Insuring a Rented Robot

Cover for the robot itself

A rental contract may make you responsible for loss of or damage to the robot while it is in your care. You can meet that with a hired-in equipment policy, an extension to your property cover, or the provider's damage waiver if one is offered. Compare them on the value insured, which should match the replacement value stated in the contract, the excess, and exclusions such as mechanical breakdown, software faults or theft from an unattended vehicle. Check the period of cover runs from collection to return, including transit, and that the robot is covered at every venue you plan to use. Ask for the insurer's confirmation in writing rather than relying on a phone call.

Liability when people are hurt

Two kinds of liability cover usually matter. Public liability responds to injury or damage suffered by visitors and other third parties, so tell your insurer a moving robot will operate in public areas. Employers' liability covers your own staff, and GOV.UK states that most employers in England, Scotland and Wales must hold at least £5 million of cover from an authorised insurer. Ask both insurers how injuries involving hired-in machinery are handled, including when the provider's operator is in control. Where a defect in the robot causes harm, Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products, which covers software and applies to products placed on the market after 9 December 2026, lets injured people claim against the manufacturer.

Matching cover to the contract

Send the draft rental agreement to your broker before signing, not after. Rental terms may ask the hirer to carry minimum levels of cover, to note the provider's interest on the policy and to indemnify the provider against claims arising from use. Each of those needs checking against your actual policy wording. Ask the provider for certificates for its own public and product liability cover, and for employers' liability if its operator will work on your premises. Where both sides insure the same risk, agree which policy responds first, so a claim does not stall while two insurers argue about it. Keep copies of every certificate with the contract.

Safety records that support a claim

Insurers expect you to manage the risk as well as transfer it. The Health and Safety Executive's overview of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 explains that duties apply to businesses whose employees use work equipment, whether they own it or not, so keep the risk assessment, training records and pre-use checks for the hired robot. If something goes wrong, make the area safe, then preserve the robot's logs and any video before the provider collects it, since they may show what happened. Report the incident to your insurer promptly and in line with the policy, because late notice can put a claim at risk.

Sources and further reading

• Employers' Liability Insurance — GOV.UK.
  When employers in Great Britain must hold liability cover, the minimum amount and the penalties for going without.
• Directive (EU) 2024/2853 on liability for defective products — EUR-Lex, Publications Office of the European Union.
  EU rules on who is liable when a defective product causes harm, rewritten to include software.
• Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER): overview — Health and Safety Executive.
  Explains duties for equipment used at work, whether owned or not, and for anyone supplying it for hire.

Common questions

Does my business insurance cover a hired robot automatically?

Do not assume so. Policies may exclude hired-in equipment or cap it at a low limit. Tell your broker what you are hiring, its replacement value, where it will work and who will operate it, and get the answer in writing.

Is a damage waiver the same as insurance?

No. A damage waiver is a contract term in which the provider agrees to limit what it charges you for damage, usually for a fee and often with an excess and exclusions. It does not cover injury to people or damage the robot causes to property.