BuildCare site insurance is available to people building, converting, renovating or extending a property for their own habitation.
Where will you cover?
BuildCare site insurance covers projects in Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
When should I take out cover?
As soon as you own your plot of land or building being renovated you become liable for any injuries to members of the public on your site. You will also find that if you are taking out a mortgage to purchase your plot, your lender will want to ensure that you have site insurance cover before releasing funds to you. You should therefore arrange for your site insurance to start when you purchase your plot.
I have a main contractor – do I still need site insurance?
If your contractor has adequate cover and you will not be employing any subcontractors or have any of your own plant and materials on site, you may not require site insurance. However, you would still be liable for public liability and you need to ensure that your builder maintains adequate cover at all times and that it covers the project while there are no workmen on site. Also the builder’s insurance is not likely to commence until they start work on the site so you would need public liability cover and also cover for an existing structure (if there is one) until this time. It is therefore often best to take out your own cover to ensure continuity of cover should anything go wrong with the main contractor or their insurance.
If you do not have insurance cover and are project managing yourself while employing subcontractors you should also consider how you would pay for the rebuilding of your project if it were to be destroyed by fire before you move in.
Am I legally required to have site insurance?
While you are not legally required to have full site insurance you are usually required to have employer’s liability cover which is included in the BuildCare site insurance.
Will lenders insist on site insurance?
Yes. Lenders want to ensure that whatever happens you can finish your project and give them a completed house as security. They therefore require that your project has adequate site insurance cover before they will release any money to you. It is therefore important that you get your site insurance arranged in time, before your mortgage completes to ensure that the lack of cover in place does not cause a delay.
