Construction Insurance
You can’t prepare for every accident that may happen on a construction site, but you can help ensure your business stays afloat with construction insurance.
Construction is a high-risk industry. Even if you rigorously train your employees, post safety guides around every construction site, and take every precaution imaginable, accidents still happen. At InSource, we help keep those accidents from snowballing into a huge financial hurdle for your business.
What Is Construction Insurance?
There is no single construction insurance policy that you can buy to cover every aspect of a project. Instead, the term “construction insurance” encompasses various coverage types you can purchase to protect certain risks, such as lawsuits, car accidents, and property damage. You may need completely different coverages from one project to the next, depending on its scope. However, some form of construction insurance is absolutely essential if you want your business to survive unforeseen disasters.
Work accidents are frequent in the construction industry—employees get injured, buildings sustain damage, and expensive tools disappear from work sites. Minor slip-ups usually cost a few hundred bucks to fix, but substantial mishaps can drain your bank account and put your future in jeopardy. If you can’t afford to drop hundreds of thousands of dollars on property damage or a liability lawsuit, construction insurance should be a non-negotiable asset for your business.
Types of Construction Liability Insurance
There are many types of insurance for business owners in the construction industry. You may need some or all of these coverages, depending on the kind of work you perform. If you’re unsure which policies you need, the team at InSource can help you evaluate your risks and decide which coverages may be necessary for you.
General Liability Insurance for Contractors
Every construction business needs general liability insurance — usually not just for protection, but also to comply with project requirements. If you work with a development company or under a general contractor, they will most likely ask you to present a certificate of insurance detailing your business insurance coverage and limits before work begins.
General liability insurance protects you against personal injury, bodily injury, and property damage that you may be held accountable for. For example, if a client sues you after breaking their leg on your site, your policy should cover the defense and settlement costs, up to the policy limit.
Builder’s Risk Insurance
Commercial property insurance excludes damage to unfinished structures. If you want to protect an in-progress building from property damage, you need a builder’s risk policy. Depending on the building(s) you’re constructing, you can purchase protection for your foundation, materials, landscaping, fences, paved surfaces, and more.
Builder’s risk policies can typically cover the same hazards as a property policy, such as storms, theft, fire, and vandalism. Your policy may pay for repairs and/or replacements to damaged property after you cover a specified deductible amount.
Inland Marine Insurance
For your builder’s risk policy to cover a property loss, generally your main structure or attached items must sustain damage. You need a separate inland marine or contractors’ equipment insurance policy to cover your tools and equipment.
Inland marine coverage follows items, which means that a loss can occur at any location (within the coverage territory), and your policy should still cover it. Most policies cover supplies, tools, machinery, and leased equipment that is damaged or lost due to fire, storm, or theft, among other causes of loss. Some also include coverage for site cleanup costs and lost income resulting from a covered claim.
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
The construction industry accounted for 20% of worker fatalities in 2019, making it one of the most dangerous industries to operate in. As a result, workers’ compensation coverage is critical for construction business owners. When an employee sustains an injury during work, workers’ compensation coverage should pay for their medical bills and a portion of their lost wages.
Workers’ compensation policies typically include additional employer’s liability coverage. This coverage pays to protect your company if an employee alleges that your negligence led to their injury.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Construction workers travel to different sites during the day using either a company or personal vehicle. If they get into a car accident, even while using their personal vehicle, your company can be held liable for damages. Your commercial auto liability insurance is designed to pay for the other driver’s repairs and medical costs, as well as any related lawsuit expenses.
Some vehicle accidents don’t involve other vehicles. You may sustain damage during a storm, damage a vehicle during a collision with an animal or object, or lose your vehicle entirely after it gets stolen. If your auto policy includes physical damage coverages (collision and comprehensive, or “other than collision”), it should pay to repair or replace your vehicle in those scenarios.
Cover Your Construction Company
Every day your business goes without construction coverage could be its last. Don’t wait until it’s too late to protect your business—contact InSource Insurance Group to secure great coverage options at a competitive price.
Who Needs General Contractor Insurance?
Most of the time, construction company owners don’t get to choose whether they want to purchase insurance. Workers’ compensation coverage is mandatory in every state except Texas, and nearly all require commercial auto insurance. Though liability and property policies may not be required by law, your client or other contractors will most likely request evidence of your insurance coverage during large projects.
Even if you only take projects that don’t require insurance, you should still consider insurance. You never know what’s going to happen on a job site on any given day, and unless you have millions saved up for unforeseen events, you probably don’t have the means to cover a significant loss. Construction insurance could be the difference between shutting your doors tomorrow or staying in business.
Your Source for Construction Coverage
Finding and managing your construction coverage isn’t easy; you may have to buy five different policies and amend all of them each time you take on a new project. If you would rather focus on your business than spend hours on the phone with your insurance carrier, InSource can help.
We have worked with construction companies around the nation for decades, and we build custom coverage plans to fit each client’s needs. Additionally, we know how much each coverage type should cost, and we do everything we can to find the most budget-friendly policies for your business. Our team handles every policy renewal, limit change, additional insured endorsement, and certificate of insurance request with you. We also offer construction bonds and coverages tailored to construction in the oil and gas industry.
At InSource, we genuinely care about protecting your assets and making your construction business a safer place. Contact us today to learn more about our construction insurance options.
Insurance Experts
Protect your business with the right insurance through InSource Insurance Group.