The construction insurance world can be a whirlwind of technical jargon and confusing acronyms, with enough policies to shake a spirit level at! To ensure you don’t get overwhelmed by construction insurance terminology, we’ve deconstructed it for you; summarising the main types of insurance you’ll need to be aware of for your development project.
Do you know your EL from your PL? Are you clued up on structural warranty? Read on to find out…
Structural Warranty
What is it?
We’ll start with the big one. A structural warranty provides building owners with 10 or 12 years of protection from ‘latent defects’ to the structure of a building. These are defects that occur during the build period but are not discovered until after completion.
Structural warranties are usually bought by the builder or developer but the warranty itself will provide cover for the person who purchases the completed building i.e. the owner.
Who needs it?
Anybody building or buying a newly built property.
Find out more about the structural warranties Premier Guarantee provide for new build residential and commercial buildings.
Contractors All Risk Insurance
What is it?
Contractors All Risk (CAR) insurance protects against physical damage to works and site materials that you were contracted to undertake. These types of losses are normally excluded under a regular Public Liability policy although they may be sold together.
How does it work?
If a contractor causes damage to the element of the property they were contracted to conduct works on, standard PL insurance may not cover you. The CAR policy, however, would cover costs associated with rectifying the damage.
Who needs it?
Employers and contractors.
Professional Indemnity Insurance
What is it?
Professional Indemnity insurance protects against claims for loss or damages arising from providing inadequate advice, services or design to a client. It will provide cover for the legal costs and expenses in defending the claim, as well as compensation payable to your client to rectify the mistake.
Who needs it?
If you provide advice or hold design responsibility for a site then you should consider Professional Indemnity insurance.
Product Liability Insurance
What is it?
Product Liability Insurance protects you in the event that your product causes injury to a person or damage to their property. You could be liable for injury caused from products you supply, manufacture or even import.
Who needs it?
If you supply, manufacture, adapt or import (particularly from outside the EU) products used by other people or on construction sites then this cover definitely needs to be considered.
Employer Liability Insurance
What is it?
Employer Liability (EL) insurance will enable you to meet the cost of employees’ injuries or illness, whether they are caused on site or off site.
Who needs it?
If you are an employer, EL insurance is compulsory. You will need to look into EL insurance if you are building your own home as injury to volunteers or sub-contractors could spark a claim against you as an ‘employer’.
Public Liability Insurance
What is it?
Public liability (PL) insurance protects against liabilities for injury to third parties (non-employees like clients or members of the public) or damage to their property.
Who needs it?
If you work near other people and/or their property, which is basically anyone in construction, you should consider having PL insurance. This will ensure you are covered against any potential claims for damage to the person and/or their property.
If you have any questions about structural warranty and building control, or would like to find out more about Premier Guarantee’s comprehensive list of insurance schemes, please visit www.premierguarantee.co.uk