Attachments, Accessories & Small Gear

What's Typically Covered Under Attachment Insurance

Excavator attachment cover can sit within a plant and machinery policy, a standalone equipment policy, or both, depending on what you own and how it's used.

Most plant policies extend to include:

• Interchangeable attachments such as buckets, breakers, augers, and blades, often as ancillary equipment, sometimes subject to a value cap relative to the machine
• Accessories added to the machine after manufacture, including GPS and machine control systems, where these are specified
• Signwriting, wraps, and graphics where the value has been declared as part of the machine's insured value
• Accessories and spare parts stored away from the machine, under certain conditions and up to policy limits

Standalone equipment policies can cover accidental damage, accidental loss, and theft of smaller tools and loose gear that don't fit neatly under a plant policy.

What's covered, and how much, varies significantly between insurers and policy wordings. The key is making sure high-value items are specified, not assumed. Every business is different; your policy needs will depend on your specific circumstances.

What Affects the Premium for Attachment Cover

Several factors influence what you'll pay to insure excavator attachments properly:

• Total value of attachments: the more you're insuring, the higher the premium. Specifying high-value items separately gives insurers a clearer picture and can result in more accurate pricing.
• Type of attachments: hydraulic breakers, augers, and GPS systems carry different risk profiles than standard buckets. Specialist or high-tech attachments may attract different terms.
• How attachments are stored: gear stored securely at a depot or locked worksite is generally viewed more favourably than equipment left unsecured overnight.
• Claims history: a history of attachment theft or damage claims will affect what insurers offer and at what premium.
• Machine type and use: the work the machine does, and the environments it operates in, affects the overall risk profile of the policy.
• Whether items are specified or unspecified: specified items with declared values give insurers certainty, which can work in your favour at both placement and claim time.

Talk to your broker about which of these factors apply to your situation.

Your Excavator Is Insured. Your Attachments Might Not Be.

Most operators insure the machine. That part's straightforward. But the bucket, the hydraulic breaker, the auger, the tilt hitch, the GPS system bolted to the cab, that's where things get complicated.

Excavator attachments insurance is one of those areas where the gap between what people think they have and what they actually have can be significant. It's an easy gap to miss. An operator assumes everything hanging off the machine is covered under the machine's policy. Then something gets stolen or damaged, and the claim comes back short, or declined entirely.

Here's why that happens, and what to do about it.

How Plant Policies Typically Handle Attachments

Most plant and machinery policies do include some cover for attachments. But the detail matters.

The Percentage Cap Problem

Many plant wordings define interchangeable attachments, buckets, scoops, blades, hydraulic heads, as ancillary equipment, and cap the total value of that ancillary equipment at a percentage of the machine's sum insured. If your attachments are worth more than that cap, you're not fully covered. Simple as that.

Say you've got a mid-size excavator with a standard bucket, a hydraulic breaker, a rock bucket, and an auger. Add those up and you might be looking at a meaningful chunk of money. If the policy caps ancillary equipment at a fraction of the machine's insured value, and your attachments exceed that, the shortfall is yours to carry.

The fix? Specify high-value attachments as separate items on the schedule. Most insurers will do this, but you have to ask.

Accessories vs. Ancillary Equipment

Some policies draw a distinction between ancillary equipment (interchangeable attachments that affect how the machine performs) and accessories (supplementary items added after manufacture that don't change the machine's core performance). These two categories can be treated differently under the same policy.

GPS and machine control systems often sit in a grey area here. They're not a bucket, they don't dig anything, but they're expensive, they're targeted by thieves, and they're not always clearly covered under a standard attachment clause. If your machine runs GPS or grade control technology, check whether it's specified. Don't assume.

GPS and Machine Control: The Attachment Nobody Thinks About

GPS and machine control systems have become standard on a lot of modern plant. They're also expensive, and increasingly attractive to thieves.

The problem is that many operators think of GPS as part of the machine, so they don't give it a second thought when arranging cover. But some policies treat electronic systems differently from mechanical attachments. Others exclude theft of accessories unless there's evidence of forced entry into an enclosed vehicle or building.

If your machine runs a GPS or machine control system, talk to your broker about how it's treated under your current policy. It may need to be listed separately to be properly protected. This is exactly the kind of detail that gets missed when you buy direct, and exactly the kind of thing a broker should be checking at renewal.

For broader context on how machinery insurance in NZ works across different plant types, it's worth understanding the framework before drilling into the specifics.

Signwriting, Wraps, and Graphics

This one surprises people. Signwriting and vehicle wraps aren't just cosmetic, they're a real cost to replace, and they're not always covered the way you'd expect.

Some policies will cover the reinstatement of signwriting following accidental damage or a total loss, but cap the amount payable. Others require you to declare the value of signwriting upfront as part of the vehicle declaration. If you don't declare it, you may not get it back in full.

For excavators and other plant, this matters if your machines carry branding, safety markings, or high-quality wraps. Don't leave it to chance. Tell your broker what's on the machine, and make sure the value is captured in the schedule.

Small Tools and Loose Gear

Not everything on a worksite is bolted to a machine. Chains, slings, hand tools, measuring equipment, safety gear, this is the category that tends to fall through the cracks.

Some plant policies include a blanket extension for small tools and accessories, but the per-item limit under a blanket arrangement can be lower than the actual replacement cost of individual items. If you've got a piece of gear worth more than the blanket item cap, it may only be partially covered unless it's specified.

There are also standalone equipment insurance policies designed specifically for this kind of gear, covering accidental damage, accidental loss, and theft. These can be a practical solution for operators who carry a lot of loose equipment that doesn't fit neatly under a plant policy.

For businesses running a broader range of equipment beyond plant, equipment insurance is worth considering as a separate layer of protection.

What to Check on Your Current Policy

Here's a practical checklist. If you can't answer yes to all of these, it's worth a conversation with your broker.

Attachment Cover Checklist:

• [ ] Are high-value attachments (breakers, augers, tilt hitches) listed as separate items on the schedule?
• [ ] Do you know whether your policy caps ancillary equipment value as a percentage of the machine's sum insured?
• [ ] Is your GPS or machine control system specifically noted on the policy?
• [ ] Have you declared the value of any signwriting or vehicle wraps?
• [ ] Are loose tools and small gear covered, and do you know the per-item limit?
• [ ] Do you know what conditions apply to theft of accessories (e.g. forced entry requirements)?
• [ ] Has your broker reviewed your attachment values at the last renewal?

If you're running an excavator, a skid steer loader, a digger, or a telehandler, the same attachment questions apply across all of them. The machine type changes; the coverage gaps don't.

Why Specifying Attachments Separately Matters

There's a tendency to lump everything together and hope the machine's sum insured covers it all. It usually doesn't.

When you specify an attachment separately, a few things happen. First, you get a clear sum insured for that item, not a fraction of the machine's value. Second, if the attachment is damaged or stolen independently of the machine, the claim is cleaner. Third, you're not relying on an insurer to interpret whether your item falls within an ancillary equipment clause.

It takes a bit more work upfront. But it's a lot less painful than discovering the gap at claim time.

At Gerrards, we go through this with our plant clients. We look at what's on the machine, what's stored off it, and what the current policy actually says. Often there are items that need to be added to the schedule, and sometimes the policy structure itself needs to change.

The Broker Advantage at Claim Time

Here's something direct insurers can't offer: when you make a claim, they work for the insurance company. We work for you.

Attachment claims can get complicated. There are questions about whether an item was ancillary equipment or an accessory, whether it was specified or unspecified, whether the theft met the policy's conditions. These aren't straightforward questions, and the way they're answered can significantly affect what you receive.

Having a broker in your corner means someone is reading the policy on your behalf, pushing back where the interpretation isn't fair, and making sure the claim reflects what you actually lost. That's not something you get when you buy direct.

With access to up to 20 insurers, we also have the ability to compare how different policies handle attachments, not just the machine premium. Some wordings are genuinely better for operators who carry high-value attachments. We know which ones, and we'll tell you.

Getting This Right

Excavator attachments insurance isn't complicated once you know what to look for. But many operators don't know what to look for, because the policies are written for insurers, not for the people using the machines.

That's what a broker is for.

If you're not sure whether your attachments are properly covered, get in touch. We'll review your current policy, identify any gaps, and check that what you've got actually matches what you own. Same-day response, seven days a week.

This is general information only. For advice tailored to your situation, get in touch with our team.