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Equipment Breakdown Insurance in Tennessee

Tennessee's Boiler Unit oversees high-pressure, low-pressure, and unfired commercial vessels, including inspections by deputy or special inspectors. A special inspector is continuously employed by an insurer authorized to insure against explosion, or by an owner-user agency. If the insurer's inspector misses the required inspection within 90 days after the certificate expires, a deputy inspector may inspect and the insurance company is assessed a special inspection fee. 2,1,3

What Is Equipment Breakdown?

Equipment-breakdown coverage can help repair covered machinery or building equipment after a mechanical or electrical failure. It fits businesses that depend on equipment to operate; check whether lost income, spoilage and utility failures are included. Read the national Equipment breakdown guide.

Tennessee Requirements

RequirementDetails
Commercial vessel categoriesHigh pressure, low pressure, and unfired vessels. The Boiler Unit oversees deputy and special inspectors. 2
Certificate inspection windowNo more than two months before certificate expiration, or within the two months after expiration. 1
Installation permitRequired for a new, reinstalled, or secondhand boiler or lethal-service pressure vessel. 2

What to Watch for in Tennessee

  • An Owner-User Inspector Cannot Inspect Boilers

    A special inspector employed by a company operating pressure vessels as an owner-user inspection agency is not authorized to inspect boilers. An insurance-company special inspector may inspect boilers and unfired pressure vessels the company insures. When those insured inspections are done, the owner does not pay the state the inspection fee in the cited statute. That fee waiver is not a requirement to buy coverage. 1

  • Thirty Days to Report, Ninety Days to Inspect

    An insurance company must notify the chief inspector within 30 days of boilers or pressure vessels on which insurance is written, cancelled, not renewed, or suspended. If its special inspector does not perform the required inspection within 90 days after the certificate expires, or the required external inspection on a power boiler, a deputy inspector may inspect and the company is assessed a special inspection fee. 1

  • Class Intervals Sit in a Statute That Was Not Opened

    The rules say certificate inspections follow Tennessee Code Annotated § 68-122-110. That section was not opened on a statute site, so this guide does not restate a yearly or multi-year cycle. Use the two-month window around the certificate you already hold, and ask the Boiler Unit which interval applies before you schedule an outage around a breakdown deductible. 1

  • New and Secondhand Objects Need an Installation Permit

    The Boiler Unit uses a permit application for a new installation, a reinstallation, or a secondhand installation of a boiler or a lethal-service pressure vessel. A certificate of competency is the inspector's credential. Neither document is an equipment-breakdown policy. 2

Who Regulates Insurance in Tennessee

Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance

TDCI regulates and licenses insurance companies, agents, brokers, surplus-lines agents, and public adjusters. Its complaint process accepts complaints about agents or companies when the policy was written in Tennessee, and its property/casualty unit reviews filed policy rates, rules, and forms. 4,5,6

Surplus-lines tax and stamping office

Reported tax rate: 5% of gross premium plus 0.175% SLAS transaction fee For Tennessee-home-state surplus-lines policies, TDCI lists a 5% tax on gross premium and a 0.175% SLAS transaction fee on gross premium; the agent receives an invoice and pays both through SLIP. The sources reviewed do not establish that the fee is always separately charged to the policyholder or resolve guaranty-association treatment, so ask your broker to itemize charges and review the policy notice. 7,8

Providers With Documented State Licenses

No provider in Spot’s research documents both a state license record and this coverage line. This does not establish that providers are unlicensed. Check the regulator’s license lookup and confirm availability with a provider when requesting a quote.

Questions to Ask Before You Buy in Tennessee

  1. Is each object high pressure, low pressure, or unfired, and who is commissioned to inspect it?
  2. If an insurer's inspector is late, has the 90-day window after certificate expiration already run?
  3. Does a new, moved, or secondhand boiler need an installation permit before it is fired?
  4. What business-income waiting period applies during a certificate inspection outage?

Equipment Breakdown in Tennessee: FAQ

Can an owner-user inspector inspect my boiler in Tennessee? 1

No. A special inspector of a company operating unfired pressure vessels is not authorized to inspect boilers. Boiler inspections by a special inspector are for an inspector employed by an insurer authorized to insure against explosion. 1

What happens if the insurance inspector misses the certificate deadline? 1

If the special inspector does not inspect within 90 days after the certificate expires, or misses the required external inspection on a power boiler, a deputy inspector may inspect and the insurance company is assessed a special inspection fee. 1

Equipment Breakdown in Other States

Other Coverage in Tennessee

Sources

  1. Chapter 0800-03-03, Boiler Inspections. Tennessee Secretary of State; 0800-03-03-.01(19) and 0800-03-03-.03(9), (10), and (19); compilation footer May 2008 (Revised). Accessed 2026-09-29.
  2. Boiler Unit. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development; High-pressure, low-pressure, and unfired vessels; installation permit and certificate of competency. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  3. Workplace Regulations and Compliance. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development; Boiler Unit scope: high pressure, low pressure, and unfired vessels. Accessed 2026-09-29.
  4. tennessee insurance regulator. State insurance regulator; TDCI official insurance-division and consumer pages describe department scope, review units and complaint role. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  5. TDCI Agent/Producer Resources. State insurance regulator; Agent Licensing Section licenses producers, business entities, surplus-lines agents, brokers, and public adjusters; page links to Verify License. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  6. File an Insurance Complaint. State insurance regulator; TDCI accepts online complaints about insurers and agents only for policies written in Tennessee; third-party claimants are directed to call. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  7. Surplus Lines Filing Procedures. Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance; Tax Payments section: 5% gross premium plus .175% of gross premium SLAS transaction fee; agents receive quarterly invoices and pay via ACH in SLIP. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  8. Tennessee Public Chapter 446 (2011), T.C.A. §56-14-113. Tennessee Secretary of State; Current tax framework enacted in §56-14-113: 5% applies when Tennessee is the insured’s home state; tax collected from insured in addition to premium. Read with current TDCI filing-procedure page for current fee and SLIP handling. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  9. Licenses. At-Bay; Current producer introduction and state table; At-Bay Insurance Services LLC; P&C and surplus-lines identifiers. Accessed 2026-09-21.
  10. Licenses and Carriers. Coalition; Licenses and Carriers, re-read 22 September 2026: Insurance Licenses table for Coalition Insurance Solutions, Inc., national producer number 18419475, with producer and surplus-lines numbers for all 50 states and DC including California 0L76155, Georgia 196479, Texas 2199630 and 2205589, Pennsylvania 815731 and 817452, Colorado 539028 and Wisconsin 3000108852. Insurance Carriers table naming, with NAIC numbers, Allianz Underwriters Insurance Company 36420, Arch Specialty Insurance Company 21199, Ascot Specialty Insurance Company 45055, Ascot Insurance Company 23752, Aspen Specialty Insurance Company 10717, Chaucer Insurance Company DAC, Coalition Insurance Company 29530, Fireman's Fund Indemnity Corporation 11380, Fortegra Specialty Insurance Company 16823, Lloyd's of London, MSIG Specialty Insurance USA Inc. 34886, MS Transverse Specialty Insurance Company 41807, Steadfast Insurance Company 26387, Vantage Risk Specialty Insurance Company 16275 and Zurich American Insurance Company 16535. Accessed 2026-09-22.
  11. Insurance Producer Licenses. Corgi Insurance; Current complete Insurance Producer Licenses table for Corgi Insurance Services, Inc.; 50 rows covering 49 states and DC (DC 3003091619); no New Mexico row; no NPN or as-of date shown. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  12. About Hiscox US Insurance. Hiscox; Hiscox Insurance Company Inc. NAIC 10200 as Chicago, IL domiciled insurer admitted or licensed in all 50 states and D.C.; Hiscox Inc. as general agent and Lloyd’s coverholder for Syndicates 33 and 3624; surplus-lines placements through licensed surplus-lines brokers; A.M. Best rating statement. Accessed 2026-09-16.
  13. Licenses. ERGO NEXT Insurance; Current entity-by-state license table reopened 28 September 2026: 50 rows under Next First Insurance Agency, Inc., including Washington, DC; New York rows instead list Next Insurance Services PC-1423070 and AP Intego BR-1198885. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  14. Insurance Licenses by State. TechInsurance; Current state table; identifies TechInsurance as a division of Specialty Program Group LLC d/b/a SPG Insurance Solutions; lists DC 3000041536 and labels Rhode Island “Individual licenses,” without an agency license number. Accessed 2026-09-28.
  15. Licenses. Vouch; Effective 16 January 2025: Vouch Specialty Insurance Services, LLC, NPN 19926463; P&C table (50 states and DC); surplus-lines table includes Idaho 870820; footnote says Georgia and Idaho do not issue agency-level surplus-lines licenses; Idaho retained as producer-only due to conflict. Accessed 2026-09-15.

Updated .

This guide is informational and does not determine whether a policy is available or meets your needs. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, contact Spot with a supporting source.

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