Insurers moving away from riveted boilers???

Ray Dewley · **Posted:** Wed Dec 31, 2003 3:19 pm

I heard from a friend that thier insurance co. will likely not be insuring riveted boilers on the order of 5 years from now.

Has anybody else heard anything like this or know more about it?

If this is true, there will be a lot of cold boilers in the not too distant future.....

Brian Norden · **Posted:** Wed Dec 31, 2003 10:14 pm

The question then becomes what are you insuring for? A few years ago I heard the representative of a major present day steam operator say that they do no insure their boilers. They feel that 1) they maintain the boilers well enough that they should not explode, etc. 2) if something happens their regular liability insurance will cover damange to others. Essentially they go self-insured for the replacement of their boilers.

As I said, that was several years ago. May be we will hear a current report.

Brian Norden

> I heard from a friend that thier insurance
> co. will likely not be insuring riveted
> boilers on the order of 5 years from now.

> Has anybody else heard anything like this or
> know more about it?

> If this is true, there will be a lot of cold
> boilers in the not too distant future.....

Steam REalist · **Posted:** Thu Jan 01, 2004 12:52 am

> I heard from a friend that thier insurance
> co. will likely not be insuring riveted
> boilers on the order of 5 years from now.

> Has anybody else heard anything like this or
> know more about it?

> If this is true, there will be a lot of cold
> boilers in the not too distant future.....

This is the first I've heard of anything like this.

Is this locomotive boilers, traction engine boilers, or both?

Is it lap-seam boilers, or all boilers?

Ray Dewley · **Posted:** Sun Jan 04, 2004 4:32 pm

I believe it encompasses ALL riveted boilers (I think that lap seam boilers with barrels under 36" are/were allowable but this was some time back). Riveting is structurally inferior to welding as it removed sheet material to make the seam (drilling holes) and the seams have to be calked to make them steam tight. Once the heads erode away inside (or out), then what? Just hope you can see them going before they are gone....

My friend gave me the name of two insurance co.'s that thier boiler inspector told them about which are moving away from insuring rivited boilers. I am looking into it now to get the story for myself before I give any specifics. I'll report back on what I am told.

> This is the first I've heard of anything
> like this.

> Is this locomotive boilers, traction engine
> boilers, or both?

> Is it lap-seam boilers, or all boilers?