Why Property Owners, Developers and investors should always seek advice when looking to insurance their project.
At most stages of a property project advice is sought from a wide range of professionals such as accountants, solicitors and surveyors etc however insurance can be an oversight. This leads to areas that are not insured or have been insured incorrectly.
This maybe because insurance is seen as something that is not wanted but more of a necessity for a lender or maybe because the type of insurance is no quite understood. When used correctly, insurance is a fantastic risk transfer mechanism to protect investment which provides the peace of mind that the completion of a project should not be in question due to an incident.
Properties and development projects can go through various stages and have multiple risks, however all insurance companies have their preferred and excluded types so choosing the correct one to provide necessary cover can prove tricky. In light of this, its always best to seek expert insurance advice to ensure a project is covered from start to finish and that cover is never in question throughout. It can also save you important time and money because brokers who specialise in property have access to markets the public do not.
Always remove as must risk as possible. Specific covers that may be involved in a development:
Land Owners Liability
This is to cover injuries to third persons who are on your land or in potential derelict buildings. You still have a responsibility to protect third parties even if they are trespassing.
Contractors All Risk
Usually taken out by the main building contractor, however should there not be one, the developer should look at this cover. This protects the ongoing works before practical completion i.e. restore an extension that was ruined by fire before being signed off. These policies extent to cover public liability and can also cover hired in plant, tools and other vitals areas of a development.
Building Warranty
This is required for new build properties and provides protection against latent structural defects within 10 years of completion. This can be passed on to the purchaser of the property.
Unoccupied Building Insurance
Whether the property is undergoing works or left vacant whilst plans are being made, you need to protect the existing structure. To fully protect the property, cover such as escape of water, malicious acts, theft should not be overlooked. This cover will also be required once new buildings have been signed off and are not covered under a contactors all risk extension.
Property Owners Insurance
This is to cover properties that are let. With the many different ways to let a property in todays market i.e. sub-let, council let, air bnb, rent-to-rent or just a standard HMO, using a specialist broker really will save you time and money. Specialist products have been to developed to allow flexibility and standard rates for the various ways you choose to let your property/properties.
The article was created by John Cox whose company is exhibiting at the National Development Summit- Insurance-Services http://www.insurance-desk.com/
