Insuring ASIC Hardware in the UK: Evidence Checklist

ASIC hardware insurance UK buyers need is determined by asset ownership, location, use and policy wording, not by a generic statement that the site is insured. Equipment cover may address physical loss or damage. At the same time, transit, machinery breakdown, cyber, liability and business interruption require separate consideration.

Insurers and brokers need accurate serial, value, electrical, cooling, security and claims information. This article shows how to assemble the evidence pack, review custody and overseas hosting, and avoid assuming that mining revenue or market-value loss is covered.

Identify the asset and insured interest

Record the legal owner of each miner and the entity seeking cover. If equipment is financed, leased, hosted for a customer or held by another group company, tell the broker and state every party with an interest. A policyholder cannot safely assume another entity’s property is included.

Maintain an asset schedule containing manufacturer, model, serial, control-board and power-supply details, cooling method, condition, purchase date, invoice value, current location and declared replacement basis. Link photographs and commissioning records to the serial.

Update the schedule after a whole-unit, control-board or hashboard replacement. A claim can be delayed if the insured record identifies a machine that no longer matches the asset at the site.

Choose the risks that need cover

Business.gov.uk describes equipment insurance as protection against loss or damage to machinery, tools, stock and essential equipment. That broad category is a starting point. The actual policy defines which events, locations and values are insured.

Discuss fire, flood, storm, theft, malicious damage, accidental damage, electrical event, machinery breakdown, coolant leak and internal movement. Transit from supplier, between facilities and back for repair may require goods-in-transit or marine cargo cover.

Public liability, employers’ liability, cyber and business interruption address different exposures. Business interruption usually depends on an insured event and defined financial loss. Do not assume a physical-damage policy pays mining revenue, market movement or pool losses.

Document electrical, cooling and fire controls

Provide the site’s electrical design basis, competent-person inspection, protective devices, load schedule, isolation, maintenance and thermal-inspection records. ASICs are continuous high loads. So an ordinary property questionnaire may not capture their operating profile.

For air cooling, document extraction, inlet limits, housekeeping and combustible-material controls. For hydro or immersion, document fluid specification, hoses or pipework, pumps, leak detection, containment, heat rejection, water treatment and emergency shutdown.

State fire detection, suppression, alarm monitoring, compartmentation, emergency plan and inspection intervals. Never describe a system as certified or compliant unless the relevant competent party and evidence support that wording.

Address hosting, custody and overseas locations

Ask whether the host’s policy covers customer-owned property or only the host’s own assets and liability. Get evidence of cover. But read the relevant interest, limit, excess and exclusions. A certificate without the operative wording may not answer the claim question.

The hosting contract should allocate risk during inbound transport, storage, commissioning, operation, repair, relocation and outbound transport. Confirm who pays the excess and how a claim payment is passed to the owner.

For overseas hosting, confirm territorial scope, local insurer requirements, political or war exclusions, currency, loss-adjuster access and repatriation cost. A UK policy may not automatically follow equipment moved abroad.

Choose and evidence the valuation basis

Purchase price, book value, used-market value and new replacement cost can diverge sharply. Agree the policy basis and any maximum per item or location. An underinsurance or average clause can reduce recovery when the declared total is too low.

Keep invoices, payment evidence, import entries, freight and installation records. If the model is no longer available, document how an equivalent replacement would be selected. Avoid relying on a volatile online listing without evidence of condition, tax, delivery and availability.

Review values after major price movement, fleet expansion, relocation and component replacement. State whether taxes, freight, professional fees, debris removal or expediting costs are included or separate.

Read exclusions and conditions

Common areas requiring explicit review include wear and tear, gradual deterioration, inherent defect, faulty workmanship, unexplained disappearance, unattended transit, pollution, cyber events, unapproved modification, operation outside specification and failure to maintain safeguards.

Firmware tuning, overclocking and non-standard cooling can affect the disclosed risk and manufacturer warranty. Tell the broker what is actually used. A claim is a poor time to discover that the operating profile differed from the proposal information.

Check notification deadlines, security warranties, inspection duties, material-change obligations and emergency mitigation. Record every representation supplied to the insurer and correct it when circumstances change.

Prepare for a claim before a loss

• Keep the policy, schedule, endorsements and broker correspondence together.
• Maintain serial-linked invoices, photographs and commissioning evidence.
• Record access, CCTV, alarms, electrical tests and maintenance.
• Document custody and insurance for each shipment or repair.
• Preserve logs without risking people or disturbing a dangerous scene.
• Notify the insurer or broker within the policy deadline.
• Record mitigation, damaged property, costs and communications.
• Do not admit liability or dispose of evidence without advice.

Use a competent broker or adviser who understands high-value continuous-load equipment and the actual territories involved. Check the firm’s permissions and contact details through the FCA Financial Services Register where applicable. But remember that registration does not replace policy review.

Key points to remember

ASIC insurance begins with evidence. Identify the owner and serial, agree the value and territory, disclose continuous-load operation and document electrical, cooling, security, custody and transit controls. Then read the perils, exclusions, excess and claim conditions. Equipment cover is not a guarantee of mining revenue or market value, and a host’s certificate is not a substitute for confirming the customer’s insured interest.

Next steps

Build the asset schedule and site evidence pack before requesting terms, then align the resulting cover with the hosting contract, transport plan and business risk register.