Are your sites ready for shut down?

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:

Practical Completion doesn’t mean the Contractor has finished the Works in every detail. It means the Works are sufficiently complete to be safely used by the Employer for the purpose he intended. The Contractor may still complete minor items and fix defects after Practical Completion, as long as the Employer isn’t inconvenienced.

When it comes to planning a new construction project, insurance doesn’t always get the priority it requires, with contractors often wondering whether it is really necessary to take out a contract works policy at all. Very often the contract works policy is arranged at the last minute, or even after the project has already started.

Have you read your plant hire contract? You should get evidence of the plant hire contract when you hire in a concrete pump truck or any other item of plant.

Your onsite machinery (plant) is vulnerable to a number of problems such as breakdowns, vandalism and theft. Missing a project deadline can be bad news for your bottom line as well as your reputation. Plant All Risk Insurance covers you for loss of, or damage to, construction plant and equipment whilst in storage, transit, on the contract site or being use as a tool of trade.

Read the history >> Construction of the tallest building in South Africa, the Carlton Centre. Built in 1973 and designed by architects Skidmore & Owens.

The Defects Liability Period starts when the Certificate of Completion is issued and continues for the period agreed to in the Contract. During the Defects Liability Period, the Contractor has to obey all written instructions from the Engineer to carry out repairs and fix any defects which appear in the Permanent Works, so that, at the end of the Defects Liability Period, the Permanent Works are in the condition required by the Contract.

A Latent Defect is a defect that is not detected by ordinary inspection, but lies hidden until sometime later, when it’s discovered because it causes a problem that everyone can see.  An example of latent defects would be weak concrete in part of a bridge column, that looks the same as strong concrete, but collapses when a heavy truck drives over the bridge.