Q

The insured is a granite monument manufacturer. The stone is cut by huge circular diamond-tipped saws about 11 ½ feet in diameter. The diamond tips of the saw are removable and are replaced periodically as they wear out. The 11 ½ foot disk to which the diamond tips are attached last at least ten years and are not subject to the wear and tear of a normal saw blade.

In this case the saw jammed in the stone it was cutting, torquing the metal disk and bending the large frame that held the disk. The boiler and machinery carrier will pay for the damage to the saw machine's frame, but refuses to pay for the bent disk under object definition number two, Mechanical Objects, citing the exclusion of coverage for “any felt, wire, screen, die extrusion plate, swing hammer, grinding disk, cutting blade, chain, belt, clutch plate, brake pad, or any part or tool subject to frequent, periodic replacement.”

The insurer says that the saw disk is a cutting blade, one of the mechanical objects excluded under object definition number two. We maintain that the saw disk is part of the machine and should be covered as such, while the diamond tips are the excluded cutting blade on this saw. What do you think?

Vermont Subscriber

A

You are correct. The list of excluded items under object definition two are the types of mechanical objects that are subject to wear and tear and, thus, not insurable. The last part of the list that says “or any part or tool subject to frequent, periodic replacement” makes clear the purpose of the exclusion. The saw disk is designed to last at least ten years and is not in direct contact with the material being cut. It is not expected to be replaced frequently or periodically. The mere fact that the disk looks like a giant circular saw blade does not make it one. It should be considered part of the insured machinery.