Contract Works Insurance

Contract Works Insurance Explained

Contract works insurance provides cover for construction-related activities of a construction project or multiple projects. It covers accidental risks of physical loss, theft, and damage to the works during construction, as well as third-party liability.

Protect Your Business with the Right Insurance and the Best Insurance Broker

Brindabella Insurance Brokers are specialist Construction Insurance Brokers and can provide you with a recommendation you can trust to protect your business.

Construction sites are among the most dangerous places to work, posing risks not only to workers but also to nearby people. The potential for harm extends beyond obvious impact injuries; construction sites can generate noise, dust, and other pollutants affecting people’s health.

Construction workers face numerous daily hazards, such as heavy equipment, hazardous materials, and extreme weather conditions. Having an insurance program that protects your business from the financial implications of these events is crucial to your success.

Construction Occupations That We Can Insure

Construction Insurance for Builders: Builders have a large insurance exposure due to extensive building projects, expensive machinery, hazardous worksites, and an increased risk of injury to workers, contractors, and the public. Additionally, builders face substantial financial risk as they often deal with customers on credit terms, which could result in months of outstanding invoices due to insolvency.
Insurance for Plumbers: Plumbers face numerous hazards that require mitigation through insurance to protect their business. These include injuries from slips, trips, falls, machinery accidents, burns, chemical exposure, and environmental pollution. Insurance can assist with unforeseen costs arising from these risks.
Insurance for Electricians: Electricians need various insurance policies to best protect their business. Public Liability Insurance is crucial due to the high risk of injury to third parties, including other contractors and subcontractors, from electrocution, falls from heights, and working with hazardous materials. Additionally, machinery and tool cover are important considerations.
Insurance for Concreters: Concreting businesses face significant exposures to workers compensation, public liability, and machinery and equipment, including vehicle risks. The physical nature of the work involves heavy lifting, bending, chemical and dust exposure, and use of heavy machinery, all posing risks to staff and others on site.
Insurance for Bricklayers: Bricklayers have significant exposure to public liability and workers compensation claims due to physical injuries from repetitive motions and heavy lifting. These are the largest risks for bricklayers.
Insurance for Carpenters: Carpenters are exposed to hazardous work environments, risk of injury to themselves, their staff, and the public, and the risk of damage or theft of their tools and equipment. Insurance can help mitigate these risks.

Insurance for Formworkers: Formworkers have key exposures to public liability risks, protecting against injury claims resulting from their work, and workers compensation due to the physical nature of the work, working from heights, and equipment use. Weather and rain pose additional risks, suggesting the need for a contract works policy.
Insurance for Earthmovers and Excavators: Earthmovers and machinery operators have two major exposures: public liability, with the risk of injury to third parties or property damage from their equipment, and machinery damage. A comprehensive plant and equipment policy can cover theft, damage, and breakdowns (upon request).
Insurance for Roofers: Roofing is one of the most dangerous occupations due to the high risk of falls from roofs, ladders, and scaffolding. Items falling from heights pose a significant risk if a third party is injured. Public Liability and workers compensation are crucial as injury and death claims from heights are costly. Roofers also face exposure to workplace fines and penalties, which can be insured depending on the state.
Insurance for Glaziers: Glaziers working with glass have increased exposure to glass breakages, potentially injuring workers and the public. Exposure to sealants, adhesives, and machinery used in cutting glass can also result in injury and insurance claims.
Insurance for Painters: Painters face risks from falls, trips, and working at heights. Falls from scaffolding, ladders, and roofs can be common but deadly and costly. Damage to third-party property from paint spills is also common but can be mitigated with a comprehensive public liability policy.

Top Risks for the Construction Industry

Injury to Others
Weather Events
Accidents
Defects
Damage to Equipment
Fire

What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?

Public Liability insurance policies provide general protection for a business, which may include cover against:

Personal Injury and Property Damage: Public Liability insurance for individuals or businesses in the construction industry can protect you from large injury claims resulting from harm to third parties, such as members of the public, clients, visitors, other contractors on site, and even subcontractors you are involved with. Regardless of your contribution to the liability, you could incur legal fees defending your position. Public Liability Insurance can cover these legal fees.
Products Liability: Businesses in the construction industry may supply or install items and materials that are defective or cause harm to clients or the site you’re working on. Although the manufacturer is likely to be included in the claim, your Public Liability Insurance can protect you from the costs incurred in defending your position.

What Does Contract Works Insurance Cover?

Contract Works Insurance policies provide general protection, which may include coverage against:

Fire: Insurance cover after fire damage to a construction site can cover the repair or replacement of damaged property, including structures, machinery, equipment, and building materials.
Subsidence and Landslip: Coverage for landslip and subsidence addresses the movement of the ground on which the structure is built. This movement can lead to foundation problems and structural damage, potentially resulting in large claims against your business.
Flood: Flood insurance protects your construction site from damage caused by rising water from creeks, lakes, dams, or other natural waterways.
Water: Water damage coverage under a contract works policy protects your site from unforeseen water damage caused by burst or leaking pipes. The insurance typically covers the repair of the resulting damages.
Storm: Storm damage cover protects your construction site from damages caused by storms, such as wind, hail, fallen trees, and lightning strikes. It will pay for the repair or replacement of damaged areas or materials.
Earthquake: Earthquake cover protects your site from damages resulting from earthquakes, such as repairing structural damages to walls, foundations, and roofs.

Theft: Theft insurance protects against the theft of your tools, equipment, and materials. It’s important to secure the site every night and lock up tools and equipment to limit exposure.
Malicious Damage: Malicious damage cover protects against intentional damage to your site, such as damage to building materials, the structure itself, and your tools and equipment caused with malicious intent.
Vandalism: Vandalism cover, standard under a contract works insurance policy, protects your site from damage caused by vandals, such as graffiti. Construction Insurance can pay to repair the property to its prior condition.
Broken Glass: Broken glass is covered under a contract works policy if caused by a natural peril, such as a storm, or vandalism. If caused by accident by you or your employees, your Public Liability Insurance policy would usually respond.
Defects: Defects cover protects your business from claims brought against you for alleged defects causing structural issues to foundations or load-bearing walls. You may also be implicated in defects claims for the work of your electricians or plumbers.
Public Liability: Public Liability Insurance, paired with a construction policy, covers you for any third-party injury or property damage claims for which you are liable. It pays for defence, legal, and compensation costs.

Do I Need Contract Works Insurance?

Contract works insurance policies consist of two sections. The first section is known as “Material Damage Cover”. Material Damage Cover protects your business from physical loss or damage to your property on the building site, including existing buildings, materials, machinery, and equipment.

The other section is Public Liability Insurance, which protects you from the financial implications of claims brought against you by third parties for injury or property damage. These are the greatest exposures that construction workers face, so it’s crucial to have the correct insurance in place for protection.

Insurance Policies to Consider

It’s essential that businesses like yours are protected with adequate insurance. Ensuring your business is safeguarded against unforeseen financial burdens that could occur on-site is imperative. With Brindabella Insurance Brokers as your preferred Construction Insurance Brokers, you can rest easy knowing you’re properly insured. If an accident occurs, there will be minimal impact or disruption to your business.

Public Liability Insurance

Public Liability Insurance is crucial for members of the building and construction industry. Work sites face daily physical risks that could result in significant property damage and injury claims from third parties. Having a policy that responds to these claims is the first step to protecting your building business.

Contract Works Insurance

A Contract Works Insurance policy protects a building while it is being built, renovated, or repaired. It covers your construction site for unpredictable physical damages, such as vandalism, theft, fire, and natural weather events like storms. Replacing materials or equipment due to unforeseen circumstances could severely impact your bottom line.

A Contract Works Insurance Policy can include Public Liability Insurance, or they can be insured separately.

Tool Cover

You need your tools to work. What would you do if your tools were stolen from your work vehicle overnight? Could you afford to replace all of them at once? A toolbox or trailer full of tools could be a costly loss to your business. General Property Insurance can protect your tools from accidental damage, theft, transportation in a vehicle, and even flood, helping you get back to work quickly.

Motor Vehicles, Plant & Equipment

Whether it’s a single ute or a fleet of vehicles and plant & equipment, we can provide a policy that comprehensively protects you. The fleet insurance policies we can source will provide peace of mind that your business is covered against unforeseen circumstances and the financial implications that follow.

Comprehensive Cover
Windscreen Cover
Downtime Cover
Optional Agreed Value
Hired In or Hired Out Plant Cover

How Brindabella Insurance Brokers Can Help

Obtaining Contract Works Insurance is quick and easy with Brindabella Insurance Brokers. We can source policies to cover a single project or all of your projects. By getting to know you and your business, we provide a tailored insurance product to protect your business and all your future projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contract Works Insurance can cover damages caused by:

Natural disasters such as bushfires, fire, earthquakes, flood, water damage, subsidence and landslip, storm, tsunami, or wind.
Damage to property caused by defects.
Theft, malicious damage, or vandalism.
Broken glass.

The second section of a Contract Works policy is Public Liability Insurance, which covers the business against third-party claims for damages or injuries for which your business and employees are found liable.

You have the option to insure all of your contracts under a single 12-month policy. The benefit of this approach is that you only need to review your insurance policy once a year. However, if you only require cover for a single project, this option is also available. Generally, it is more cost-effective to insure all of your contracts together.

To obtain quotes from market-leading insurance providers, we will need some basic information such as:

Your turnover, employees, annual subcontractor payments.
The number of projects you will commence in a year and their combined value.
The maximum project value you will undertake.
The duration of construction.
The types of work you’ll be doing (residential homes, commercial properties, new builds or renovations, etc.).

Many rating factors, such as turnover and the projects you work on, will determine the policy cost. Contract Works Insurance pricing can be inexpensive if you’re a small business that doesn’t require the additional coverages a larger business may need. There are many additional sections you may choose to insure, adding extra protection to your business. A Contract Works policy is highly tailorable and can be designed to suit your needs and budget.

Typically, the main occupation that insures for Contract Works is builders, including owner builders, residential builders, and commercial builders. It can cover renovation projects or new construction of residential, commercial, or industrial buildings.

Other occupations that may require this cover include concreters, formworkers, landscape construction businesses, tiling companies, electricians handling large projects, plasterers, and any other occupation that may be contractually required to insure for Contract Works.

Typically, a Contract Works policy includes Public Liability Insurance. However, you can insure for Contract Works and Public Liability individually on separate policies. You may find it more cost-effective to do it this way, or it may provide more coverage by having them insured with separate insurers.

Contract Works Insurance policies are very flexible. If you believe your project duration will exceed the time frame designated in your insurance policy, you can request an extension.

Run-Off Cover under a Contract Works Insurance policy covers all projects that commence during the policy period. It will cover the project from the commencement date until completion, regardless of whether the project finishes after the policy period expires.

If you have not had an existing Contract Works policy before, it is unlikely that your insurer will cover existing/open projects. However, if the project has only just started, it may be negotiable.

If you already have an existing Contract Works policy and are looking to transfer to a cheaper insurer, you can negotiate with your new insurer to take on the open project. This needs to be approved by your new insurer before you transfer to avoid jeopardising your insurance cover.

Existing Structure Cover includes any structure permanently located on a project site before the project work commenced. This could include protection against fire, storm, earthquake, etc., regardless of your liability.

Typically, builders do not commonly insure for this, as work on existing structures is automatically covered under your Contract Works policy.

The cost of a construction policy varies based on several factors, including your turnover, employee numbers, whether you’re insuring for just Public Liability or for Contract Works as well, your occupation, the scope of your work, your location, claims history, and years in operation.

Due to these varying factors, we ensure that we approach as many insurers as possible to provide you with the most competitive coverage.

Contract Works Insurance