SITE INSURANCE
We work with our partner firm Protek to help our clients obtain the most competitive site insurance quotations.
Arranging self-build site insurance for your project is incredibly important and protects your investment from the time you exchange contracts and continues throughout the project to the point it is completed.
If finance is being secured against the project all lenders will insist on site insurance being in place.
Site insurance can cover loss or damage to the works, materials, plant tools and equipment as well as any liability you incur throughout the building project. If you are living on site the policy can be optionally extended to cover the caravans, site hutting and the contents as well as personal possessions.
What Should My Site Insurance Cover
Public Liability: Damage, injury or loss that is suffered by third parties or members of the public is covered by this section. Most of the self build insurance specialists will be able to arrange this, with it converting to a full site insurance policy upon commencement of work. The public liability section of a self build site insurance policy would also cover for damage to the property or injury to persons outside the site, if directly caused by the activities of the site
Legal Expenses Insurance: Any legal expenses within the policy will normally be included by the dedicated self build insurance providers but, in other cases, can be bolted on as additional cover for action taken against the self builder by others or for the need to take action against third parties
Contractors All Risk: This element of the insurance policy provides cover for general mishaps such as fire, theft, vandalism, flood and storm damage
Employers’ Liability: Anybody working on your site is deemed to be an ‘employee’ for insurance purposes and as such, as the main contractor, you are liable for their welfare and for any injury, loss or death while they are working for you
Potential Costs
Most site insurance policies work on the basis of a single premium. For new builds this is based on the rebuilding costs on a sliding scale and for a home of around 140m² the average cost will be between £600 and £1,200, with the variation accounted for by the proposed construction costs.
For renovations and conversions the premium may have to be assessed by reference to a survey. Personal possessions and furniture will not be covered by a self build policy, although where a self build policy is converted to a household policy upon completion of the project, cover will then be extended in the normal way.