that use the public road
- Damage to cables, pipes and neighbouring properties during digging
- Operational risk: damage caused by the machine at work, including on your own site
Insuring a Hitachi
Insuring a Hitachi excavator is all about transport on a low-loader, theft from the building site, damage to cables and pipes and downtime when the machine breaks down.
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- 9.5 customer rating for a new policy
- AFM licence 12016589
- Personal 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 9–17
This page in another language: Nederlands
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
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Personal quote request. A no-obligation request: nothing is taken out automatically. After sending you receive a reference number and a confirmation by e-mail.
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In brief
In the Netherlands, Hitachi Construction Machinery mainly supplies crawler excavators from the ZX series, from mini excavators of around 2 tonnes to machines of 35 tonnes and more, as well as wheeled excavators and wheel loaders. New prices range from around € 30,000 for a mini excavator to more than € 400,000 for a heavy crawler excavator. A machine of that value stands on a building site without a fence, drives on disturbed ground and periodically goes onto a low-loader, and each of those situations is a cause of damage in its own right.
Theft is the biggest risk with the smaller machines. Mini and midi excavators disappear from building sites on a trailer and are across the border within a day. Insurers therefore require a certified tracking system or an immobiliser for many models, and apply a higher excess if these are missing. With heavy crawler excavators, theft is rare, but damage during transport, tipping over on a slope and striking underground cables and pipes are the problem.
Contractors' plant insurance (werkmaterieelverzekering) consists of liability, which is compulsory by law for machines that use the public road, own-damage cover (casco) for damage to the machine itself and extensions for transport, downtime and hired-in equipment. We compare the plant policies of several insurers and look at which suits your fleet and the way you use it.
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Hitachi: what is covered?
The choice of cover depends on the value and age of the machine, whether it goes on the road, how often it is transported and whether you hire it out.
Own-damage cover
Own-damage cover protects the machine itself, from tipping over to theft from the building site.
- Tipping over, collision, fire and vandalism
- Theft, with requirements for a tracking system or immobiliser
- Inherent defects and operator errors under the extended variant
Downtime and transport
Downtime and transport cover the costs around the machine: carriage on the low-loader and loss of use after damage.
- Damage during loading, unloading and carriage on a low-loader
- Hire of a replacement machine during downtime after damage
- Hired or leased equipment included on your policy
What is covered
| Situation | Covered |
|---|---|
| Theft from the building site | Sometimes |
| Fire and storm damage | Yes |
| Inherent defect in the hydraulics | Sometimes |
| Damage to cables and pipes | Sometimes |
| Normal wear and tracks | No |
| Damage due to deferred maintenance | No |
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
What does your premium depend on?
- Operating weight and weight class. Heavier machines mean higher repair and recovery costs.
- Tracked or wheeled undercarriage. A tracked machine goes on transport, a wheeled machine drives itself and uses the road.
- Ground conditions at the work sites. Work on embankments, in excavations or alongside water increases the chance of tipping over.
- Number of transport movements per year. Every move between jobs is an extra loading and unloading moment.
- Cover during loading, unloading and transport. Whether transport by third parties is included on the same conditions.
- Special equipment. A long boom, demolition boom or magnet is assessed and declared separately.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
How we arrange it
- You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
- We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
- You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
- We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Why arrange it through Finass Verzekert?
We look at the terms as well as the premium, and stay your point of contact when there is a claim.
Independent
We are not tied to one insurer and compare on the basis of an objective analysis of several companies.
One fixed adviser
You call or email someone who knows your file. No menu options, no changing call centres.
Switching without hassle
We cancel your old policy and align the start date, so you are never a day without cover.
Help with claims
We report the claim and monitor how it is handled. In urgent cases you can reach us on the emergency line.
9.5New policy
9.8Claims handling
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
Where things go wrong in practice
For a Hitachi excavator, these points determine whether the policy pays out after damage.
Transport on the low-loader
A 21-tonne Hitachi ZX210 is taken to the job on a low-loader. While driving on, the machine slides off the ramps, on the way the boom scrapes a flyover, or the machine shifts during an emergency stop. That is neither driving damage nor working damage, and many plant policies only cover transport if it is explicitly included. Check whether loading, unloading and transport are on the policy, even when an external haulier does the driving. That haulier has its own carrier's liability, but it is limited and rarely pays the full value of the machine.
Cables and pipes
Digging work hits cables and pipes. A damaged gas pipe or fibre-optic cable leads to a claim from the network operator that can far exceed the repair costs because of consequential losses for its customers. Insurers cover this under liability, but attach conditions: a KLIC notification to the Kadaster (Land Registry) before digging and careful excavation in line with the CROW guideline. If the KLIC notification is missing, the insurer may reduce the payout or recover it from you. Record for each project that the notification has been made and keep the drawings with the machine.
Theft of mini excavators
Hitachi mini excavators in the 1.5 to 5-tonne class are popular with thieves: light enough for a trailer and easy to sell abroad. Insurers therefore increasingly require a certified tracking system, often VbV-approved, or an immobiliser, and otherwise apply an excess of 10 to 25 percent for theft. A machine left overnight on an open building site without security is, in practice, only half insured. Check which requirement your policy sets and register the serial number, so that a recovered machine can be identified.
Ground, slopes and tipping over
A crawler excavator often stands on freshly disturbed ground, on a slope or at the edge of an excavation. A track that sinks or a boom extended too far with a full bucket leads to tipping over, with damage to the cab, boom and hydraulics that quickly runs into tens of thousands of euros. That falls under own-damage cover, but the insurer checks whether the operator held a valid certificate of competence and whether the work plan took the ground conditions into account. Gross negligence, such as working beyond the lifting capacity in the load chart, can lead to a reduction.
Downtime and replacement equipment
If an excavator breaks down due to damage, the work comes to a standstill or you have to hire a replacement machine for several hundred euros a day. Own-damage cover pays for the repair, not the hire. Downtime cover or hire cost cover takes care of that, usually with a waiting period of a few days and a maximum number of days per year. For a one-man business with one machine, this cover is more relevant than for an agricultural contractor with ten machines. Work out what a week of downtime costs you before deciding.
Hiring out and use by others
If you hire out the Hitachi with or without an operator to a fellow contractor, the risk changes. Hire without an operator is only covered on most plant policies if it has been included, and often with a higher excess. Conversely, if you hire in a machine, it is not automatically insured on your policy; the hire company usually asks you to take over liability for damage to the machine. Cover for hired-in equipment on your own policy prevents you from having to pay the hire company the full replacement value after damage.
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions about insuring a Hitachi excavator.
Is third-party liability (WA) insurance compulsory for a crawler excavator?
A machine that uses the public road, even if only to cross it, falls under the compulsory insurance requirement of the WAM (Motor Insurance Liability Act). A crawler excavator that works exclusively on a closed building site formally falls outside it, but the operational risk remains: damage to cables, neighbouring properties or people. Plant insurance with liability covers both situations and is always needed in practice.
What security does the insurer require for a Hitachi mini excavator?
That differs per insurer and per value, but for machines up to around 8 tonnes most insurers ask for a certified tracking system or an immobiliser, and sometimes both above a certain amount. Without that security, an increased theft excess or an exclusion often applies. We ask the insurer for the exact requirement before you take out the policy, so you do not get a surprise afterwards.
Is a Hitachi insured at replacement value or current value?
Usually at current value, with a new-for-old arrangement for new machines during the first year or years. After that, the sum insured falls in line with depreciation. For a machine with many hours or after an overhaul, the actual value may differ from the book value; in that case provide an up-to-date valuation or a recent purchase invoice, so that the sum insured is correct and there is no underinsurance.
Is damage caused by an operator error covered?
Under extended own-damage cover, usually yes, including inherent defects and operator errors. Under limited own-damage cover, no. The insurer does assess whether the operator was qualified and whether the machine was used within its specifications; working beyond the lifting capacity or without a valid certificate may lead to a reduction. A good maintenance record and a recent inspection help with the assessment.
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Prefer to call? 072 - 509 24 56, weekdays 09:00–17:00.
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About our service
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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This page was compiled by Finass Verzekert (LinkedIn). Last updated on .
The information on this page is general in nature and is not personal advice.