Handover closes out CAR's base cover – but the contractor's obligations don't end there: the maintenance period follows, with call-backs and repairs. The maintenance extension (known internationally simply as "maintenance") exists for this transitional period: a bridge between the world of project cover and the finished works.
- The extension provides cover for a defined period after handover – it's a separate option that needs requesting in advance.
- Two typical levels: loss caused during maintenance call-backs, or, more broadly, loss traceable to a construction defect.
- The exact scope depends on the wording – the word "maintenance" alone doesn't tell you which level applies.
- It isn't the same as the warranty: fixing defective work remains the contractor's job.
Why is it needed at all?
Because after handover the contractor keeps coming back: warranty repairs, fine-tuning, seasonal checks. If loss is caused in the process – the flooring is damaged during a repair, a junction lets in water – that's no longer a loss from the closed construction period, and the finished building's property insurance won't necessarily deal with it from the contractor's side either. The extension covers this grey zone, for the period fixed in the policy.
The two levels
The narrower version is call-back cover: it applies to loss the contractor causes during maintenance work itself. The broader version also deals with loss traceable to a defect that arose during the construction period but only shows up after handover – for example, water ingress caused by a hidden workmanship defect. Which one applies on a given policy is decided by the wording of the endorsement – this is typically the point where the substance of two similarly priced quotes differs sharply: comparison article.
What stays outside the extension too
Warranty and defects liability themselves: the cost of fixing a badly built part yourself isn't an insurable loss – that's the contractor's obligation to perform. The extension can deal with further loss arising from the defect, but not the repair itself. The dividing line is the same as during construction: exclusions map, design defects.
Setting it up in practice
Three questions at inception: how long is the contractual maintenance period (the extension's duration should match it), which level is needed (call-back or the broader version), and how does it relate to the property insurance on the finished works (no gap, and no unnecessary overlap)? Among the handover tasks, this extension is one of the main items on the checklist, while the full switch-over is the subject of the after-handover article.
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