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Mid-market insurance
Food processing machinery manufacturer insurance is the programme of liability, property and specialist cover for businesses that build food processing and packaging equipment. It matters because a machine fault can contaminate a customer's food and trigger a recall.
Part of: Manufacturing insurance
In short
Makers of food processing and packaging machinery usually need products and public liability, professional indemnity for line design, property and business interruption, employers' liability, cargo, fleet, cyber and management liability. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 set specific hygiene requirements for foodstuffs machinery, and food contact materials rules apply to parts that touch food. Products liability may respond to contaminated food but often excludes the customer's recall and lost profit, so wordings and contract terms need careful checking.
Makers of slicers, mixers, ovens, conveyors, fillers, sealers, metal detection, wrapping and end-of-line packaging machinery face a risk that most machinery builders do not: when the machine goes wrong, the loss is often measured in the customer's food. A fragment of metal, a lubricant leak, a seal failure or a cleaning dead spot can lead to contaminated product, a withdrawal or recall by the food business, and lost contracts with its retail customers.
A mid-sized manufacturer or integrator usually needs products liability that has been checked for how it treats contamination of the customer's product, public liability for installation, commissioning and service work inside food plants, professional indemnity where you design lines or specify hygiene and throughput, property and business interruption, employers' liability, marine cargo or transit for exported machines, cyber, motor fleet for service engineers and management liability. Some businesses also consider a financial loss or recall extension. The manufacturing insurance guide sets out the broader structure, and our food and drink manufacturers page shows the risk from your customers' side.
| Exposure | Typical example | Cover that usually responds |
|---|---|---|
| Machine part contaminates the customer's food | Blade fragment found in packed product | Products liability for damage to the food, subject to the policy terms; the customer's recall and lost profit are often contested |
| Injury to the customer's operator | Guarding failure on a slicer or mixer | Products liability |
| Damage during installation or commissioning | Engineer damages existing refrigeration or a clean room | Public liability; erection all risks for the works |
| Line fails to meet promised output or hygiene standard | Line never reaches contracted packs per minute | Professional indemnity where design is declared, or a financial loss extension |
| Fire or breakdown at your works | Fire in the welding bay stops production | Property damage and business interruption |
| Machine damaged in transit or on site before handover | Packaging line damaged in shipping to an overseas customer | Marine cargo or transit cover, then contract works |
| Remote access or software update goes wrong | Faulty update halts a customer's line | Technology PI or cyber, depending on wording |
| Staff injury | Fitter injured during factory testing | Employers' liability (compulsory) |
| Claims against directors | Regulatory investigation or shareholder dispute | Management liability |
Machinery safety. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 require the manufacturer, its authorised representative or the person placing machinery on the GB market to meet the essential health and safety requirements, carry out a risk assessment, compile a technical file and issue a declaration of conformity. Government guidance confirms that HSE enforces for workplace machinery, that CE marking is recognised in Great Britain indefinitely alongside UKCA, and that partly completed machinery needs a declaration of incorporation and assembly instructions. Section 2.1 of the essential requirements deals specifically with foodstuffs machinery: it must be designed to avoid any risk of infection, sickness or contagion; surfaces in contact with food must be smooth, cleanable and free of crevices where organic matter can collect; the design must stop lubricants and other hazardous substances reaching the product; and the instructions must recommend cleaning, disinfecting and rinsing products and methods.
Food contact materials. Under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004, as it applies in Great Britain, materials and articles intended to contact food must be made under good manufacturing practice and must not transfer constituents to food in quantities that could endanger health, bring an unacceptable change in its composition or spoil its taste and smell. In England, the Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) Regulations 2012 sit alongside it. Machine components that touch food fall within this framework.
Contract and product liability. Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 implies satisfactory quality and, where the buyer relies on your expertise for a stated purpose, fitness for that purpose. Section 2 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 makes producers, own-branders and importers liable for damage caused by defective products. However, section 5 excludes damage to the product itself and limits property claims to property ordinarily intended for private use, so a food business's claim for spoiled product usually runs in contract or negligence. Injury to an operator is not limited in that way.
A slicing machine sheds a fragment of blade into sliced meat. The food business withdraws several days' production and recalls packs already with retailers. It claims the value of the spoiled product, its recall costs and lost profit. The contaminated food is arguably physical damage, so products liability may respond to that part, subject to the policy terms. Recall costs and lost profit are often treated as excluded or as pure financial loss unless a specific extension applies.
A new filling line has a pipe section that cannot be cleaned properly. Microbiological results fail, but no contaminated product leaves the site. The customer claims re-engineering costs and lost output. With no injury or damage to other property, this is a design and performance claim, where professional indemnity or a financial loss extension is the more likely source of cover.
During installation, hot work by your engineer ignites insulation panels in a chilled food plant. Public liability usually responds to the damage to the customer's building, subject to the policy terms and any hot work conditions, and the customer's business interruption claim against you follows.
Review the programme when:
A programme review checks whether limits, extensions and contract terms still fit. Related pages: manufacturers insurance, stock throughput insurance, industrial machinery manufacturer insurance and exporter insurance.
Apex arranges insurance for food processing and packaging machinery manufacturers; a broker reads every enquiry.
Not usually in full. If your machine contaminates food, the contaminated product may count as damage to property and fall within products liability, subject to the policy terms. The customer's recall costs and lost profit are commonly excluded or treated as pure financial loss. Recall cover or a negotiated financial loss extension may be needed to close that gap.
The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 include specific essential requirements for foodstuffs machinery. Designs must avoid risks of infection or contagion, food contact surfaces must be smooth and cleanable, lubricants must not reach the product, and instructions must cover cleaning and disinfection. Food contact materials must also meet Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 as it applies in Great Britain.
If you design lines, advise on layouts or guarantee throughput or hygiene performance, a customer can claim financial loss without any physical damage. Products liability is unlikely to respond to that. Professional indemnity, or a financial loss extension on the liability policy, is usually the better fit, provided the design work is declared.
Public liability usually covers injury and damage to the customer's property caused by your engineers, subject to the policy terms and conditions such as hot work requirements. The machine itself, before handover, often needs contract works or erection all risks cover, and the contract will say when risk passes to the customer.
Yes. Government guidance confirms that recognition of CE marking was extended indefinitely in Great Britain from 1 October 2024, so either CE or UKCA can be used. CE marking is still needed for sales into the EU and Northern Ireland.
Send us your current schedules or renewal pack and we will review the whole programme and tell you plainly what to keep and what to change. No fee and no obligation. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Book a programme review Get a quoteApex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
