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Construction Insurance
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Construction Insurance

Comprehensive cover for construction risks

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    Coverage and limits
    Why work with us?
    Contact us
    Making a claim
    Alan Scholes
    Alan Scholes
    Construction & Engineering Underwriting Manager

    We understand the risks your clients face, and we know how to help

    Our team of underwriters work closely with insurance brokers to offer robust construction insurance solutions which are tailored to suit policyholders’ specific requirements.

    Coverage and limits

    We provide coverage for a range of risks relating to construction and engineering projects, with insureds able to select the coverage that meets their needs:

    • Physical loss of or damage to contract works
    • Physical loss of or damage to their own construction plant and temporary buildings
    • Their liability for hired in construction plant and temporary buildings
    • Physical loss of or damage to employee tools
    GBP 20m
    Capacity

    Target risks

    Wide ranging appetite for UK domiciled companies of all sizes from small/micro to large/corporate, involved in construction or engineering projects requiring cover for Contractors All Risks (CAR), Engineers All Risks (EAR), own plant or hired in plant.

    • Wide trade and profile acceptance including work undertaken internationally
    • Annual policies or project cover, where the contract requires the employer to insure
    • Companies with turnover up to GBP 100,000,000

    Limited risk appetite

    • Single structures in excess of GBP 5,000,000 or 6 floors
    • Projects in excess of 24 months
    • Modern methods of construction where the estimated maximum loss is excess of GBP 1,000,000
    • Civil Engineering projects up to GBP 2,500,000
    • Single items of construction plant owned or hired in excess of GBP 500,000
    • International exposures in excess of GBP 2,500,000

    Outside of risk appetite

    • Risks domiciled outside the UK
    • Self-build projects
    • Large single structure timber frame risks
    • Basement excavations
    • Marine civil engineering
    • Defects Exclusion 5 (DE5) 
    • Delay in start-up / advanced loss of profits
    • Onshore drilling rigs, directional drilling, tunnelling or mining
    • Coal, oil or gas installation 
    • Marquees and tents
    • Landfill, waste transfer, recycling

    Additional information

    • Cover is provided on a DE4 basis
    • Cover can include joint names on a composite basis where required under contract
    • Cover extends internationally as standard and includes general average and salvage charges
    Construction
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    Download
    Construction Insurance IPID
    PDF, 113 KB
    Download
    Contractors and Erection All Risks Insurance IPID
    PDF, 136 KB
    Download
    Plant Insurance IPID
    PDF, 100 KB

    Why work with us?

    Expertise
    We connect you with expert-driven solutions and services for all your specialty insurance needs.
    Financial strength and stability
    Our robust financial backing, 140-year legacy, and extensive global resources give us the reach and scale to help you navigate the shifting insurance landscape.
    Dedicated partnership
    As trusted advisors, we work to understand your needs and tailor solutions to help you grow your business with confidence.

    Get in touch with us

    Insurance brokers looking for more information about our construction insurance solution for their clients can contact their local development underwriter.
    Contact us

    Making a claim

    If you are looking to make a claim, you should contact us as soon as possible. Details on how to make construction insurance claims can be found on our claims homepage.
    Claims

    Frequently asked questions

    What is Contractors All Risks (CAR)?

    Contractors All Risks (CAR) insurance, also known as Contract Works insurance, protects the insured against loss of or damage to property, equipment, or building materials. This cover focuses on the construction works in progress, protecting building contractors and other construction trades, and/or project owners.

    What is Erection All Risks (EAR)?

    Erection All Risks (EAR) insurance covers the erection and installation of electrical or mechanical machinery and plant. The cover focuses on the installation of machinery and plant, protecting machinery installers and extends beyond Contractors All Risks (CAR) insurance by also including cover for testing and commissioning.

    What is required under a JCT contract?

    JCT (Joint Contracts Tribunal) is a set of standard contract forms used for construction projects. These terms and conditions clearly define each contract party’s roles and responsibilities, including who is responsible for arranging the required insurance cover. For Contractors All Risks (CAR), the requirement will sit with either the main contractor or the employer, depending on the type of project. The intention of the cover is to protect the project, and therefore the cover is required to be on a joint names basis with a waiver of subrogation to subcontractors.

    Can we provide cover outside the UK?

    Cover can be provided for UK contractors who work internationally on a regular or ad hoc basis, which will be assessed at the point of quotation, subject to legal and regulatory restrictions. Coverage is on the same basis as work undertaken locally in the UK and includes the international transit of materials to the site, during which general average and salvage charges are also covered. Due to the international nature, there may be natural catastrophe exclusions that apply depending on where the insured is working. Cover for joint insureds does not automatically apply to international contracts, as the legal landscapes are not entirely the same as in the UK and we therefore need to consider each on its own merits if required.

    What’s the difference between DE3 and DE4?

    Defect Exclusions (DE) are a range of exclusions for damage to property that is caused by defects in design, workmanship, or materials. DE1 is a total exclusion, whereas DE5 is at the opposite end of the spectrum, writing cover back into the policy for all defects except for any improvement in design or materials. DE3 tends to be the market standard, and excludes property that is defective but provides cover when there is consequential damage. DE4 is similar, but only excludes the component parts or individual items that are defective, rather than the whole property. Our Construction Insurance policy is based on DE4.

    What is general average?

    General Average is a long-established principle of Maritime Law which requires contribution from all whose goods were saved to the losses of those whose goods were sacrificed at time of common peril.

    Learn more here.

    The information provided in this content is intended for UK insurance brokers acting on behalf of their prospective or existing clients.

    Any description is for general information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any product. Policyholders who have questions or wish to arrange or amend cover should contact their insurance broker. Insurance brokers can find details of how to contact us here.

    Any descriptions of coverage contained are meant to be general in nature and do not include nor are intended to include all of the actual terms, benefits, and limitations found in an insurance policy. The terms of any specific policy will instead govern that policy. Any guidance for UK insurance brokers is intended to provide general information only, and should not be used as a substitute for legal advice.