Public liability insurance for builders

What the policy needs to reflect

The practical test is simple enough: could the policy provider recognise the job from the description you supplied? If not, the description may be too vague.

The schedule, endorsements and main wording work together. Reading only the certificate can leave out the conditions and exclusions that affect a claim.

Look beyond the value of the invoice and consider: damage to adjoining property; a visitor enters an active work area; and water, dust or debris spreads beyond the job. None of these situations has an automatic insurance answer. They are useful prompts for checking the scope of the quotation.

Write down the facts rather than estimating them in a rush: maximum depth and height; structural alterations and load-bearing work; and use of heat, plant and subcontractors. Where the position varies between jobs, explain the usual work and the exception.

Use the policy summary as an introduction, then turn to the schedule and endorsements for the details that affect the work. Query any uncertain point while other quotations are still open to you.

How the problem can arise

Run through these situations against the jobs you accept:

• Damage to adjoining property
• A visitor enters an active work area
• Water, dust or debris spreads beyond the job

The policy response depends on the full circumstances. A short list on a webpage cannot replace the wording.

Think about the point described as “a visitor enters an active work area”. Would the job record show what had been agreed, who was present and how the work area was left? Those records can matter as much as memory later on.

The second example, “water, dust or debris spreads beyond the job”, may need a different precaution. Check the endorsements for instructions linked to the method of work, not merely the occupation.

The answers should make sense to somebody who has never visited the business. Avoid shorthand that only people in the trade would understand.

Details to gather for the quote

Write down the answers to these points before opening the form:

• Maximum depth and height
• Structural alterations and load-bearing work
• Use of heat, plant and subcontractors

Check “maximum depth and height”, “structural alterations and load-bearing work” and “use of heat, plant and subcontractors” against recent invoices and the work diary. The description should cover ordinary jobs as well as the less frequent tasks that customers still ask you to do.

If the form offers only broad categories, choose the closest honest description and use any available notes box to explain the difference.

Two reminders from this page are “contract works and plant are separate covers” and “check vibration and weakening-of-support exclusions”; keep them beside the documents when you check the quotation. If the policy takes a different approach to “maximum depth and height”, ask about it before the cover is needed and retain any written reply.

Read the finished form once more before sending it. A missing activity is easier to correct at this stage.

Wording to read before buying

• Contract works and plant are separate covers
• Check vibration and weakening-of-support exclusions
• Agree site security and handover

Read the schedule and endorsements beside the main wording. Important restrictions are often shown there.

Finish with the paperwork

Look back over the jobs completed during the past twelve months. Include the occasional work, not just the service that brings in most of the turnover.

Contracts sometimes ask for more than a limit. Read the whole insurance clause and query anything you do not understand.

Keep a simple note of later changes: a new service, different premises, extra staff or a larger contract. Ask whether the policy record needs updating rather than assuming the change can wait.

A last check should cover: agree site security and handover; check how this affects the jobs you accept and ask for clarification if the policy takes a different approach.