Design and build
Design and construct indemnity
Cover for the contractor who is responsible for both the design and the build. It answers where a defect traces back to the design rather than the workmanship, which is often the gap between a contract works policy and a policy. It is written on a claims made basis, so the policy has to be live when the claim is made against you, not only when the work was done.
For design and build contracts, and for any job where you had a hand in the design. Send us the contract and we will check where the design risk actually sits. Subject to underwriting.
- Who it is for
- Design and build
- What triggers it
- A design failure
- Policy basis
- Claims made
- Design source
- Yours or appointed
- Physical damage
- Check against CAR
What it covers
You designed it and you built it
On a design and build contract you carry both duties at once. When something goes wrong the employer does not have to work out which duty failed, they simply come to you. This policy is written for that position.
It answers defects that trace back to the design, whether the design came out of your own office or from a designer you appointed, subject to the conditions in your wording. A contract works policy pays for physical damage, and a professional indemnity policy pays for professional error, and a design and build defect can fall between the two and be picked up by neither.
You can carry design liability without ever calling yourself a designer. Input on layout, materials, methods or temporary works can be enough, and so can a change you proposed on site to make the job buildable. Changing the design can bring part of the design risk onto you, depending on what your contract says.
In and out
What is in, and what is not
This cover exists to fill a gap between two other policies, so what it excludes is mostly what those two are already there to pay.
Covered
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Design error
A fault in the design, whether it came out of your own office or from a designer you appointed, subject to any condition in your wording about that designer’s own cover.
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Putting the defect right
Typically the expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred in rectifying or repairing a fault, deficiency, shortcoming or defect in the contract works, including redesign and replacement. Your wording and limit decide the detail.
Not covered
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What another policy answers
Loss that belongs on , , products liability or public liability. This policy fills the gap between them, it does not replace them.
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Before the retroactive date
Work done before the retroactive date on your schedule, and any claim or circumstance you already knew about when you took the cover.
The part people get wrong
This is a claims made policy. It answers claims that are first made against you and reported to the insurer while the policy is live. It does not answer a claim that arrives after the cover has lapsed, even where the work was done while you were insured. That is the single most misread thing about this cover, so if you are thinking of letting it go at the end of a job, speak to us first.
Common questions
I do not offer professional services. What is my exposure?
- Altering a design, or proposing a change to make it buildable
- Choosing the materials, or specifying a substitute
- Deciding the construction method
- Designing temporary works such as scaffolding, formwork or propping
- Taking on project management or a design coordination role
Any of these can put design liability on you even where the contract does not name you as the designer.
How is a claim triggered?
The claim has to be made against you and reported to the insurer while the policy is live, and it has to arise out of your duties as both builder and designer. Cover typically reaches defects in the contract works and legal liability for a negligent breach of professional duty.
What counts as a loss?
Typically the expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred in rectifying or repairing a fault, deficiency, shortcoming or defect in the contract works, including redesign and replacement. It excludes loss that Contractors All Risk, plant all risk, products liability or public liability would answer. Your own wording and limit decide the detail, so read them rather than rely on this summary.
What is an indemnity limit?
An indemnity limit is the most the insurer will pay. Two things on your schedule decide what it is worth: whether the limit applies to each claim or to everything in a policy year, and whether legal defence costs come out of the limit or sit on top of it.
Can I claim for something that happened before the policy started?
A is the point in the past from which your work is covered. Anything you did before it is outside the policy. Check the date on your schedule, and tell us about your earlier projects before you move insurers, because a replacement policy can start with a later retroactive date and quietly leave your past work uncovered.
I think a claim might be coming. What should I do now?
Tell us and tell the insurer as soon as you suspect it, rather than waiting for a letter of demand. On a claims made policy, notifying a circumstance while the cover is live is what protects you when the claim itself arrives later. Investigation, defence and settlement costs are normally covered, subject to your limit and the policy wording.
Design risk you did not price for?
Send us the contract. We will tell you where the design responsibility actually sits, whether your current cover reaches it, and what a design and construct indemnity would add.