You made the part to their print. The failure is still yours to argue.

General liability

Injury and damage from the shop itself: a customer collecting parts, a delivery, work done at their site.

Without it — What every purchase order asks you to evidence before the first job runs.

Workers compensation

Machinists, setters and material handlers: the amputation and crush exposures that drive a shop’s mod.

Without it — A single guarding claim reprices the policy for three years.

Product liability

A part that fails in service, whoever drew it.

Without it — Working to a customer’s print is not a defense, and shops assume it is.

Customers’ property (bailee)

Material, castings, tooling and fixtures belonging to customers while in your shop.

Without it — Property policies cover what you own; a customer’s $40,000 die is not that.

Equipment breakdown

A CNC control, spindle or servo failing from the inside.

Without it — The most expensive single machine on the floor fails the one way property excludes.

Rework and rejected lots

The cost of a batch out of tolerance, where the policy can be extended to it.

Without it — Scrapped work is a pure margin loss and it is the everyday claim in this trade.

Group health and benefits

Machinists who can hold your tolerances without a second setup.

Without it — Skilled machinists are the constraint on what you can quote. Losing one narrows the work you can take.

We machine to the customer’s drawing. Are we still liable?

For conformance, always. If the part is out of tolerance, that is yours. For the design itself you have a real defense, and it is weaker than most shops assume: it erodes the moment you suggested a change, chose a material, recommended a process or knew the intended use and said nothing. Shops that add value by advising acquire design exposure by advising. Keep the drawing revision, the quote and any engineering conversation, because the file is what decides this.

What is the end-use question really about?

How far a failure travels. A bracket in a shelving unit and the same bracket in a lifting assembly are the same machining job and completely different claims. Aerospace, medical, automotive safety systems, lifting and pressure work all price differently and some need a specialist market. Answer it accurately at quote: a shop that says "general industrial" and turns out to run aerospace lots has a coverage argument waiting.

Is our customers’ material covered while we hold it?

Only under a bailee or customers-property extension, which is not automatic. It matters more in this trade than most: a shop can be holding castings, forgings and customer tooling worth more than its own plant. Tooling is the piece most often missed: a customer-owned fixture sitting in your rack for years is still their property and still your responsibility.