With complex regulations and an ever-growing market of insurance products, understanding which kinds of coverage are best for you and your business can be a frustrating challenge. We all know that construction projects, no matter how small, have an inherent level of risk. Protecting yourself, your employees, and your clients is an essential part of running successful operations within the industry and means that one way or another, you’ll need to determine which insurance is the best fit for you and your business. In this blog post, we’ll explore the most common types of insurance encountered by builders, and which of these you should be looking to invest in. If you’ve been left scratching your head mulling over a sea of potential solutions, this article is for you.
Liability Insurance
Liability insurance is often considered to be the foundational insurance for any business and that includes builders working within Australia’s construction industry. Liability insurance provides coverage for damages or injuries that you are legally responsible for causing to another person or their property resulting from your business operations. This can include damage to a client’s property or injury to a third-party worker or member of the public. Liability insurance is essential for all builders and should be something you invest in before undertaking any project, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
Contract Works Insurance
If you’re a builder, you’re likely familiar with considering all the possibilities of what could go wrong on your construction site, and dreading just how many of these scenarios are out of your control. Also known as construction all risks insurance, contract works insurance is a policy that covers the loss of, or damage to a construction project whether that be a total loss or partial damage or theft. Typically, contract works insurance covers the building works themself, the materials in use, and the equipment on the construction site. This form of cover can cover builders from a range of unforeseen circumstances, including theft, vandalism, damages from a fire, and the losses incurred should your project be in the path of a natural disaster. For peace of mind that your business will be protected when encountering even the most unlikely of disasters, contract works insurance is the ideal solution.
Professional Indemnity Design & Construct insurance
Rather tellingly, professional indemnity insurance also goes under the name ‘errors and omissions insurance’, and is designed to protect your business from claims of negligence or mistakes in the professional services that you have delivered. For builders, this most commonly encompasses design services, construction management, and consulting, and covers the cost of legal fees, settlements, and judgments in the event of a claim whereby a third party suffers a loss from one of these services.
Commercial Motor Insurance
If your construction business has vehicles, commercial motor insurance is essential. Even the most knowledgeable drivers can experience mishaps on the road or be the victim of someone else’s bad driving. That’s where commercial motor insurance comes in to provide protection against damage or loss to a vehicle in the event of an accident or theft. It can also cover liability for damage to other people or property caused by the insured vehicle.
Management Liability Insurance
Management liability insurance is a type of insurance coverage that protects a builder from legal claims related to employment practices, such as discrimination or wrongful termination, as well as claims related to the management of the business, such as breach of fiduciary duty or mismanagement of funds. It’s important for builders to have this type of insurance to protect the company, themselves as the director and their management team from potential legal and financial liabilities.
Cyber Liability Insurance
In a world where technology becomes increasingly advanced, and cybercrime more sophisticated, cyber liability insurance becomes essential for safeguarding your business from the threats of data breaches. This form of cover is particularly relevant in the construction industry, where cyber-attacks can target anything from confidential project plans to employee information, and financial data. Cyber liability insurance can help protect your business by covering the cost of any legal fees, data recovery, and notification costs should you be the target of a successful attack.
Plant and Equipment Insurance
Any kind of construction project will require the use of specialised equipment, and builders own a variety of valuable tools that are essential to their work. The damage or loss to this equipment can be crippling for a business. Fortunately, plant and equipment insurance provides coverage for damage or loss to these assets. This can include damage caused by fire, theft and other covered events. This coverage can help ensure that your plant and equipment is replaced quickly so your business can continue to operate as smoothly as possible.
That’s a Wrap!
These are just a few of the types of insurance that builders should consider. The specific types of insurance that your business needs will vary. At Be Covered Insurance Brokers, we are trade and construction insurance experts and understand that by having the right insurance coverage in place, builders can focus on their work with the peace of mind that they are protected from potential risks and liabilities. To have a chat about how Be Covered Insurance Brokers could help you, get in touch with us online, or give us a call at 08 7092 2242.
