Coverage requirements
Rigging Services
Last updated August 2026 · Maintained and reviewed by the Advocate Insurance Consultants coverage research team.
Overview
What an adequately protected Rigging Services program looks like
Riggers prepare, position, and sling oversize and overweight cargo so it can be safely hoisted and moved by crane or other lifting equipment. Their work supports construction, industrial, and specialized transport projects where loads are heavy and hazards are significant. Precise load handling is central to the service, and the potential for serious injury or property damage defines the operation's risk profile. Designed around the exposures rigging services face, this Advocate Standard profile benchmarks Auto Liability, General Liability, Worker's Compensation, Fidelity Bond, Physical Property and ties limit and deductible standards to carrier financial-strength requirements.
Key takeaways
- Spans 141 published requirements across 40 coverage type-peril pairs.
- Applies to 2 asset types: Commercial Office Building, Contractor.
- Covers 14 coverage types and 14 distinct perils.
At a glance
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Completion score
9 of 40 WIM pairs required
Coverage tower
Required limits by coverage type and peril
Requirements
Full requirement set for Rigging Services
Every requirement in the Advocate standard, 141 rows across limits, deductibles, carrier rating, and presence checks. Search and filter to drill in.
Showing 50 of 141 matching · 141 total
Compliance
Who requires Rigging Services
- Rigging services insurance is required by the construction, industrial, and transport clients who depend on safe heavy lifts.
- General contractors and crane operators require a certificate of insurance with additional insured and waiver of subrogation endorsements before riggers handle a load, because a dropped or shifted load can cause catastrophic damage.
- Plant owners, facility managers, and project developers verify general liability and workers' compensation, while equipment owners entrusting valuable machinery to rigging crews confirm coverage.
- Lenders financing rigging firms require proof of coverage, equipment finance companies require inland marine on slings and gear, and brokers coordinate general liability and inland marine limits because precise load handling defines the operation's catastrophic risk.
Carrier standard. Carrier must have an AM Best Rating that meets the required Letter and Financial Size ratings.
Advocate runs these checks automatically for the brokers who place construction & trade contractors coverage.
Exclusions
What Rigging Services does not cover
- Rigging services insurance leaves gaps.
- Cyber liability is absent from the rigger's program, as are employment practices and directors and officers coverage.
- General liability carries standard carve-outs, and a critical one for riggers is the care, custody, or control exclusion, which can bar coverage for damage to the very property, machinery, or load the rigger is hoisting and controlling.
- Riggers legal liability or a similar endorsement is often needed to close that gap.
- The cost to redo the contractor's own faulty rigging is excluded as "your work," and the pollution exclusion applies.
- Owned slings, spreader bars, jacks, and rigging gear rely on inland marine rather than general liability.
Risk advisory
Typical coverage gaps in Construction & Trade Contractors
Rigging services contractors carry leading workers' compensation and inland marine exposures because heavy-lift operations cause severe injuries and rely on valuable specialized rigging gear.
- The signature coverage gap is care, custody, or control: standard general liability often excludes damage to the customer's property or machinery while it is in the rigger's control during a lift, so confirm a riggers legal liability endorsement or on-hook coverage is in place, since dropped-load damage to expensive equipment is a defining claim.
- Schedule slings, spreader bars, jacks, and specialized gear on inland marine at replacement cost, including rented equipment.
- Verify workers' compensation reflects crush and struck-by hazards, confirm commercial auto for construction-site travel, and match umbrella limits to the value of loads handled.
- Documented lift plans, load calculations, and gear inspection logs strengthen defense of dropped-load and property-damage claims.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What insurance do rigging companies need?
Rigging companies typically need general liability, riggers legal liability or on-hook coverage for property in their control, workers' compensation, employer's liability, commercial auto, and inland marine for slings and rigging gear. Because dropped loads can cause catastrophic damage, adequate liability and umbrella limits matter, and clients require additional insured status before riggers handle a load.
Does general liability cover a load the rigger drops?
General liability often does not fully cover a load the rigger drops because the care, custody, or control exclusion bars damage to property the rigger is handling. Riggers legal liability or on-hook coverage closes that gap, protecting the customer's machinery or load while it is being hoisted, which is exactly the rigging firm's defining exposure.
What is riggers legal liability insurance?
Riggers legal liability insurance covers damage to a customer's property, machinery, or load while it is in the rigging contractor's care, custody, or control during a lift, an exposure standard general liability excludes. Because riggers handle valuable equipment that can be dropped or shifted, this coverage is central to protecting the firm against costly property-damage claims.
Why is inland marine important for rigging contractors?
Inland marine is important for rigging contractors because slings, spreader bars, jacks, and specialized gear are high-value movable equipment that faces theft and damage at jobsites and in transit, exposures property and general liability do not cover. A contractors equipment floater scheduling owned and rented gear at replacement cost protects these essential assets.
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