What is riggers liability and do tower erectors need it?

Riggers liability covers damage to property being hoisted, lowered, or moved by your rigging operations. For tower erectors, this means coverage for damage to tower sections, antenna arrays, cable trays, and other components during the hoisting process. Standard GL typically excludes property in your care, custody, and control, which means equipment you are actively rigging and hoisting is not covered under GL alone. Riggers liability fills this gap. During tower erection, a single dropped tower section or antenna array can represent $50,000-$500,000 in damage. If a rigging failure drops an antenna onto equipment already installed on the tower, the damage to the existing equipment may be covered by your GL (property of others not in your care) but the dropped antenna itself requires riggers coverage. Many specialty tower programs include riggers liability within the inland marine or installation floater coverage. If yours does not, it is available as a standalone policy or endorsement. Limits should match the maximum value you hoist on any single lift. Review your rigging schedule and identify the most valuable single load: that is your minimum riggers liability limit. For contractors performing heavy structural erection with loads exceeding $500,000 in value, dedicated riggers coverage is essential.