Crane & rigging insurance that actually gets bound — nationwide.

Riggers liability covers damage to the property of others while that property is in your care — most importantly the load on the hook while it is being lifted, rigged, or moved. It matters because standard general liability policies contain a “care, custody & control” exclusion that takes away coverage for property you are handling, which is exactly the exposure a crane operator faces on every lift. If you drop an HVAC unit, a steel beam, or a piece of machinery you’re hoisting, GL won’t respond — riggers liability (or an on-hook / care, custody & control endorsement) is the coverage that does. Because a single lifted item can be worth far more than a typical claim, the limit has to be set against the value of the property you actually lift.

Boom trucks, mobile cranes, all-terrain and rough-terrain cranes, and crane carriers are self-propelled licensed vehicles, so their on-road operation is insured under commercial auto, not general liability. Once the unit is set up and lifting, other lines respond — general liability and riggers liability for the lifting operation, contractors equipment for damage to the crane itself. Crane risk is genuinely cross-policy: the same machine touches auto, inland marine, GL, and excess depending on what it is doing at the moment of loss. Getting those lines to coordinate — so a claim doesn’t fall into a gap between them — is the core of structuring a crane program correctly, and it’s the part generalist agents most often get wrong.

Two reasons: the values are enormous and the loss potential is catastrophic. A single mobile crane is frequently worth seven figures, so the physical-damage exposure alone is large; and an overturn, boom collapse, or dropped load can destroy a structure, halt a project, and injure or kill a crew in seconds. Most admitted, standard-market insurers won’t take that combination, so much of the coverage is written through specialty and Excess & Surplus (E&S) carriers that price and underwrite catastrophic exposure deliberately. That’s why working with a broker who knows which markets actually write crane and rigging risk — and how to present the operation to them — matters more here than in almost any other trade.

Insure each unit at what it would cost to replace it — its replacement or agreed value — not its depreciated book value, because that is what you’ll need after a total loss. This is the line item operators most often get wrong: scheduling a crane at a low or outdated value to save premium leaves a ruinous shortfall after an overturn or collapse. With single units routinely valued in the millions, the scheduled value, the overturning/collapse coverage, and the in-transit (while the crane is being moved) coverage all have to be set correctly. We help you schedule realistic values and confirm the equipment form actually covers the perils that wreck cranes, not just fire and theft.

It varies by project, but general contractors and project owners routinely require commercial auto and general liability at $1M, employers’ liability, and a substantial umbrella/excess layer — often $5M, $10M, or more — before a crane is allowed on site, along with additional-insured status, a waiver of subrogation, and primary and non-contributory wording on the certificate. Higher-profile or public projects push the excess requirement higher still. Because the requirements live in the contract rather than in any statute, the certificate has to be built to the specific job. We review the insurance requirements in your contract and structure the limits and endorsements to clear them the first time.

Yes. Under the federal OSHA standard for cranes and derricks in construction, 29 CFR 1926.1400 (Subpart CC), employers must ensure operators of most construction cranes are trained, certified, and evaluated. In practice that certification is typically obtained through the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) or another accredited certifying body. Some states and cities go further with their own operator licensing on top of the federal rule — most notably New York City, which requires a Department of Buildings Hoisting Machine Operator license. Documented operator certification and a real safety program also affect how underwriters view your risk, so they bear directly on what you pay.

Yes. Crane Insurance USA is the national crane & rigging practice of Thrive Risk Management Insurance Solutions, a licensed insurance brokerage (CA License #6012320). We place coverage nationally through our appointed specialty and surplus-lines partners, so we can structure a program — equipment, riggers liability, auto, GL, and excess — to match the contract requirements and the crane regulations wherever you operate. Start with your state page or request a quote and we’ll confirm we can write your market before you spend time on paperwork.