You Lift Loads Over People and Property — There's No Small Accident.
Protecting crane operators, riggers, and heavy-lift and machinery-moving contractors
Crane and rigging contractors lift, place, and move heavy loads — mobile and tower cranes, crane rental (operated or bare), rigging, millwrighting, and machinery moving. The defining feature is suspending massive loads over people, buildings, and equipment, where a tip-over, dropped load, or rigging failure produces catastrophic injury and property damage almost by definition. That severity — there is no minor crane accident — is what defines the class and separates it from ordinary contracting. A crane and rigging operator needs coverage built around high-limit liability, the on-hook and riggers exposure for the load itself, and the high-value equipment and contracts of heavy lifting. This is a corner of construction insurance built for how crane and rigging operations actually cause loss.
Properly structured coverage protects the operator, its crews, and everyone and everything under the load.
The Crane & Rigging Operator's Signature Exposures
The defining exposure is catastrophic liability: a crane tip-over, boom collapse, dropped load, or rigging failure can kill, injure, and destroy property on a scale few trades approach, so high liability and umbrella limits are essential and demanded by every general contractor and site owner. The signature sub-exposure is care of the load — "on-hook" or riggers liability for the customer's property while it is being lifted, which standard forms exclude. Bare rental (renting a crane without an operator) versus operated rental changes who is liable, the equipment itself is worth millions, and crews face a severe injury exposure. Contract risk transfer is central.
Key Risks in Crane & Rigging Operations
Crane and rigging operators face exposure related to:
A crane tip-over or boom collapse
A dropped load causing injury or property damage
A rigging or hardware failure during a lift
Damage to the customer's load or equipment while on the hook
A struck-by or crush injury to crews or bystanders
Damage to a building, structure, or underground utility during setup
A bare-rental crane operated negligently by the renter
Lifting loads over people and property, with no small accident, is what most defines the class.
Core Coverages for Crane & Rigging Operators
A properly built crane-and-rigging program typically includes:
Commercial General Liability (High Limits) — Covers third-party injury and property damage from lifting operations, at limits that reflect catastrophic severity.
Riggers / On-Hook Liability — Covers the customer's load while being lifted, rigged, or moved — the care-custody exposure standard forms exclude.
Equipment / Inland Marine (Cranes & Rigging Gear) — Covers the cranes, rigging, and hardware, owned and rented, on site and in transit.
Commercial Auto & Motor Truck Cargo — Cover the trucks moving cranes and loads.
Workers' Compensation — Covers crews in a high-hazard lifting environment.
Umbrella / Excess Liability (High Limits) — Adds the substantial limits general contractors and owners require over a catastrophic lift claim.
Contingent / Bare-Rental Coverage — Addresses liability when equipment is rented without an operator.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Crane and rigging programs are most often weakened by:
Liability and umbrella limits below the catastrophic severity of a lift accident
No riggers/on-hook coverage for the customer's load in the operator's care
Bare-rental exposure not addressed (who is liable when the renter operates)
Equipment values understated on inland marine
Contract indemnity accepted without matching coverage and risk transfer
The gaps that hurt most are thin liability limits and missing on-hook coverage.
Real-World Claim Examples
A crane tips over or its boom collapses on a site
A load drops, injuring workers or crushing property below
A rigging failure damages the customer's machinery being moved
A crane strikes a building or overhead power line during setup
A bare-rented crane is operated negligently and causes a loss
Any one of these can be catastrophic, and the tip-over, dropped-load, and on-hook claims are the most distinctive.
Regulatory & Licensing Context
Crane and rigging is tightly regulated by OSHA's crane and derrick standards, which require certified operators, qualified riggers and signal persons, and inspection and assembly procedures, with many states and cities adding their own crane licensing and permitting. Lift plans and engineered picks are expected on complex jobs, and DOT rules govern the transport of cranes and oversized loads. General contractor and owner contracts impose high liability limits, additional-insured, primary-and-noncontributory, and waiver-of-subrogation terms as a condition of the work.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Underwriters weigh crane types and capacities, operated versus bare rental, the lifts performed and their complexity, operator certification and lift-planning discipline, equipment values, contract terms, and loss history. Because severity is extreme, crane and rigging is placed through specialty markets that price the catastrophe exposure and require high limits and on-hook coverage. Carrying liability and umbrella limits that fit the severity, adding riggers/on-hook coverage, and transferring contract risk are the essential steps.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure crane and rigging operators around the severity every lift carries — placing high-limit liability and umbrella, riggers/on-hook coverage for the loads in your care, and equipment coverage for your cranes and gear, with the limits and additional-insured status your contracts demand. We also insure related businesses, including general contractors, excavation contractors, elevator contractors, and demolition contractors.
You lift loads over people and property, where there's no small accident, which makes crane and rigging a distinct risk — we build the coverage to match it, high limits and on-hook liability included.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See the coverages a crane & rigging business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — plus the gap most often missed, in the Crane & Rigging Coverage Checklist.
Complete the Crane & Rigging Supplemental online in a few guided steps, download the fillable PDF, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get crane & rigging insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate crane & rigging insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
What does crane & rigging insurance cost?
Premiums vary from business to business. The main drivers of crane & rigging insurance pricing are the nature of your operations, your revenue and payroll, your loss history, and the limits you carry. Rather than quote a flat figure, we negotiate across several markets and walk you through the options, so you only pay for the protection you actually need.
Is crane & rigging insurance required?
Requirements vary. Crane & rigging insurance may be mandated by statute, or required under your contracts, leases, or loan agreements — and in many cases it is simply prudent given the risks involved. We look at your specific obligations and exposures, then recommend the coverage and limits that fit.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.