A dispensing machine typically represents an investment of between 150,000 and 250,000 euros. Within a few months, it becomes the heart of the pharmacy’s organization: receiving orders, organizing, and dispensing at the counter. When it stops, the entire team has to go back to manual operations. It is tempting to think that professional multi-risk insurance is enough to protect against all risks. That is true for some of the risks, but not for the more specific ones.
EQUIPMENT THAT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE PART OF THE REST OF THE CONTENT
The robot combines precision mechanics (gripper arms, conveyors, storage heads), embedded electronics (cards, sensors, cameras) and software that controls the entire system. Its most frequent malfunctions are not fire or theft, but internal mechanical failure, failure of an electronic component, overvoltage, shock during an intervention or a move, or user error.
It is precisely these events that a multi-risk policy treats least well, because it is designed to cover premises and their contents as a whole, and not an identified machine whose unit value often exceeds that of all the other furniture and equipment.
WHAT MULTIRISQUE DOES, AND WHAT IT DOES NOT DO
The professional multi-risk policy remains the indispensable foundation of the insurance shop. It covers premises and contents against fire, water damage, weather events, theft, vandalism, and natural disasters; it carries civil liability, often loss of business, and sometimes legal protection. The robot is well covered by these guarantees for these events.
Most multirisk policies also offer an option called «machine breakdown,» sometimes «machine breakdown including computer equipment.» Its most common wording is revealing: the warranty covers damage resulting from «any event other than those covered» in the other articles of the contract. This is therefore a residual warranty, designed to complement the others, provided «at the risk address» and «within the limits of the insured capital,» that is, in practice within a sub-ceiling set in the specific conditions, which may turn out to be lower than the value of the robot.
A dedicated machinery contract is based on an inverse logic. The asset is listed in an inventory with its declared value at nine and its own warranty, and the warranty applies to any breakage, destruction, or loss, whether sudden or accidental, of this asset, whether it is in operation, at rest, or undergoing disassembly and reassembly for maintenance. The machine is the object of the contract, not just one of many lines.
THE DIFFERENCES THAT REALLY MATTER
We compared the general terms of a specialized machinery breakdown contract with those of a classic «professional assets» type multi-risk policy. Without naming the insurers, here are the drafting differences that are encountered in practice and that actually change the amount of the indemnity.
1. Oldness, the most expensive item
In the multi-risk study, the compensation in the event of the destruction of non-computerized equipment is calculated based on the replacement value at nine years old, reduced by 5 % per year for wear and tear, with a maximum of 75 %. For a robot put into service six years ago and worth 200,000 euros at nine years old, the allowance reaches 30 %: the compensation is reduced to approximately 140,000 euros before the deductible amount, for equipment that will nevertheless have to be replaced at the price of new.
The dedicated contract defines the use value as the nine-year «reduced value of the obsolescence defined contractually or, failing that, as determined by an expert.» This wording changes everything: obsolescence is negotiated at the time of signing the contract. A fixed flat obsolescence value can be obtained, or a guaranteed nine-year value, in line with the actual operating life of an automated machine.
2. Partial claims, by far the most common
A robot repairs much more often than it is replaced: a arm, a card, a conveyor motor. The dedicated contract stipulates that ’no depreciation charge will be levied« when used parts are replaced with new ones. It also includes in the cost of repair the labor costs »in overtime, at night or on holidays« and the transportation costs »by express route,« which corresponds to the reality of a workshop that cannot wait a week.
The multiline policy limits the compensation to repair costs «limited to the replacement value minus depreciation,» applies its depreciation scale, does not mention overtime or expedited transport, and excludes «the cost of a temporary repair, total or partial, when it precedes the final one.» The dedicated contract allows for temporary repair, simply limiting the compensation to the cost of the final restoration.
3. Twice longer exclusions in the multi-risk policy
The list of exclusions specific to the machine breakdown option in the multirisque policy includes nearly thirty entries. Several of them directly affect an automated system:
- damages due to «an installation or part of an installation, accessories or operation that does not comply with the standards, recommendations of the manufacturer, seller, installer»;
- « the costs intended to remedy malfunctions or incorrect settings », which opens up a debate every time a component fails internally;
- the damage resulting from «humidity, corrosion, high temperatures, dust»;
- «the consequences of an input or programming error and the damage resulting from tests other than the usual checks;
- damages that fall within the scope of the manufacturer’s warranty, the supplier’s warranty, the installer’s warranty or the maintenance contract.
The dedicated contract is limited to a short list: normal wear and tear, prolonged effects of use (oxidation, corrosion, encrustation), aesthetic damage, legal or contractual guarantees from the manufacturer, earthquakes, electronic tubes and lasers. And it associated two of these exclusions with an essential remedy. First, if the wear and tear of a part leads to «the breakage, destruction or loss, sudden and fortuitous, of adjacent elements or other parts in good condition, the warranty would remain valid» for these elements. Second, if the manufacturer or the maintainer refuses his warranty, «the contract would take effect,» the insurer reserving the right to subsequently exercise the remedy. In the multirisk policy, the manufacturer’s refusal leaves the pharmacist alone in the face of the dispute.
Even the nuance regarding programming errors: the dedicated contract only excludes the indirect losses resulting from it; the sudden material damage to the machine remains covered.
4. Dedicated capital, well identified
Multirisk insurance also often excludes professional equipment whose unit value at replacement is above a certain threshold (for example, €500,000). It is based on the total capital of the content. The dedicated contract works on a machine inventory: declared value at replacement for each item, indexed annually to the machine breakage index, a franchise specific to each machine, and without the application of the proportional rule. The robot’s capital is not diluted with that of furniture, stock, and IT equipment.
5. Travel, work, transfer
The multirescue insurance provides its guarantee «at the risk address» and only covers the transport of computer and office equipment. The dedicated contract covers the trips made «within the company’s premises», the dismantling and reassembly operations related to maintenance, and can be extended, upon agreement in the contract, to land transport. For a workshop that is reorganizing its operations or that is transferring its activity, the difference is decisive.
6. The regulation of the incident
The dedicated contract imposes amiable expertise on the precisely defined content: cause of damage, repair costs, salvage value, resale value, value at new condition, potential gains. In the event of disagreement, each party appoints its own expert and a third-party expert settles the dispute. The compensation is payable promptly after agreement. Demolition, retirement and salvage costs are covered at a percentage of the insured value, as in the case of multi-risk insurance.
In summary
| No point of comparison | Option to cancel a multi-risk policy | Dedicated machine contract |
| Warranty logic | Residual guarantee: any event other than those already covered by the other guarantees of the contract | Unique object: any breakage, destruction or sudden and fortuitous loss of the designated asset, while it is in use, at rest or undergoing maintenance |
| Capital | Within the limits of the content’s capital, often with a sub-ceiling; high-value equipment excluded | Declared value at nine for each machine listed in the inventory, indexed, franchise fixed per machine |
| Degradation | Imposed grid | Definitive obsolescence as defined contractually or, failing that, as determined by an expert: therefore negotiable at the time of subscription |
| Partial damage | Repair costs, limited to the value of the item as new, deducted; temporary repairs excluded | New parts without depreciation charges; overtime, night work, public holidays and express transport included |
| Exclusions | Long list of problems: malfunctions and settings errors, non-compliance with the manufacturer's recommendations, humidity, dust, typing errors, tests, manufacturer's warranty | Short list: normal wear and tear, extended effects, aesthetics, manufacturer's warranty, earthquakes, tubes and lasers |
| The manufacturer's refusal | Complete exclusion of damage covered by the manufacturer's warranty or the maintenance contract | If the manufacturer refuses to honor its warranty, the insurer indemnifies and then takes the legal action itself. |
| Travel | Warranty at the risk address; transport provided for the computer and office equipment only | Movements within the premises, disassembly and reassembly, and extension of transport are mentioned in the contract. |
| Regulations | General procedure of the contract | Obligatory expert opinion for the defined content, contradictory expert opinion, payment within 15 days after agreement |
WHAT THE SPECIFIC WARRANTY DOES NOT REPLACE
A broken machinery contract is not an insurance policy with reduced coverage: it only covers the material damage suffered by the designated machine. It does not guarantee fire damage to the premises, water damage to the rest of the contents, theft of stock, professional civil liability, or legal protection. It explicitly excludes «indirect losses, including loss of enjoyment, unemployment, loss of profit». The general insurance policy therefore remains the central contract of the workshop, and dedicated insurance policies are added to it, not intended to replace it.
Three points of caution when articulating them:
- The loss of profitability. In the multi-risk policies encountered on the market, loss of profit can be triggered by a guaranteed machinery breakdown, provided that this guarantee is taken out. If the robot falls outside the multi-risk policy, it must be checked that the shutdown of the automated system still triggers compensation for the loss of margin, either through an extension to the dedicated contract or by adapting the policy accordingly.
- The articulation of the two contracts. The Insurance Code requires each insurer to declare the existence of the other. It is better to clearly exclude the robot from the general insurance policy, or to include a clause specifying which of the two contracts takes precedence, to avoid a liability dispute on the day of the incident.
- The rental or leasing. A robot financed on a rental basis is usually accompanied by an insurance obligation on behalf of the lessor. The dedicated contract allows you to designate it as the insured or beneficiary, which is rarely possible in a multi-risk option.
OUR NORMAL APPROACH
The above is not a personalized recommendation. Each insurance company has its own configuration: age and financing method for the robot, actual dependence on the robot, the content of the multi-risk policy in place, franchises already accepted, and a history of claims. Only an analysis of your situation and your contracts can lead to a conclusion, and that is the purpose of the advisory duty we owe you before any underwriting.
On the other hand, in the vast majority of the cases we encounter, the pattern is the same: retain the multi-risk coverage for what it does well, and entrust the recent robot to a dedicated machinery warranty, with all risks except, which are systematically examined: the declared value and its indexing, the contractual age, the deductible amount, the list of exclusions, and the triggering of the loss of operating income.
