Mine Haulage and Cartage Insurance
Ore, bulk materials, fuel and equipment cartage sit across several policies at once. The gaps between them are where haulage claims get complicated.
$20M
Contract limits arranged
Australia
National market access
Broker-led
Placement approach
Recognition
The Tank take
A haulage contractor serving mine sites usually needs public liability, commercial motor for the fleet, and carriers or marine cover for the goods being carted - three different policies responding to three different losses. Dangerous goods work, on-site haulage inside the gate and loading and unloading each raise their own wording questions.
A motor policy insures the truck, not your liability for the load or the premises you operate on. If you assume one policy does all three jobs, the gap belongs to whichever loss lands outside it.
Which policy carries which loss
Haulage losses land in different policies depending on what was damaged and where. Map the exposure before comparing premiums.
Usually covered
- Public liability: third-party injury or property damage arising from your operations, subject to the wording
- Loading and unloading liability - check how each wording splits this between liability and motor
- Products liability where materials are supplied as well as carted
- Principal's indemnity and contractual endorsements where required and available
- Defence costs - check whether inside or outside the limit
Needs its own section
- The trucks, trailers and dollies themselves - commercial motor cover
- The customer's goods on the truck - carriers liability or marine transit cover
- Fuel, chemicals or explosives in transit - dangerous goods conditions and specific acceptance
- Driver injury - workers compensation or personal accident
- Clean-up and pollution beyond what the wording grants - specific pollution cover
Wordings differ on where loading and unloading sit, and on sub-limits for spillage and clean-up. Compare the complete program, not one policy at a time.
Where haulage claims come from
These are the claim shapes that decide whether a haulage program is structured correctly. Each remains subject to the wording, limits and conditions of the responding policy.
A spill, fire or exposure event involving fuel, chemicals or explosives. Dangerous goods work must be specifically disclosed and accepted - carrying DG on a policy that has not agreed to it puts the whole claim in question.
A tipped trailer contacting infrastructure, product discharged into the wrong bin, or damage to a client's weighbridge or hopper. Wordings split this exposure between motor and liability differently - check where yours puts it.
Haul-road collisions, dust events or interaction with mine plant while operating under site rules. Confirm the motor and liability wordings both extend to operation on private mine roads and registered or unregistered status is disclosed.
Ore, concentrate or bulk product lost, spilled or contaminated in transit. This is a carriers or marine question, and the limit needs to reflect the real value of a full load, not a nominal figure.
A visitor injured at your depot, or a member of the public affected by your operations. Standard public liability territory, but depot and yard exposures still need to be disclosed.
Mine-site work needs the right market, not more form-filling
Tell us what you do, which sites you access and the limit your contract requires. We take it to insurers with genuine appetite for mining contractors.
A verified dangerous goods placement
A real Tank placement, anonymised. It is a historical outcome and a demonstration of process, not a promise of terms or turnaround for another business.
A road freight operator needed their program extended for dangerous goods work before lined-up jobs could commence, and the cover could not wait. Seven markets recorded declines as we worked the risk. We presented the operation's controls and the specific dangerous goods classes involved to markets with genuine appetite for DG freight.
The result: $20 million public liability arranged in under 24 hours, and the client's lined-up work commenced on schedule.
Premiums and outcomes described are specific to each client and indicative only. Your own terms will depend on your circumstances and the insurer.
Contract terms that shape a haulage program
Cartage contracts and mine-site access agreements often specify liability limits, frequently $20 million, and may demand principal's indemnity, waiver of subrogation or named-insured status. Consequential loss clauses deserve particular care: a contract that makes you liable for a client's production downtime can assume liability your policy excludes.
Send the actual contract to the broker before quoting starts. The public liability limit, the carriers limit and the motor program all need to line up with what the contract actually demands, and gaps are cheaper to fix before a claim than after one.
Presenting a haulage risk properly
The details that let underwriters price your operation rather than decline the category.
Declare what you cart
Commodities, dangerous goods classes and quantities, and the split between mine work and general freight.
Map where you operate
Public roads, private haul roads, inside the gate, interstate. Registered and unregistered plant status matters.
Detail the fleet
Prime movers, trailers, dollies and ancillary plant with values, ages and who drives them.
Show the compliance
DG licensing, fatigue management, maintenance systems and mass management accreditation where held.
Attach the contracts
The cartage contract's insurance and liability clauses set the limits the program must meet.
Check the rules where the site sits
Mine safety and licensing duties are state-based and sit outside your insurance policy. These regulator sources are the starting point.
External government sources. Tank Insurance is not responsible for their content; confirm current requirements with the regulator in the relevant state or territory.
More mining insurance guides
Questions about mine haulage and cartage insurance
Generally no. The motor policy covers the vehicle; the customer's goods usually need carriers liability or marine transit cover with a limit that reflects a full load's real value. Check both wordings rather than assuming either extends to the other's job.
Dangerous goods work must be specifically disclosed to and accepted by your insurers, and licensing requirements apply separately. Carrying DG classes a policy has not agreed to can put a claim in question, so raise it before the work starts, not after.
Not automatically. Some motor and liability wordings treat operation on private roads, or unregistered operation inside the gate, differently from public-road use. Disclose on-site work and confirm in writing how each policy responds.
It depends on the risk, the completeness of the information and market appetite at the time. Tank has arranged an urgent $20 million dangerous goods extension in under 24 hours for one client, but no turnaround can be promised - a complete submission is what makes speed possible.
General information only. This page does not take account of your objectives, financial situation or needs and is not legal or WHS advice. Cover depends on the insurer, policy wording, limits, excesses, exclusions and information disclosed. Read the relevant policy documents and obtain professional advice before deciding.
Put your mining risk in front of the right markets
Tell us what you do, which sites you work on and the limit your contract requires. We will explain the available terms and exclusions before you decide.