Lorry crane cover
Lorry crane insurance for loader cranes, on the road and on the lift
Flatbeds with a mounted crane, delivering your own materials or lifting for customers. Fill in one short form to reach specialist crane lorry brokers.
- Loader and long-reach cranes
- Deliveries or contract lifts
- Single lorry or fleet
Quick answer
Lorry crane insurance covers a goods vehicle fitted with a loader crane, also called a lorry loader or truck-mounted crane, both while it is driven and while the crane is lifting. The motor policy deals with the lorry on the road. The lifting side, including damage to the load, the crane and anything it hits, depends on whether you only unload your own deliveries or lift goods for other people, and is often handled with public liability (opens in a new tab) or specialist crane cover.
Crane lorry cover at a glance
- Two risks in one vehicle: driving the lorry and operating the crane once it is parked up.
- Unloading your own deliveries is rated differently from lifting customers' goods for a fee.
- Damage to the load while it hangs from the hook, known as the hook load, is not automatically covered by the motor policy.
- Insurers often ask about operator training and how the crane is inspected.
- A crane can add a large share to the lorry's value, which is usually agreed with the insurer when cover starts.
What lorry crane insurance covers
A crane lorry policy usually joins motor cover for the chassis with cover for the crane while it works. Where the line falls between the two is the main thing to understand before you buy.
Crane lorry types and what insurers look at
The size of the crane, where it is mounted and what it lifts all change how an insurer sees the risk.
| Crane lorry | Typical work | What insurers look at |
|---|---|---|
| Flatbed with a loader crane | Bricks, blocks, timber and pallets to building sites and homes | Ground conditions for outriggers, lifting over people and cars |
| Crane with a brick or block grab | Builders' merchant deliveries placed straight onto site | Grab condition, operator training, reach over boundaries |
| Eight-wheeler with a long-reach crane | Cabins, garden buildings, machinery and steel | Crane capacity, value of the loads lifted, lift planning |
| Artic with a rear-mounted crane | Steel, plant and long loads on trailers | Trailer cover, outrigger set-up, distances travelled |
Grab lorries used for muck-away are covered on our tipper lorry insurance page, and skip loaders on skip hire insurance.
Delivering your own goods or lifting for others
How the crane is used decides how both the lorry and the lifting are insured. A builders' merchant craning off its own bricks is a different proposition from a firm that lifts other people's goods for a fee.
Unloading your own deliveries
Merchants, timber yards and manufacturers using the crane to put their own stock on the ground usually insure the lorry for carriage of own goods. See own goods cover.
Haulage and contract lifting
Carrying and lifting goods that belong to customers, such as cabins or machinery, needs haulage use on the lorry and suitable cover for the lift itself. See haulier insurance.
Which class of use covers delivering and lifting customers' goods?
- NoSocial, domestic and pleasureNot suited to any crane lorry work.
- NoCarriage of own goodsYour own stock, unloaded with your own crane.
- YesHaulage, or hire and rewardCustomers' goods carried and lifted into place for payment.
Paperwork brokers often request
Lifting equipment is usually examined at set intervals by a competent person, and operators are expected to be trained for the crane they use. Brokers may ask for recent examination reports and training records along with your operator licence details, so it helps to have them ready when you start a crane lorry quote (opens in a new tab).
What affects the price of lorry crane insurance
A crane lorry is priced on how it is lifted as well as how it is driven, and the lifting side can weigh heavily.
During the lift
Soft ground under the outriggers, overhead power lines, tight spaces and loads swung over roads or neighbours' property.
On the road
The extra height and weight of the crane, secure stowage of the boom, and loads strapped down for travel.
- Crane size and reachLarger, longer-reach cranes lift heavier and more valuable loads, which raises the stakes if something drops.
- What you liftPallets of bricks are viewed differently from glass, cabins, machinery or anything lifted over the public.
- Operator trainingRecognised lorry loader training and experience on the crane in question count in your favour.
- Inspection recordsUp-to-date examination reports show the crane is maintained and safe to use.
- Claims historyPast lifting incidents weigh heavily, alongside motor claims for the lorry.
- Number of crane lorriesSeveral crane vehicles can sit together on HGV fleet insurance.
Cover that often sits alongside crane lorry insurance
Many of the risks on a crane lorry arise while it is parked and working. These covers deal with the parts a motor policy may not reach.
Before you buy
Questions worth asking about crane lorry cover
The biggest differences between crane lorry policies show up after the outriggers go down. These are points to settle with the broker before cover starts.
- Does the policy cover the crane at work?Or only the lorry while it is driven, with lifting left to another policy?
- Is damage to the crane itself included?Overturning, boom damage and hydraulic failure are treated differently by different insurers.
- Are customers' goods covered during a lift?Loads in your care while lifted may need hook load cover, as goods in transit often limits crane lifts.
- Is there a weight or value limit on loads?Some policies cap what can be lifted, or exclude certain items such as glass.
- Who can operate the crane?Named operators, training requirements and minimum experience vary.
- Are lifts over the public covered?Lifting over roads, pavements or neighbouring property can have conditions attached.
- Is a replacement lorry offered?A like-for-like crane lorry can be hard to find at short notice.
- Does the class of use match?Own deliveries and contract lifting for others are declared differently.
How it works
How to get a lorry crane insurance quote
HGV Insure is an information site, not an insurer or a broker. We link you to MyMoneyComparison.com, a comparison service that can put crane lorry operators in touch with specialist brokers.
- 1
Start your quote
Get my crane lorry quote takes you to our partner, MyMoneyComparison.com.
- 2
Describe the lorry and the crane
The form asks about the vehicle, its weight and body type, your operator licence and who drives. The broker then asks about the crane and the lifting work.
- 3
Compare and decide
A specialist broker contacts you with options, subject to insurers' acceptance criteria. There is no obligation to buy.
FAQs
Lorry crane insurance FAQs
What is lorry crane insurance?
It is cover for a goods vehicle with a loader crane fitted. It combines HGV motor insurance for the lorry with cover for the crane while it is lifting, which may sit in the same policy or alongside it.
Does my HGV insurance cover the crane while it is lifting?
Not always. Some lorry policies include the crane at work, while others treat lifting as a working risk and leave it to public liability (opens in a new tab) or plant cover. Brokers can confirm in writing which policy responds to a lifting incident.
What is the difference between crane hire and a contract lift?
In broad terms, with crane hire the customer usually plans and supervises the lift, and with a contract lift the crane firm takes on the planning and more of the responsibility. The arrangement affects the liability you carry, so brokers will ask which you offer.
Are customers' goods covered if they are dropped?
The motor policy alone usually will not cover them. Goods in your care may be covered by goods in transit insurance (opens in a new tab) where loading and unloading are included, or by specific hook load cover, sometimes with limits on value. Many goods in transit policies limit or exclude crane lifts, so the two are worth checking together.
Do I need training to operate a lorry loader crane?
Operators are expected to be trained and competent for the crane they use, and insurers commonly ask for proof of recognised lorry loader training.
Is a builders' merchant's crane lorry insured differently from a crane hire firm's?
Yes. A merchant unloading its own stock normally insures for carriage of own goods, while a firm lifting for customers needs haulage use and cover for contract lifting. See own goods cover.
Is a grab on a tipper treated as a lorry crane?
It depends on use. A grab used only to load and unload the lorry is usually declared as part of the tipper cover, while lifting work for others may be treated as crane use. See tipper lorry insurance.
Can I insure a crane lorry as a new operator?
Some insurers will, often asking about operator training, the crane's size and the work planned. See new operator HGV insurance.
Does HGV Insure sell lorry crane insurance?
No. HGV Insure is an information site and an affiliate of MyMoneyComparison.com, which matches operators with specialist brokers. When you start a quote you continue to MyMoneyComparison.com, and we may be paid a small commission if you are matched with and speak to a broker.
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