What Risks Does the Manufacturing Industry Face?

The manufacturing industry is made up of many different trades, from teacups to tanks, but one thing they all have in common is the risks involved. Nobody is exempt from the threats that can affect product, supply, employees the environment 

Manufacturers face both known and unknown risks on a day to day basis. Finding the right Manufacturers insurance to cover your company’s specific needs is the best way to keep your company safe and operating. But what type of cover might your business require?

Machinery breakdown Insurance

The nightmare for all manufacturers, regardless of product, is what happens when machinery breaks down. Work grinds to halt, money stops flowing and stock can’t be built moved or shipped. 

This can be mitigated by having adequate insurance to both covers the cost of repairs or replace, install and calibrate any machinery that may break. However, just replacing or repairing the faulty machine will not recoup all your lost earnings. As such, making sure that you can find cover for loss of earnings and time is also key when looking at insuring your machinery. 

Product recall Insurance

Product recall arises when a manufacturer has to recall already sold items because the product is faulty or could cause harm or damage to those who have purchased it. Recalls can impact production, distribution and the supply chain. All of which can be easily fixed. What is more worrying is the legal and reputational damage that a product failure could bring.

Product recall insurance is perfect for manufactories of food, beverage, toys, pet products and electronics companies. It can be used to cover customer notification, shipping costs and disposal costs. 

Employee Injury Insurance

The top three leading causes of employee injury are overexertion and bodily reaction, slips trips and falls, and contact with objects and equipment. Injuries can happen even with the perfect training and self-assessment, and so workers compensation insurance is a key part of any businesses policy cover. 

Workers compensation ensures that your staff are properly taken care of if they’re unable to work due to an injury in the workplace or a work-related illness. It will pay a portion of their salary and cover any medical costs they may incur. Whilst it helps the employee, it also covers you as the employer from any claims made against you by the injured party.

Environmental accident Insurance

Whatever your company manufactures, there will be environmental risks. These range from malfunctions of wastewater treatment machinery leading to pollutants spilling into drains and waterways to releases from cleaning supplies and materials which could contaminate the surrounding air and water. 

The possible impact of these types of situations could be catastrophic, and therefore the costs involved in putting them right could also be huge. In some cases they could be so large they would force bankruptcy on the company., unless properly covered by environmental risk insurance. This type of insurance will cover liability and clean up costs associated with pollution or environmental damage. 

Supply chain interruption insurance

Supply chain interruption is a breakdown in the manufacturing sectors flow of goods and their eventual delivery to customers. For example, a large tanker slipped sideways in the Suez Canal and caused a global supply chain fiasco. From England to Hong Kong, supplies were delayed, products were discarded and millions of pounds worth of profits were wiped out. All because of the supply chain. 

Supply chain interruption insurance is cover that replaces the income you may have lost because your business was halted due to natural or man-made damages.

These are only some of the possible situations that your manufacturing business may come across, and making sure you are fully covered will go a long way in ensuring you have the capability to continue to operate long into the future.