Dry hire insurance for plant and equipment
For equipment you own and hire out without an operator, under a hire agreement, with one premium for up to five years.
- Dry hire
- Plant hire
- Equipment hire
- Hire agreement in place
Dry hire insurance through EquipCover covers plant and equipment your business owns and hires out without an operator, as long as a contractual hire agreement is in place. The premium is fixed for up to five years.
Insurance indication
Dry hire and plant hire, fixed for up to five years.
The machine, its value, your state, the term and registration, then your ABN. About ninety seconds, no proposal form, and you see your indication before we ask for a name, mobile or email.
An indication is an estimate, not a quote or an offer of insurance.
Financing it? See the finance repayment and the insurance together in the calculator, before you give any details.
Your insurance indication
Each policy covers up to $2 million of equipment. Above that, our partner sets up more than one policy, each with its own fixed premium.
Same state and term as the first item. Different state or term? Tell our partner when they contact you.
Done. We have your details.
- NowYour indication and details reach our team, who pass them to our specialist insurance partner.
- Same business dayThe partner emails you an e-brochure for your consideration, with the policy wording.
- When you acceptAccept online, and your certificate of currency follows in about five minutes.
- ABN
- State · term
- Average per year (incl. GST)
- Pay upfront
- Pay by the month
- Re-rated during the term
- No, set on day one
The problems this solves
What fixed cover solves for dry hire and plant hire.
Your machine, someone else’s site
On dry hire the hirer supplies the operator, so the machine is out of your hands. Cover applies when a contractual hire agreement is in place, and theft by a hirer is only covered if you held that agreement and copies of their licence and credit card before they took the machine. What the agreement needs. Read the policy wording for exactly what dry hire cover includes.
Wet hire or dry hire?
Wet hire means the machine goes out with your operator. Dry hire means the machine only. The difference, and why it matters for insurance.
A hire fleet on finance
Hire fleets are often financed. A multi-year policy can run for the same term as the finance, with one premium that doesn’t move with claims or the market.
Several machines, one policy
One policy can cover a single machine or several, up to $2 million per policy, and a business can hold more than one policy.
What’s covered
What the policy covers, and what it doesn’t
| Sudden and unforeseen damage | Yes |
|---|---|
| Theft | Yes, with conditions for equipment left in the open and machines on hire |
| Total loss | Settled at that year’s insured value |
| Finance payout after a total loss | Up to an extra 30% of that year’s insured value |
| Attachments | Yes, when they’re listed on your schedule |
| Extra costs while it’s off the job | Yes, such as hiring a substitute machine, within the schedule limit. Lost revenue isn’t covered |
| Recovery costs | Yes, within the schedule limit |
| Dry hire | Yes, with a written hire agreement |
| Third party property damage | Registered machines, where your schedule shows it |
| Public liability and injury | No. That’s a separate policy |
| Machinery breakdown | No, except mechanical damage caused directly by covered damage |
| Wear and tear | No |
| Private use | No |
A summary only. The policy wording decides what’s covered, and limits are on your schedule.
By the numbers
The numbers behind it.
Rise in insurance prices paid by Australian households in the five years to June 2026, about double the 24.1% rise in all prices.
Source 1New plant and equipment finance written for small businesses in 2025-26, about 35% of their new fixed-term borrowing. ABS counts a loan as small business when the lender’s exposure is under $1 million.
Source 2What can be covered
Dry hire and plant hire on the approved list.
New or used, up to 40 years old, used wholly or predominantly for business. One item or several on one policy, up to $2 million per policy.
Approved items
- Excavators and mini excavators
- Skid steer loaders and backhoes
- Rollers and compactors
- Boom lifts, scissor lifts and EWPs
- Telescopic handlers and forklifts
- Generators, compressors and lighting towers
When this isn’t the right fit
- Equipment used mainly for private or household purposes. Cover is for business use only.
- Equipment you already own that was bought more than 60 months ago (it can be covered, but not on a multi-year policy).
- Equipment more than 40 years old (it can be covered, but not on a multi-year policy).
- Items that are not on the approved item list, or worth more than $2 million on one policy (they can be covered, but not on a multi-year policy).
Not sure? Call us on 0457 932 988 or email info@equipcover.au, and we’ll tell you where you stand.
FAQs
Common questions.
Can’t see yours? Every question we answer is on one page, or call us on 0457 932 988.
Is dry hire covered?
Yes, when a contractual hire agreement is in place. Read the policy wording for the specific dry hire cover.
What is the difference between wet hire and dry hire?
Wet hire means the equipment is hired out with an operator. Dry hire means the equipment only, and the hirer supplies the operator.
Can I insure a whole hire fleet?
Yes. One policy can cover several items, up to $2 million per policy, and you can hold more than one policy.
Sources
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Consumer Price Index, insurance (quarterly series to June 2026; monthly release September 2026, published 28 October 2026)
- Australian Bureau of Statistics: Lending Indicators, June quarter 2026
- Product information and approved item list from our specialist insurance partner (August 2026)
Updated 6 October 2026. Reviewed by James Rock (National Partnerships Director). General information only, not personal advice. Read the policy wording before you buy.
Why fixed
Priced once.
Not every year.
A standard annual policy is re-rated at every renewal for claims, inflation and market changes. A multi-year policy sets the price for the whole term on day one.
Annual policy
Re-rated yearlyFour renewals, four re-ratings. Bar heights are illustrative, not real premiums.
Fixed multi-year policy
Locked on day oneOne price for the term you choose, set on day one and never re-rated. The bars show the insured value: 100% in years 1 and 2, then a 10% depreciation each year from year 3.
In the five years to June 2026, insurance prices paid by Australian households rose 47.9%, about double the 24.1% rise in all prices (ABS). Why premiums keep rising.
| Year | Annual policy | Fixed multi-year policy: insured value |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Starting premium | 100% |
| 2 | Re-rated at renewal | 100% |
| 3 | Re-rated at renewal | 90% |
| 4 | Re-rated at renewal | 81% |
| 5 | Re-rated at renewal | 72.9% |
