Contract Works Insurance
Protect your construction business with tailored insurance solutions designed for builders, tradies, contractors, and construction companies across Australia.
Contract Works Insurance
Protect your construction business with tailored insurance solutions designed for builders, tradies, contractors, and construction companies across Australia.
Plant & Equipment
Contract Works
Public Liability
Workers Compensation
What does Contract Works Insurance cover?
Contract Works Insurance policies can offer general protection which may include cover against:
Insurance cover after Fire Damage to a construction site can cover the repair or replacement of the damaged property, including structures, machinery, equipment, and building materials.
Landslip and subsidance can cover the movement of the groun in which the structure is being built on. This movement can lead to foundation problems and structural damage which could result in damages to the site which could result in large claims against your business.
Flood insurance can protect your construction site from damage caused from rising water from creeks, lakes, dams, or other natural waterways.
Water damage could under a contract works policy will protect your site from damages from unforeseen water damage caused by by burst or leaking pipes. The insurance will usually pay for the repair from the resulting damages.
Storm damage cover can protect your construction site from damages from storm such as wind, hail, fallen trees, and lightening strikes for example. It will pay for the repair or replacement of the damaged areas or materials.
Earthquake cover will protect your site from damages as a result of the earthquake, such as repairing structural damages to walls, foundations and roofs for example.
Theft insurance can protect you from theft of your tools, equipment and materials. It’s important that the site is secured every night, and tools and equipment locked up to limit the exposure.
Malicious Damage can cover for intentional damage to your site, such as building materials, the structure itself, and also your tools and equipment which has been done with malicious intent.
Vandalism cover is standard under a contract works insurance policy and can protect your site from damage cuased by vandals such as graffiti damage. Construction Insurance can pay to repair the property to its prior condition.
Broken glass is covered under a contract works policy if it was caused by a natural peril, such as a storm, or vandalism. If it was caused by yourself or your employees by accident, then your Public Liability Insurance policy would usually respond.
Defects Cover will protect your business from claims brought against you for alleged defects that have caused structural issues to foundations or load bearing walls for examples. You may also be brought into a defects claim for the work of your electricians or plumbers.
Public Liability Insurance goes hand in hand with a construction policy and will cover you for any third party injury or property damage claims that you are liable for. It will pay the defence, legal and compensation costs.
Do I need Contract Works Insurance?
Contract works insurance policies come in two sections. The first section is referred to as “Material Damage Cover”. Material Damage cover protects your business from physical loss or damages 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 will face so it’s important to be protected with the correct insurance in place.
Does Contract Works Insurance Cover Public Liability Insurance?
No — Contract Works Insurance and Public Liability Insurance are two separate types of cover. Contract Works protects the building project, while Public Liability protects you against third-party injury or property damage claims. However, in many cases you can bundle the policies together with the same insurer under the same policy.
For a deeper explanation of how both policies work together on a construction project, read our full guide: [Does Contract Works Insurance Cover Public Liability Insurance?].
What Does Public Liability Insurance Cover?
Public Liability insurance for an individual or business in the construction industry can protect you from large injury claims that has resulted in injury to a third party such as a member of the public, clients, visitors, other contracts on site, and even your subcontractors which you have a deemed involvement with. Regardless of your contribution to liability, you could incur legal fees defending your position. Public Liability Insurance can pay for these legal fees.
Businesses that are in the construction industry could supply or install items and materials that are defective or cause harm to your clients, or to the site that you’re working on. Although it’s likely that the manufacturer will be brought into the claim, your Public Liability Insurance can protect you from the incurred costs in defending your position.
How Morgan Insurance Brokers can help
Obtaining Contract Works Insurance is quick and easy when you have Morgan Insurance Brokers to assist. As Construction Insurance Specialists, We are able to source policies that can cover a single project, or all of your projects. We get to know you and your business so we can provide you with a tailored insurance product to protect your business and all of your future projects.
Your questions answered about Contract Works Insurance
Fortunately, you have the option to insure all of your contracts in a 12 month policy period. The benefits of insuring all of your contracts is that you only have to review your insurance policy once a year. If you only require cover for a single project, this option is also available. Generally, it is more cost effective to insure for all of your contracts.
It can cover damages caused by:
- Natural disasters such as bushfires, fire, earthquakes, flood and 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. Public Liability Insurance covers the business against any third party claims for damages or injuries which is found that your business and employees are liable for.
In order to obtain quotes from market leading insurance providers, we will need some basic information such as:
- your turnover, employees, annual subcontractor payments;
- how many projects you will commence in an annual period and the value of these combined;
- the maximum project value that you will undertake;
- the duration of construction;
- the types of work you’ll be doing (residential homes, commercial properties, new builds or renovations etc).
Standardly, a Contract Works policy will include Public Liability Insurance. However, you can insure for Contract Works and Public Liability individually on separate policies. You may find that it is more cost effective to do it this way, or it affords you more coverage having them insured with separate insurers.
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 all the extra coverages that a larger business may need. There are many additional sections that you may elect to insure to add an additional layer of protection to your business. A contract works policy is highly tailorable and can be designed to suit your needs and budget.
Standardly, the main occupation that insures for Contract Works are builders. This can be owner builders, residential builders, and commercial builders. It can cater for renovation projects, or new construction of residential, commercial or industrial builders.
Other occupations that may require this cover could be concreters, formworkers, landscape construction businesses, tiling companies, electricians that are taking on large projects, plasterers, and any other occupation that may be contractually required to insure for contract works.
Fortunately, contract works insurance policies are very flexible. If you believe that your project duration is going to exceed the alloted time frame designated in your insurance policy, you can request for 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 the project is completed, regardless if the project finishes after the expiry of the policy period.
If you have not had an existing contract works policy before, it is not likely that your insurer will take on existing/open projects. However, if the project has only just started, it may be up for negotiation.
If you already have an existing contract works policy in place, and you 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 as not to jeopardise your insurance cover.
Existing Structures covers any structure, which was permanently located on a Project site before the Project work commenced. This could include items like fire, storm, earthquake, etc – regardless of your liability.
Standardly, it is not common for builders to insure for this. Noting that your work on the existing structures will be covered under your contract works automatically.
The cost of a construction policy has a few varying factors.
Your turnover, your employee numbers, if you’re insuring for just Public Liability, or if you’re insuring for contract works as well, your occupation, the scope of your works on your projects, your location, claims history, years in operation etc.
Because of the varying factors, we insure that we approach as many insurers as possible to ensure that you’re receiving the most competitive coverage.
