Specialist Insurance by Industry
Specialised insurance tailored to unique risks and industries.
Quick Summary
- Specialist expertise: Daines Kapp holds deep sector expertise across arboriculture, manufacturing and engineering, property professionals, transport and logistics, and wholesale and warehousing: areas where general commercial insurance regularly falls short
- Purpose-built programmes: Specialist insurance is built around the specific risk profile and exposures of each sector, not adapted from standard off-the-shelf commercial policies
- Market access: Each specialist team has direct relationships with the underwriters best placed to cover that sector at realistic terms
- 35+ years of specialist placement: Daines Kapp has been placing specialist commercial and professional insurance for over 35 years
- Get the right cover: If your business operates in a specialist or high-risk sector, speak to Daines Kapp before assuming a standard policy will respond correctly
Daines Kapp Insurance Brokers provides specialist insurance for professionals and businesses operating in sectors where standard commercial policies are inadequate. Our specialist teams work across five industries where the risk profile demands dedicated underwriting expertise: arborists and tree surgery businesses, manufacturing and engineering, RICS-regulated surveyors and property professionals, haulage and transport operators, and wholesale, distribution and warehousing businesses. We source cover through insurers and Lloyd’s syndicates with genuine expertise in these markets.
Our Specialist Insurance Areas
Specialist insurance is not simply commercial insurance with a different label. It requires insurers who understand the particular exposures involved: working at height with chainsaws, the professional indemnity requirements of RICS-regulated firms, the machinery and product exposures a manufacturer carries, and the goods in transit and warehousing risks behind a distribution business. The table below summarises each area we cover and who it is designed for.
| Industry | Key Cover | Suited To |
|---|---|---|
| Arborists & Tree Surgery | Public liability including aerial and felling operations; employers’ liability; plant and specialist equipment; contractors’ tools; contract works | Tree surgeons, arborists, arboricultural contractors, and specialist tree care businesses working at height with chainsaws and heavy machinery |
| Grounds Maintenance & Horticulture | Public liability for grounds maintenance operations; employers’ liability; use of machinery and vehicles; contract works; horticultural stock and equipment | Grounds maintenance contractors, landscape gardeners, garden centre operators, and horticultural businesses requiring tailored liability and equipment protection |
| Manufacturing & Engineering | Buildings, plant and machinery on a reinstatement basis; business interruption on the insurance definition of gross profit; product liability and product recall; statutory inspection and machinery breakdown; cyber written around interrupted production | Precision engineers, machinists and toolmakers, fabricators and metal finishers, plastics and moulding businesses, and producers of electrical, packaging, print, food, drink and cosmetics products |
| RICS Surveyors & Building Consultants | Professional indemnity meeting RICS mandatory PI requirements; run-off cover; public liability; employers’ liability; civil liability extensions for building consultancy work | RICS-regulated firms and sole practitioners — residential and commercial surveyors, building consultants, project monitors, and party wall surveyors requiring RICS-compliant PI cover |
| Property Managers & Consultants | Professional indemnity for property management and consultancy; directors’ and officers’ liability; fidelity guarantee; public and employers’ liability | Property managers, block management companies, lettings agents, and property consultants who need PI cover reflecting the liability exposures of managing third-party assets |
| Haulage, Transport & Fleet | Motor fleet, goods in transit at limits reflecting the loads actually carried, liability for the yard and workshop, premises and contents, and business interruption where vehicles or premises are out of use | Hauliers, own-account fleets, couriers and logistics operators who need fleet, transit and premises cover arranged together rather than in isolation |
| Wholesale, Distribution & Warehousing | Stock at declared values reflecting seasonal peaks, racking and sprinkler considerations, goods in transit and at third-party premises, product liability on goods supplied, and business interruption following a stoppage in fulfilment | Wholesalers, importers, distributors and third-party logistics businesses holding significant stock, whether in their own warehouse or with a fulfilment partner |
Arborists & Tree Surgery Insurance
Tree surgery and arboriculture carry some of the highest liability exposures of any trade — working at height, using chainsaws, felling large trees in proximity to buildings and members of the public. Standard liability policies either exclude these activities or impose sub-limits and conditions that fail at claim time. Our arborists insurance service sources coverage from specialist insurers who understand the risk, providing public liability for aerial and ground-level operations, employers’ liability for employed and subcontracted staff, and plant and equipment cover for chainsaws, chippers, and specialist vehicles.
Manufacturing & Engineering Insurance
Manufacturing risk is rarely concentrated in one policy. The value sits in the building and the machinery, the loss sits in the production that stops, and the liability follows the product out of the door. Our manufacturing insurance service covers plant, machinery, stock and work in progress on a reinstatement basis, business interruption calculated on the insurance definition of gross profit rather than the accountancy figure, product liability and product recall, statutory inspection and machinery breakdown, and cyber cover written around interrupted production rather than data loss alone.
RICS & Property Professionals Insurance
RICS requires its regulated members to hold professional indemnity insurance meeting specific minimum standards — and arranging that cover properly requires a broker with genuine understanding of the RICS PI framework. Daines Kapp is named on the RICS website as one of a small number of UK brokers with specific experience in placing professional indemnity for RICS firms and individuals. Our RICS and property professionals insurance service covers residential and commercial surveyors, building consultants, project monitors, and property managers, with policy wordings aligned to RICS mandatory requirements and limits appropriate to the nature and scale of each firm.
Haulage, Transport & Fleet Insurance
Transport operators carry exposures a standard commercial policy is not built for: the motor fleet, the goods in transit, the conditions of carriage under which those goods are held, and the premises and handling risk at the depot. Our haulage, transport and fleet insurance service brings those sections together so the gaps between them are visible, covering fleet on a basis suited to the operation, goods in transit at limits that reflect the loads actually carried, liability for the yard and workshop, and business interruption where an incident takes vehicles or premises out of use.
Wholesale, Distribution & Warehousing Insurance
For a wholesaler or distributor the stock is the business, and the exposures follow it through the warehouse and out to the customer. Our wholesale, distribution and warehousing insurance service covers stock at declared values that reflect seasonal peaks rather than an average, racking, handling and sprinkler considerations at the warehouse, goods in transit and at third-party premises, product liability on goods you supply but do not manufacture, and business interruption where a fire or a systems failure stops fulfilment.
Why Choose Daines Kapp for Specialist Insurance
Daines Kapp has been a specialist commercial insurance broker for over 35 years. Our specialist team does not attempt to place niche risks with standard market insurers who lack the appetite or expertise to underwrite them properly. Instead, we work with a carefully curated panel of specialist insurers — including Lloyd’s syndicates and dedicated specialist underwriters — who understand the exposures, price the risk accurately, and respond constructively when claims arise.
Where standard brokers provide generic liability policies that may exclude or restrict the activities central to your business, we structure coverage from the ground up around what you actually do. For arborists, manufacturers and RICS-regulated professionals, the difference between a specialist policy and a standard one is rarely apparent until a claim occurs — and by then it is too late.
Get a Specialist Insurance Quote
To discuss your specialist insurance requirements or to arrange a review of your existing cover, contact our team today. Get an Industry Insurance Quote →
Frequently Asked Questions
What types of business need specialist insurance rather than standard commercial cover?
Businesses whose main activities carry risks that standard commercial insurers will not underwrite, or will only cover with significant restrictions. Arborists working at height with chainsaws, manufacturers whose income depends on machinery that can take many months to replace, RICS-regulated firms with professional indemnity requirements set by their regulator, and hauliers and distributors carrying other people’s goods all fall into this category. A standard package policy is written to suit a broad range of ordinary trades. Where your risk sits outside that range, the cover can look adequate on the schedule and still fail to respond when you claim.
My industry is not listed here. Can you still help?
In most cases, yes. The industries on this page are the ones where we have placed large volumes of business, but they are not the limits of the industries and professions for whom we arrange insurance cover. Please contact us and we will let you know if we are able to assist with your insurance requirements.
Is Daines Kapp able to arrange RICS-compliant professional indemnity insurance?
Yes. Daines Kapp is specifically named on the RICS website as one of a small number of UK brokers with recognised expertise in placing professional indemnity insurance for RICS-regulated firms and individuals. We arrange PI cover that meets RICS mandatory requirements — including minimum indemnity limits, retroactive cover, run-off provisions, and the civil liability extensions required by RICS — and work with specialist PI insurers who understand the professional services liability exposures of surveyors, building consultants, and property professionals. Cover is available for sole practitioners through to multi-office firms.
Will I need several separate policies, or can it all sit in one?
It depends on the business. Many of the industries on this page can be covered largely under one commercial combined policy, which brings property, business interruption and liability together and is usually simpler to manage. Others need sections that sit outside that policy, such as motor fleet, goods in transit, product recall, professional indemnity or cyber.
Can you review the cover we already have, rather than quoting from scratch?
Yes, and it is often the more useful place to start. We will read the wording and the schedule you already hold and tell you what it does and does not do, where the sums insured look exposed, and which sections do not join up. If your existing arrangement is sound, we will say so.
