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Tailored building construction insurance policies for domestic, commercial, and civil contractors.
Building Construction Insurance, also known as contract works insurance, civil construction insurance or a contractor all risk policy, is insurance cover taken out either on a single project basis or, if multiple dwellings are being constructed, an annual construction insurance policy can be put in place.
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What you need to know about
A building construction insurance policy is typically put in place by head contractors or principal contractors who have a construction contract in place with a particular party. There are two sections to a typical “building under construction” insurance policy, section one which provides cover for material damages to the building under construction, and section two being your Public and Product Liability Insurance which includes both product and public liability insurance to cover legal costs in the event of either a personal injury, or harm to a member of the public.
In simple terms, a construction works insurance policy, also known as contract works insurance cover, is insuring your contract agreement where you are required to construct a dwelling. The insurance policy is designed to cover your legal liability over the structure until practical completion and handover is provided to the property owner. There is also an inclusion on most building contractor insurance policies to allow for defect periods.
It is extremely important to make sure when you are shopping around for construction works insurance that you (or your Broker) understand the two types of policies that you can put in place for construction insurance policies.
1. Turnover (transfer cover) this type of cover insures the projects that are planned to be worked on during the policy period. If the project isn’t completed during the policy period than the cover stops and needs to be renewed under the renewing policy.
2. Run-off (contract commencing) cover this type of contract works policy insures all projects that commence during the policy period up until the construction and defects period is completed.
Regardless of whether you are just building domestic properties, commercial properties or even need a civil construction insurance policy, we can tailor a policy for you.
We keep our process simple, straightforward and we work with the construction industry to get the best result for your construction business.
Why should you use Priority Insurance Brokers to arrange your Building Construction Insurance?
We ensure that your policies are providing you with the best level of cover. Don't pay for insurance that you don't need.
We work with you and our insurers to continue to provide you the with competitive premiums across our network.
Your dedicated account manager will work with you and tailor the advice to your business and what covers you should have in place.
Your account manager will continue to provide you with professional insurance advice as your business grows and expands.
We have all the answers to your questions about
Whether you are building a domestic property or you have had many civil construction insurance policies in the past the process is generally the same.
The entity and the persons that are typically insured under a contract works policy are:
The easiest way to explain what is insured is by considering how much cost, time and labour goes into a construction project.
For example if a fire occured at a construction site things that would typically be included in the construction insurance policy would be:
In some cases, if the project is a renovation then the existing dwelling can also be covered as well.
This is on an as required basis and not automatically included.
The easiest way to think about whats covered is to think of the policy as a building under construction type policy. Meaning that the project is insured while its under construction and up until the defect liability period has been completed.
If you regularly take on larger contracts or contracts where you are considered the principal or head contractor than an annual policy is going to be an ideal option for you which saves time and cost of having to manage multiple policies.
Building contractor insurance policies can usually combine both your liability and your contract works insurance under the one policy.
This reduces the risk of potential gaps in cover forming by having different policies with different insurers.
Most insurers write their policies as if they were designed to be combined and used together.
When we request a quote from the insurers for a contract works policy the insurer will typically ask us the following questions:
In most situations we will need to declare all of your construction activities.
As an example, a civil construction insurance policy generally won't extend to cover domestic work unless its been declared to the insurer.
Likewise this is the same if you have a domestic building under construction insurance policy not covering civil works.
We understand that running a business takes a lot of work and as a business owner you’re expected to be across all of the different aspects of your business operation. We have tried to make our process as simple as possible and all of our Brokers work with each business owners to have a strong understanding of your business and whats required to be in place to ensure that there are no nasty surprises. We pride ourselves on not hiding behind the fine print.
If you work in construction and you’re considering a contract works insurance policy than there are a number of additional policies that you may wish to consider.
As an example only some other insurances that your business may want to consider is the following:
If you are in the construction industry than you know the importance of cashflow, budgeting and material costs. If you are taking into consideration the value of your projects while they are being constructed than unfortunately, you could be looking at an extremely large loss which could potentially end your business in just one claim.
For example, if you didnt have a policy in place and a catastrophe occured which completely destroyed a project which was only 40% completed then you still have a contract in place with your client to complete the project. How would your business sustain the cost of outlaying the 40% of costs, plus the additional damages to complete the projects.
For the cost of an annual policy, it is extremely important to consider having a policy in place. We typically advise our clients to bundle the construction insurance policy with your public liability insurance because it is just as important and shouldn’t ever be forgotten about.
The easiest way that we can assist is by reviewing your current policies. When we review your policy, we can usually identify ways in which we can save you premium or notify you of any potential exclusions that could impact your business.
This is the part where you can sit back and relax and leave the work to us. Once we have the information needed, we then contact our panel of insurers to request their quotes. In most cases, we gather a minimum of 10 quotes.
Once all quotes are to hand and they have been reviewed, we will get back in contact with you to present our options. During this time we will explain the cover and the benefits to you. We never just blindly send these policies to you and expect you to completely understand. We will dedicate our time to discuss these options with you in detail.
Once we have your instructions to proceed with the policy we will then organise payment of the policies. Policies can be paid annually or via our monthly premium funding options.
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Yes, most direct insurers will let you put your own construction insurance policy in place. However, this means that you are taking on the responsibility of reviewing the policy, making sure your cover is correct, managing and lodging your own claims. This can be a lot of work for a business owner on top of what you already do in your business. A good Insurance Broker will work with on reviewing the cover, bringing any specific things to your attention and taking over the management of your claims should this occur.
No, you don’t. For full transparency of our remuneration, insurers pay us an agreed commission when you proceed with the policy. This is not in addition to what you pay and in most cases we are able to pass on a cost reduction to our clients by finding a more competitive policy or by reducing the impact of their quoted renewal premiums.
Yes, there is usually a defect liability period which is automatically included on most contract works policies. However, if the defect causing personal injury or additional property damage than this would typically be covered under your Public Liability Insurance
Construction projects can be expensive and time-consuming, so it’s important to have protection in place in case something goes wrong. Building construction insurance can help you recoup some of your losses if a project is delayed or interrupted due to factors beyond your control, such as bad weather or material shortages.
Building construction insurance typically covers delays, interruptions, and cancellations due to factors beyond your control, such as bad weather, material shortages, or accidents. It may also cover additional expenses associated with the delay or interruption, such as storage fees for materials or alternative living arrangements if the project is taking place in your home.
Anyone who is the main contracted party for a project which is under construction.
There are 2 main cover sections, 1 being materially damage and 2 being public and product liability.
The material damage is essentially any damage that isn’t specifically excluded to the property however, will typically cover most major losses such as fire, storm, malicious damages. The policy will then typically have some additional benefits which are included however, this differs from insurer to insurer.
Contract works policies are typically suitable to all types of construction such as domestic, commercial and even industrial.
When shopping for building construction insurance, be sure to read the policy carefully to understand what is and is not covered. You’ll also want to make sure that the policy covers delays and interruptions due to factors beyond your control, such as bad weather or material shortages. In addition, you’ll want to make sure that the policy covers additional expenses associated with the delay or interruption, such as storage fees for materials or alternative living arrangements if the project is taking place in your home.
Get in touch with Priority today to talk about the specific needs for your construction business.
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