The term ‘Letter of Intent’ (LOI) is typically used to describe a letter from an Employer to a Contractor (or from a main Contractor to a Subcontractor) indicating the Employer’s intention to enter into a formal written contract for Works described in the letter, and asking the Contractor to begin those works before the formal Contract is executed. While an Letter of Intent may come in many forms, it’s essentially a communication expressing an intention to enter into a Contract at a future date.

Building Contractors often ask us the question: When is a Performance Guarantee called on? When your company starts bidding on projects for cities, provinces or municipalities, you’ll be expected to provide assurance that you can meet the obligations detailed in the Contract.

This assurance comes in the form of a Performance Guarantee. Basically, what happens is that a surety company (an insurer or bank), for a certain fee, steps in and guarantees your performance. Surety companies don’t work directly with Contractors. Instead, they partner with brokerages like us.

Contract Guarantees in the construction, engineering, manufacturing and mining service industries are almost mandatory. Our range of Construction Guarantees are as varied as your requirements. Here’s a short list of the four types of Contract Guarantees and what they insure.

The main part of the Contractors All Risks insurance is the Contract Works section which provides cover for the property being worked on (e.g. new house, etc.). But it’s important to be aware of what’s not covered by a contractors all risk policy, these are just a few examples:

Yes, damage to surrounding property is covered by a construction all risk policy, provided it’s included as an add-on to the Contract Works cover. This means an extra premium would be charged to get the specified surrounding property covered.

When applying to get a Performance Guarantee, you’ll have to answer basic questions about your professional work experience and your company’s financial history. If your business has more than one owner, the financial credentials of all owners must be submitted.

The term Performance Bond is often misleading, which can leave contractors confused about the difference between a performance bond and a performance guarantee. Most construction Performance Bonds are actually Guarantees. Bonds and Guarantees are related but are different. The right to claim under a Guarantee is linked to non-performance of the underlying contract. Under a Bond, the bank usually pays on demand regardless of the underlying contract.

A Contractor can claim for an extension of time, thus extending the Due Completion Date for a project. He can also claim for any costs which will increase due to being on site for longer (called time-related General Items).