Backhoe Insurance
A backhoe is a high-value machine that works within a metre of live services on somebody else's street.
We arrange backhoe insurance that covers the machine on site, on the road between jobs and against theft.
Specialist mobile plant cover written around a machine that drives itself to work.
Cover for Backhoe Loaders That Dig and Drive
A backhoe carries its value at both ends, and a schedule that only describes one of them is short before anything has happened.
It is also one of the few machines on a civil site that drives itself to the job, which puts registration, road risk and plant cover in the same conversation.
We place cover that follows it through the trench, the street and the yard, so a claim does not become an argument about which policy answers.
“The machine is the smaller number. Striking a gas main or a fibre trunk is the one that hurts.”
What Backhoe Insurance Typically Covers
Cover is tailored to the machine and how you work, and a backhoe policy generally includes the following.
- Accidental damage, collision and overturning
- Both work ends, meaning the front loader bucket and the rear boom, dipper and bucket
- Fire, theft and attempted theft, from a yard, a street job or an open site
- Damage while the machine is on a float or trailer
- Attachments such as trenching and mud buckets, augers, breakers and forks
- Stabiliser legs, hydraulics, hoses and cab glass
- Vandalism and malicious damage
- Hire costs to keep a job moving during repairs, where arranged
Cover varies by insurer and how you operate. We confirm exactly what is and isn’t included before you rely on it.
The Risks a Backhoe Faces
A backhoe earns its money in ground that is already full of somebody else's assets.
Striking Underground Services
Gas, water, power, fibre and sewer all sit at backhoe depth in built-up areas. A strike is a liability claim, a shutdown and a bill that can run well past the value of the machine.
Theft From an Open Street Job
A backhoe drives on its own wheels, so it is far easier to move off an unfenced job than a tracked machine. Overnight theft from roadside and residential work is a recurring claim.
Overturning on a Trench Edge
Stabilisers set on soft fill or fresh backfill next to an open trench are how these machines end up on their side. The damage is rarely limited to the end that went over.
Cover Types That Work With Backhoe Insurance
Civil, plumbing and drainage contractors usually sit the machine's cover alongside one or two of these.
Get Backhoe Insurance Sorted Properly
Talk to a specialist transport and plant broker who knows what your asset is worth and how it works.
Call 1300 78 78 25Other Vehicles & Equipment We Cover
Most operators run more than one type of asset. These are the ones most often insured alongside it.
Get a Backhoe Insurance Quote
Tell us about your asset and how you use it. We’ll arrange cover that fits and respond within 1 business day.
Call us1300 78 78 25Backhoe Insurance: Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on how you use it. A backhoe that stays on site is written as mobile plant, and one that is registered and driven on public roads between jobs needs the road exposure picked up as well. We make sure both halves line up so there is no gap on the drive between two jobs.
Yes. The front loader bucket, the rear boom, dipper and bucket and the stabilisers are all scheduled as part of the machine. It is worth checking, because a schedule written off a finance or hire document sometimes only describes one end.
That is a liability question rather than a machine one. Damage to a gas main, water main, power cable or fibre trunk sits under public liability, which we arrange alongside the plant policy because the bill is regularly larger than the backhoe itself.
Yes. Theft and attempted theft are core to the cover, including from unfenced roadside and residential work. Insurers will ask how the machine is left overnight, so tell us what actually happens rather than what the site rules say.
They can be. Trenching buckets, mud buckets, augers, breakers and forks are scheduled with the machine and covered for damage and theft. Anything bought after the policy started has to be added, and that is the most common gap we find.
Yes. Hired-in plant cover means the hire company's claim does not land on you while the machine is in your care, and it can pick up continuing hire charges if the machine is off the job. If you hire your own backhoe out without an operator, that is dry hire and it needs its own arrangement.
Anything from a compact machine used on plumbing and drainage work up to a large four wheel drive site backhoe, scaled to the value and the work. If you run a tracked digger or a compact skid steer instead, those sit on our excavator insurance and bobcat insurance pages.
Compliance Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Please consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any decision.