Project cover isn't a date, it's a life cycle: inception before work starts, life during construction, a switch at handover, an afterlife in the maintenance period. Each stage has its own tasks – and most cover mishaps are born not from a bad policy, but from bad timing. Here's the calendar.
- Before work starts: inception, certificate, taking the requirements down to site level.
- During construction: change notifications, extending cover if the schedule slips, claims routine.
- At handover: reporting the handover, activating the maintenance cover, starting property insurance.
- In the maintenance period: handling call-backs with cover in mind.
Before work starts: laying the foundation
Cover should be in place for taking over the site – the inception article covers the process and how to handle urgent cases. This is also where submitting certificates belongs (certificate article), along with a step that's often missed: sharing the policy's requirements (security, protective measures, logging) with the site management. Cover is decided on site, not in a folder.
During construction: upkeep
Three routines keep the cover alive. Change notification: a rise in value, a change in content, a new site – following the notification article. Extension: if the completion date slips, extend the policy before it expires, not after – working alongside an expired policy is the quietest risk there is, because nothing flags it. And claims-readiness: knowing the notification route and the documentation routine – claim article, checklist.
At handover: the switch
Handover is a triple insurance event: closing off the project cover (reporting that handover has taken place – by section, for a phased handover), switching on the maintenance cover, and starting property insurance on the finished works from the day of handover. The three steps fit on one checklist: handover checklist. The gap here is the most expensive kind: a building left for "we'll insure it next week" is uncovered until then.
The maintenance period: the afterlife
While call-backs are happening, the maintenance cover is live – but only for what it actually covers: this is where the difference between the two levels becomes practical. Maintenance work is still work: it should be documented, with attention paid to the existing (now operating) surroundings. At the end of the stage, the circle closes – and the lessons feed into the next project's needs assessment. For an open cover, the same cycle also runs on an annual rhythm: review article.
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