Nuclear Restoration Services (NRS) has appointed UK supply-chain company Aureos to deliver the next major phase of decommissioning at Dungeness A in Kent. The contract is worth up to £190 million and includes moving eight boiler units, each weighing around 800 tonnes, along with associated plant and infrastructure.
The boilers are due to be moved using a specialist jack-and-slide system rather than cranes. This follows four years of enabling work, and when the project is complete, around a third of the site’s above-ground structures will have been removed. You can read the NRS announcement for the full project details.
It is a remarkable engineering challenge, and a very local one for businesses across Kent. Most contractors will never move a boiler, but plenty handle heavy plant, precast concrete, steelwork or machinery on sites across Kent, Essex and London. I think the useful question is not whether a contractor faces an 800-tonne load. It is whether their insurance has been checked against the heaviest and least routine work they actually do.
1. Check where the heavy move sits in your cover
A heavy move can involve several kinds of property and risk: the item being moved, the equipment doing the work, temporary supports, and existing structures or services nearby. The policy sections dealing with these may not all work in the same way.
For example, contract works cover is generally intended to protect work in progress, while contractors’ plant cover may apply to equipment the business owns or hires. But definitions, exclusions and limits vary. A hired-in jack, a load being moved, and damage to the project works may not all fall under the same section or share the same limit.
That distinction matters even when your heaviest load is a precast stair, a steel truss or a machine being moved within a factory. Check what the policy says about property in your care, custody or control, hired-in equipment, temporary works and the specific activity being carried out. Don’t assume the schedule’s broad headings answer those questions.
A review of your Construction Contractor Insurance should start with a plain description of the job: what is moving, how, where, and what could be damaged if the move goes wrong.
2. Agree who is responsible while the load is under control
A heavy move may involve a principal contractor, a specialist lifting or moving firm, and other subcontractors. Contracts and site responsibilities should make clear who plans the operation, who controls the load, who checks the route and ground conditions, and who is responsible for protecting nearby property and services.
Insurance arrangements need the same attention. Check that each party’s liability cover reflects its actual role and that required limits and contract terms have been reviewed. A principal contractor may have overall site duties, but that does not automatically make every specialist subcontractor’s responsibilities disappear. Equally, a subcontractor should not assume that the principal contractor’s policy will cover its own liability or equipment.
This is a familiar issue on ordinary construction sites too. In an earlier dumper-overturn case involving a principal contractor and subcontractor, the practical lesson was that responsibilities can overlap, but they still need to be understood and managed. A heavy move deserves the same clear thinking before work starts, not after an incident.
If you arrange General Contractor Liability Insurance, make sure the insurer or broker understands the specialist work and the parties involved. A policy described as “general” is not a substitute for checking the actual wording and any relevant endorsements.
3. Keep inspection records for jacks, lifting gear and supporting equipment
The jack-and-slide method at Dungeness A is different from lifting a load with a crane, but it still depends on equipment being suitable, maintained and used within its limits. The system, hydraulic components, supports and associated lifting equipment all need proper inspection and control.
Where lifting equipment falls within the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (LOLER), it must be thoroughly examined at the required intervals by a competent person. Which requirements apply depends on the equipment and the work, so businesses should check the position for their operation rather than assume every item is treated identically. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions and keep inspection, maintenance and defect records accessible.
From an insurance perspective, records help demonstrate that equipment was managed responsibly. They can also help establish what equipment was used, its condition, and whether a defect had been identified. Keep a current plant register, including hired-in equipment, and make sure responsibilities for inspection and maintenance are clear between the hiring company and the equipment owner.
4. Treat RAMS and method statements as live documents
The Dungeness project follows four years of enabling work before this major phase. That is a useful reminder that site conditions, sequencing and methods can change as a project develops. A method statement that reflected the original plan may no longer describe the work being carried out.
Risk assessments and method statements (RAMS), lift plans and related documents are principally there to plan and control the work. They also give insurers and brokers a clear picture of the operation when they assess a risk or investigate a claim. If a load, route, equipment choice, support arrangement or contractor changes, the documents should be reviewed and the right people told.
A stale method statement can create avoidable problems. It may make it harder to show that a change was properly assessed, or that the people involved understood their responsibilities. It can also leave your insurer working from an outdated description of the risk.
This does not mean sending every routine site update to your broker. It does mean asking for advice before a material change to the operation, particularly where it alters the weight or nature of a load, the method of moving it, or the level of third-party exposure.
5. Describe unusual work before you assume it is covered
Dungeness A is a high-profile example of an unusual, phased engineering project. Aureos Chief Executive Darren James said the procurement placed significant emphasis on innovation. For smaller firms, the practical point is simple: if your work is unusual, explain what makes it different rather than assuming a standard policy description tells the whole story.
A contractor may usually install machinery, but a particular job might require moving a large unit through a constrained site using temporary supports. A steelwork contractor might take on a one-off lift that is heavier or more complex than its usual jobs. Those details can affect how the insurer understands the work and what terms are available.
For some complex projects, bespoke or project-specific insurance arrangements may be considered, depending on the work, the parties and the insurance market. That is not a guarantee that every unusual task can be covered on any terms. It is a reason to start the discussion early and give your broker enough detail to present the risk accurately.
A useful summary includes the load and its value, the equipment and method, the route and ground conditions, the contractors involved, the planned duration, and the potential consequences of damage or delay. Supporting RAMS, inspection records and contract requirements can help complete the picture.
Practical next steps
Before your next heavy move, check the policy sections for contract works, owned and hired-in plant, and liability. Confirm the responsibilities and insurance requirements for the principal contractor and specialist subcontractors. Review inspection records for relevant equipment, and update the RAMS and lift plan when the method changes.
If you are unsure whether a particular operation has been properly described, speak to your broker before work begins. Moyak Insurance Services works with businesses across Essex, Kent and London, drawing on relationships with leading UK master brokers to find cover suited to the business and its budget. We take an individual approach and care about every client, including growing contractors looking to make sure they are not paying for cover that does not fit, or saving a little on a quote only to discover an important gap later.
For support reviewing your contractor’s cover, explore our information on general contractors and commercial combined insurance, or contact Moyak to discuss your work and insurance requirements.