Written by Justin Goodman, CIC, CLCS, CISC, CEO and Co-Founder, Total CSR Published: August 26, 2026 · Last reviewed: August 26, 2026
In plain language: Centrifugal Force Clause describes policy wording that denies coverage when spinning machinery parts, like a fan blade, turbine, or centrifuge, fly apart or fail from the force of rotation. It usually shows up buried inside a broader mechanical breakdown exclusion.
Technical definition: Centrifugal Force Clause is exclusionary language found in commercial property causes-of-loss forms and equipment breakdown policies that removes coverage for loss to property caused by centrifugal force acting on rotating machinery, unless resulting fire or explosion follows, or unless equipment breakdown coverage applies.
Centrifugal Force Clause at a Glance
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Centrifugal Force Exclusion, Rotating Equipment Exclusion |
| Category | Property policy exclusion |
| Lines of business | Commercial Property, Equipment Breakdown, Inland Marine, Commercial Auto |
| Industries most affected | Manufacturing, Energy and Utilities, Food Processing, Agriculture, Transportation |
| Related forms or endorsements | CP 10 30 (Causes of Loss – Special Form), EB 00 00 (Equipment Breakdown Protection Coverage Form) |
| Who bears the risk | Insured, unless equipment breakdown coverage is purchased separately or added by endorsement |
| Common solution | Equipment Breakdown Coverage endorsement or standalone boiler and machinery policy |
| Also interacts with | Mechanical breakdown exclusion, resulting loss exceptions for fire or explosion |
Key Takeaways
- Centrifugal Force Clause is exclusionary language that removes property coverage for damage caused by the spinning failure of machinery components like fans, flywheels, or centrifuges.
- It matters in agency work because commercial property clients with production or processing equipment often assume all mechanical damage is covered under their standard property policy, when it is not.
- The most common pitfall is confusing this exclusion with total denial of all machinery-related loss, when resulting fire or explosion damage is typically still covered even though the mechanical failure itself is not.
- The best practice is to pair every commercial property policy covering an insured with rotating equipment, motors, or pressure vessels with equipment breakdown coverage to close the gap this clause creates.
What Is Centrifugal Force Clause in Insurance?
Centrifugal Force Clause is language embedded within the mechanical breakdown exclusion found in most commercial property causes-of-loss forms, including ISO’s Causes of Loss – Special Form (CP 10 30). Property insurers write this exclusion because centrifugal force failures are treated as inherent mechanical or operational risks, similar to wear and tear, rather than fortuitous external perils. Standard property insurance is built to cover sudden and accidental loss from outside forces, not the predictable breakdown of moving parts under their own operating stress.
The doctrine behind this exclusion mirrors the logic used for wear and tear and mechanical breakdown generally: insurers price property policies assuming machinery maintenance and operational risk stay with the equipment owner or an equipment breakdown specialist, not the general property carrier. A worked example makes this concrete. A food processing plant runs an industrial centrifuge to separate liquids from solids. The centrifuge’s rotor assembly fails at high speed, and centrifugal force throws metal fragments into the surrounding equipment and structure. Under a standard commercial property policy with the centrifugal force exclusion intact, the cost to repair or replace the failed rotor and the collateral mechanical damage is excluded. If the failure sparks a fire that spreads to inventory and the building, the resulting fire damage is typically still covered because most causes-of-loss forms carve out an exception for resulting loss by a covered cause of loss.
Centrifugal Force Clause exclusions appear most often in policies covering manufacturing plants, power generation facilities, HVAC-heavy buildings, agricultural processing operations, and any insured operating pumps, fans, turbines, or separators. Commercial auto and inland marine policies covering mobile equipment can carry similar rotating-parts exclusions when the loss traces to spinning components like tires, drive shafts, or turbochargers rather than a collision or external impact.
How Does Centrifugal Force Clause Work?
- The operation. Rotating machinery, such as a fan, centrifuge, turbine, or flywheel, operates under normal working conditions generating centrifugal force on its moving parts.
- The failure. A component fatigues, corrodes, or is manufactured with a latent defect, and the rotational force causes it to crack, warp, or fly apart.
- The loss. The failed part damages itself, adjacent machinery, or the surrounding structure, sometimes triggering a secondary event like fire or explosion.
- The claim. The insured submits the loss under the commercial property policy, expecting standard coverage to respond to the machinery damage.
- The coverage decision. The carrier applies the centrifugal force language within the mechanical breakdown exclusion, denies the direct machinery damage, and separately evaluates any resulting fire, explosion, or other covered peril for potential payment.
Real Claim Examples Involving Centrifugal Force Clause
Industrial fan blade failure at a manufacturing plant
A metal fabrication shop operated a large exhaust fan as part of its ventilation system. The fan blade fractured at high RPM, and centrifugal force sent fragments through the ductwork, damaging the motor housing and a section of the roof deck. The commercial property carrier denied the direct damage to the fan and motor under the mechanical breakdown exclusion but paid for the roof deck repair as resulting physical damage from a covered cause of loss, since the fan failure itself was not treated as a covered peril triggering the exception.
Centrifuge rupture at a dairy processing facility
A dairy processor’s cream separator centrifuge experienced a bearing failure that caused the rotating bowl to rupture under centrifugal load. The rupture damaged the centrifuge, adjacent piping, and stopped production for several days. Because the facility carried equipment breakdown coverage in addition to its standard property policy, the equipment breakdown carrier paid for the centrifuge repair, the piping damage, and a portion of the business income loss, filling the gap the property policy’s exclusion created.
Turbocharger failure on a commercial delivery vehicle
A delivery company’s box truck suffered a turbocharger failure where the turbine wheel disintegrated from centrifugal stress at highway speed, causing engine damage but no collision. The commercial auto physical damage carrier denied the claim, citing the policy’s mechanical breakdown and wear-related exclusions, which included spinning-component failures like this one. The fleet manager later added a mechanical breakdown protection option to future policy renewals to address the gap.
Centrifugal Force Clause vs. Equipment Breakdown Coverage: What Is the Difference?
Centrifugal Force Clause is an exclusion that removes coverage for spinning machinery failures from a standard property policy, while Equipment Breakdown Coverage is an affirmative coverage grant, usually sold as an endorsement or standalone policy, that restores coverage for exactly that kind of loss. Agencies confuse the two because one lives inside the property form as a limitation and the other must be actively purchased to counteract it.
| Comparison area | Centrifugal Force Clause | Equipment Breakdown Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Primary use case | Excludes direct damage from rotating equipment failure | Restores coverage for mechanical, electrical, and pressure equipment breakdown |
| Coverage / concept type | Exclusion within causes-of-loss form | Affirmative coverage grant, often endorsement or standalone policy |
| Typical exclusions | Wear and tear, gradual deterioration, inherent vice | Deliberate damage, normal wear, and certain testing failures |
| Who is most affected by errors | Insureds with rotating machinery who assume property policy covers it | Insureds who buy equipment breakdown coverage without matching equipment values or limits |
| Common mistakes | Assuming property policy covers all mechanical failures | Underinsuring business income or ordinance-related exposures tied to equipment loss |
What Are the Most Common Mistakes With Centrifugal Force Clause?
- Assuming the standard commercial property policy covers all machinery damage, which leaves manufacturing and processing clients uninsured for a common and expensive loss category.
- Failing to recommend Equipment Breakdown Coverage for any client operating pumps, fans, turbines, centrifuges, boilers, or compressors, creating an avoidable coverage gap and E&O exposure.
- Overlooking the resulting loss exception, causing agencies to tell clients a fire or explosion following a mechanical failure is also excluded, when it typically is not.
- Treating the exclusion as identical across all carrier forms without checking the actual policy language, since exclusion wording and exceptions vary by carrier and edition.
- Not documenting that equipment breakdown coverage was offered and declined, which becomes a critical gap in the file if a rotating equipment loss later occurs and is denied.
How to Explain Centrifugal Force Clause to a Client
Explaining Centrifugal Force Clause to a personal lines client
Your homeowners or auto policy generally will not pay to fix a part that breaks simply because it was spinning, like a washing machine drum or a car’s turbocharger. That kind of mechanical failure is treated differently from sudden events like fire, theft, or storm damage. If you want that protection, we can talk about a mechanical breakdown or home system warranty option.
Explaining Centrifugal Force Clause to a small business owner
Your property policy is built to respond to things like fire, storms, and theft, not to a machine part that fails because it was spinning too fast or too long. If your business relies on fans, motors, pumps, or any rotating equipment, we should add equipment breakdown coverage so that kind of failure is actually covered, along with the downtime it can cause.
Explaining Centrifugal Force Clause to a CFO or risk manager
Your causes-of-loss form excludes direct damage from centrifugal force acting on rotating equipment, consistent with how most carriers treat mechanical breakdown as an inherent operational risk rather than a fortuitous peril. Resulting fire or explosion damage typically remains covered under the resulting loss exception, but the mechanical failure itself does not. Equipment breakdown coverage, sized to your actual machinery values and business income exposure, is the standard mechanism to close that gap.
Frequently Asked Questions About Centrifugal Force Clause
Does homeowners insurance cover centrifugal force damage?
Homeowners policies generally exclude mechanical breakdown, including damage from centrifugal force acting on appliance or equipment parts. A washing machine drum that fails from spinning stress is typically not covered under the standard property section. Home warranty programs or mechanical breakdown endorsements address this gap for personal lines clients.
Is fire damage covered if it results from a centrifugal force failure?
Fire damage that results from a centrifugal force failure is generally still covered under most commercial property causes-of-loss forms, because these forms carry a resulting loss exception for fire and explosion. The mechanical failure that caused the fire remains excluded, but the fire’s spread to covered property is typically payable. Agencies should confirm this exception exists in the specific carrier form before advising a client.
Can a business buy back coverage for centrifugal force losses?
Businesses can buy back this coverage by adding Equipment Breakdown Coverage, either as an endorsement to the property policy or as a standalone policy from a specialty boiler and machinery carrier. This coverage affirmatively covers mechanical, electrical, and pressure equipment breakdown, including centrifugal force failures, along with related business income loss. It is the standard market solution agencies should present to any client with production or processing equipment.
Does the centrifugal force exclusion apply to commercial auto policies?
Some commercial auto physical damage forms include mechanical breakdown language that can exclude damage from spinning components like turbochargers, drive shafts, or wheels failing under rotational stress, separate from collision coverage. Coverage depends on the specific carrier form and any mechanical breakdown endorsements purchased. Agencies should review the actual auto physical damage form rather than assume uniform treatment across carriers.
Why do insurers exclude centrifugal force damage instead of just covering it?
Insurers exclude centrifugal force damage because it is treated as an inherent operational and maintenance risk tied to how equipment is used and maintained, not a sudden external event like fire or windstorm. Pricing standard property coverage to include this exposure would require different underwriting data than carriers use for general property risk. Specialty equipment breakdown insurers price and underwrite this exposure separately because it requires engineering-based risk assessment.
Related Insurance Terms
- Mechanical Breakdown: The failure of machinery or equipment parts due to internal operational stress, wear, or defect, which is the broader exclusion category that centrifugal force damage typically falls under.
- Equipment Breakdown Coverage: An affirmative coverage form that restores protection for mechanical, electrical, and pressure equipment failures, including centrifugal force losses, that standard property policies exclude.
- Boiler and Machinery Insurance: The historical predecessor to modern equipment breakdown coverage, focused on pressure vessel and mechanical equipment losses with engineering-based inspection services.
- Wear and Tear Exclusion: A related property exclusion for gradual deterioration of property through normal use, often cited alongside centrifugal force language in the same exclusionary provision.
- Latent Defect: A hidden flaw in material or workmanship present at the time of manufacture that can cause a rotating component to fail under centrifugal stress well after installation.
- Resulting Loss Exception: Policy language that restores coverage for a covered peril, such as fire or explosion, that follows an otherwise excluded cause of loss like mechanical breakdown.
Sources and References
- Insurance Services Office (ISO), referenced via IRMI. Causes of Loss – Special Form (CP 10 30).
About the Author
Justin Goodman, CIC, CCIP, CISC, CLCS, CRIS, PCIA, QCLS, MFHR CEO and Co-Founder, Total CSR, Inc.
Justin Goodman is a third-generation insurance broker with over two decades in agency operations. He has trained more than 50,000 CSRs, account managers, and producers in commercial and personal lines coverage, from workers’ compensation to construction risk. He was named 2024 Insurance Journal Agent of the Year and one of the nation’s top five construction insurance experts by Risk & Insurance. He is the author of Retain, which applies cognitive science research on memory and knowledge transfer to insurance training, and speaks nationally on how agencies build durable technical expertise in their teams.