Understanding Construction Insurance

Construction insurance North Wales, is made up of many different types of insurance depending on the level of cover needed for your business, however, there are three essential types of cover that you will need which includes, public liability, product liability and professional indemnity insurance. It is important to know the purpose of each type of insurance if you are a contractor so that you know that you have the correct insurance in place for your business. The last thing that you would want to do is fall short and be liable to claims that can set you back more than just money alone, when it could have been avoidable.

Below is an outline of each type of construction insurance along with scenarios.

Public liability insurance

Public liability insurance covers you in the event that a member of the public is injured or damage is caused to them or the premises in which you are working. This may include the following:

• Injury. You are covered if someone makes a claim against you for slips, trips or falls.
• Accidental damage. You are covered against damage from anything from fixtures or fittings to burst pipes.
• Legal cover. You are covered if you need a solicitor or need to go to court.

Product liability insurance

Product liability insurance covers you if a property is damaged or someone is harmed as a result of products that have been sold or supplied by you. Cover such as inefficacy cover can be included in this which will cover any loss or damage to property that is caused by faulty products.

Professional indemnity insurance

Professional indemnity insurance covers financial loss. This loss may be as a result of flawed design work or improper advice rather than accidental damage that will be covered under public liability insurance.

Not only can the right construction insurance cover financial risks but it can also protect your business’ reputation. If you don’t have the right insurance cover in place and do not deal with claims for damage and injury in a timely fashion, further legal action could be taken.
Take a look at the scenarios below to see how the right construction insurance can help you.

Scenario 1

Moving of items of furniture to gain access to the area in which you need to work.

What could go wrong?

If you are working in a member of the public’s property you need to be cautious of damage. Perhaps you need to move a sofa out of the way to get to an electrical point but in the process you knock a television off, you will be liable to cover the costs of the TV if you don’t have the right insurance.

What insurance do I need?

You will need public liability insurance for this type of claim as it involves accidental damage to a clients property.

Scenario 2

Installing alarms in the client’s property

What could go wrong?

Maybe your installing an intruder alarm or fire alarm but several months down the line they are broken into or a fire breaks out losing thousands of pounds of goods. Due to the products “failing to perform” you could be liable to cover these costs.

What insurance do I need?

In order to stay protected against any eventuality involving supplying or manufacturing products, you will need product liability cover.

Scenario 3

Creating designs or design specifications for a client

What could go wrong?

You may be designing a lighting system for a client and the specification has a design flaw which results in additional costs to the client as well as delays to the overall build. If you don’t have the right insurance in place you will be liable to pay for these additional costs.

What insurance do I need?

Due to personal error you will need to take out professional indemnity insurance. Any claims that result in legal costs as a result of human error will generally be covered by this insurance.