Not just for the paperwork: well-tailored construction insurance opens up tenders, reassures the bank, and protects the company's money at claim time. The arguments – level-headed, with no premium figures.
More and more tender documents call for a certificate of insurance. With cover prepared well in advance, the certificate isn't a last-minute scramble but a routine step – for the specific requirement, the tender documentation always prevails.
The works under construction are typically the company's largest exposed asset. Well-tailored CAR/EAR cover means a storm, a fire or a theft doesn't rewrite the project's economics.
A claim is where you find out what the policy is really worth: it comes down to the cover structure, the deductible and the documentation. We set these up before the policy is taken out – not explain them after the loss.
For the contractor, CAR/EAR cover does three things at once: market access (meeting tender and client requirements), balance-sheet protection (so damage to unfinished works doesn't wipe out the company's result) and chain management (disputes arising from joint work with subcontractors stay within manageable bounds). For anyone running several jobs a year, an annual open cover also simplifies admin: no need for a new policy per job – the cover follows the declared book of work.
For the principal, construction insurance protects their own money: the advance payment, interim invoices and the value already built in need property cover behind them – even where the contractor didn't cause the loss. Against the contractor's insolvency, though, it's not construction insurance but a performance bond that protects you – together, the two give the full picture. It's also a checking tool: if you know what to look for on the contractor's policy, you won't be confronted with the gaps after the fact. That's what the principal's-check article and the tick-box checklist are for.
Because CAR/EAR isn't an off-the-shelf product. For the same project, two insurers will quote materially different section limits, extensions and deductibles – and the difference usually shows up not in the premium but at claim time. As an independent broker, I obtain quotes from several insurers and set them out side by side in a clear table; I show our comparison table openly in the Insights library. I don't charge a fee for the advice – the insurer pays the intermediary's remuneration, and the decision is always yours.
You won't find premium figures here – it wouldn't be responsible to give any, since the premium is project-specific. What's worth knowing: the premium is typically shaped by the project value, the technical scope, the duration, the extensions chosen, the deductible and the claims history. Some of these can – and should – be actively managed: that's exactly the territory of competitive comparison and good cover design. The details: needs assessment and cover structure, the trap of the cheap quote.
As an independent broker, insurers compete for you – not the other way round. I don't charge a fee for advice – the insurer pays the intermediary's remuneration; it is part of the insurance premium.