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Damage on site? With contractors all risks, the argument never starts.

It does not matter who is liable. We ask by chat what contractors all risks costs for your site.

What does contractors all risks insurance cover?

All damage on the building site, except what the policy excludes. From the first spade in the ground to handover, and usually through the maintenance period that follows.

The core of contractors all risks is cover for the works themselves, and the question of fault plays no part there. Think of damage to what has already been built, or to material that disappears from the site. In those cases the repair happens without anyone having to be identified first.

Alongside that, a section on liability towards third parties can be added. That is the classic case of a demolition where the adjoining house is damaged. Without cover you are, as the client, in principle liable for that without limit, and that is usually the reason to take that section along.

The great advantage is in who can fall under one policy: the client, the main contractor, the subcontractors and the suppliers, for all their activities on the site. If the fees are included in the sums insured, the architect or the engineering firm can be covered too.

Contractors all risks is not legally required. What happens without it is well known: after damage or theft the argument starts about which party is liable and for how much, and for as long as it runs, little progress is made on site.

What you do not cover with this are the defects that only surface years after handover. For that there is ten-year liability cover, often taken out alongside this policy.

What we work out in that conversation

We ask the questions that set the premium: what is being built or renovated, how long the works run, how large the budget is, who comes onto the site and whether there is an existing building beside or beneath it that could be damaged.

That last one is often the most important point on a renovation, and it is also the extension that gets forgotten most.

Because we are a broker and not an insurer, we have no policy of our own to sell. In contractors all risks, the difference between insurers is mostly in the excess, in the exclusions and in which additional cover you can have included. We explain which of those points really weigh for your site.

Do you also need ten-year liability cover? Say so. Applying for both in one file can work out cheaper than separately.

Everything runs through chat and stays in the same conversation. If the project changes, if another site comes along or if something goes wrong, you pick up the thread where you left it.

How to start

  1. You send a message through the chat on this page.

  2. You answer a few targeted questions about your site. No long questionnaire.

  3. You get a tailored proposal usually within two working days, explaining what is covered, up to what amount, and what is not in the policy.

  4. If you agree, you confirm the proposal.

What a conversation with Ōmata looks like

You do not need to know which policy you are looking for, and there is no form to fill in.

Start your request

Viktor is online

You are talking to an AI assistant. You can ask for a human colleague to take over at any time.

  • CustomerThe neighbour’s wall cracked because of our excavation. Who pays for that?
  • ŌmataIf there is a contractors all risks policy on the site, that is usually the one that responds — the question of fault comes after. Report it today, and have the cracks photographed. Is there a CAR policy running on this site?
  • CustomerThe client should have arranged that, I think. We only have public liability ourselves.
  • ŌmataThen we first check whether you are included as contractor under that policy. What is the contract value for your part of the works?
  • CustomerOur share of the excavation is worth about 40,000 euros.
  • ŌmataNoted. I will pass this on to our expert, who checks the client’s policy. You will hear from us usually within two working days.

Try it yourself

Who this is for

Anyone connected to a site can benefit: the client protecting their investment, and the contractor who does not want a storm to take away their margin.

  • Main contractors

    Whoever runs the site carries, in practice, the damage to the works until handover.

  • Clients and developers

    Your investment stands unfinished in the weather for months. This is the policy that protects it.

  • Installers and services trades

    Anyone working on someone else’s site can be named in that site’s policy.

  • Architects and engineering firms

    Insurable as a party to the works, when the fees are included in the sums insured.

  • Infrastructure and road works

    Work in the public realm, with services and traffic right beside it.

Who this is not for

  • Anyone who supplies without fitting. Without a site there is no site risk. Your risk sits in product liability.
  • Anyone doing only small maintenance jobs. For a few hours of work with no open structure, the premium weighs more than the risk.
  • Anyone already named on the client’s policy. If a policy is already in place on the site and you are named on it, you do not need a second. Do ask for written confirmation.
  • Anyone doing interior finishing in a completed building. Public liability with the goods-entrusted section is usually the right policy then.

What contractors all risks insurance covers

A contractors all risks policy has two sections. The first covers damage to the works themselves, whoever caused it: storm, fire, theft, a contractor’s error, a collapse. The second covers the damage the site causes to third parties. The structure varies by insurer, but that distinction is always there.

  • Damage to the works themselves What gets destroyed on site in what you are building.

    The main reason this policy exists, and what no liability policy covers.

  • Without waiting for the blame Section 1 pays and works out afterwards who did it.

    That is the difference between building on next week and litigating for eighteen months.

  • Storm, fire and water damage Weather on an unfinished structure, with no roof and no windows to protect it.
  • Theft and vandalism Material already delivered or installed.

    Usually subject to conditions about how the site is secured.

  • Third-party damage Section 2: the neighbour whose façade cracks from your excavation, the passer-by who is struck, the vehicle that is damaged.
  • Damage to existing property In a renovation: the part of the building that stays and is damaged by the works.

    Usually a separate section.

  • The maintenance period A period after handover in which you still come back to finish and repair, and in which cover continues.

What contractors all risks insurance does not cover

Not covered are design and workmanship errors themselves, ordinary wear and penalties for delay. The policy repairs the damage; it does not pay the cost of redoing something that was designed wrong.

  • Work that was simply badly done Having to rebuild because it was not straight is your own quality problem, not a claim.
  • Penalties for delay The contractual penalty for missing handover stays with you — even when the delay comes from covered damage.
  • Defects appearing after the maintenance period That is what ten-year liability is for, and for homes it is compulsory.
  • The contractor’s plant and machinery Your crane, your containers and your tools fall under equipment insurance, not under the works.
  • Intent Deliberate damage is never insured, on a site or anywhere else.

Just ask

Who takes it out: the client or the contractor?

Both happen, and practice varies by project. The client has an interest because it is their investment standing unfinished for months. The contractor has an interest because they answer for the works until handover.

The rule followed most often: on large projects the client takes out the policy and names all parties on it, so there is one cover and no recovery between them. On smaller works the contractor includes it in their offer.

Per site or per year

A project policy covers one site and is applied for per project, with the contract value as the base. That makes sense on a large project and is cumbersome across twenty small ones.

An annual policy covers all your sites for the year under one contract, with your turnover as the base. There is no application per site, you can start immediately, and the premium per site is almost always lower. For contractors with many small sites that is the difference between waiting two days every time and starting at once.

The maintenance period: cover does not stop at handover

After handover you usually come back: finishing, adjusting, resolving small defects. Damage can still arise in that period, and many arguments are about exactly that.

A contractors all risks policy therefore provides a maintenance period after handover in which cover continues. How long it runs and what exactly it covers varies widely: some policies cover only damage you cause during the repair work, others also damage with a cause dating from construction.

What determines the price

A figure without your details is a guess. What determines the premium, we can list.

  • Contract value

    The base of the calculation for a project policy.

  • Nature of the works

    Excavation, underground work and height weigh more.

  • Surroundings

    Adjoining buildings and a busy street raise the risk.

  • Duration

    How long the site runs and how long the maintenance period lasts.

  • Sections

    Which sections you include: existing property, theft, neighbours.

  • Annual turnover

    The base for an annual policy instead of the contract value.

Frequently asked questions

Who has to take out contractors all risks, me or the client?

Both happen. On large projects the client usually takes it out and names all parties, so there is one cover. On smaller works the contractor includes it in their offer. More important than who takes it out: ask for the policy or the certificate before you start.

Can I do this annually instead of per site?

Yes. An annual policy covers all your sites for the year under one contract, with your turnover as the base. No application per site and you can start immediately. For contractors with many small sites that is almost always cheaper and above all faster.

Does this cover damage to the neighbours?

Yes, that is section 2: liability towards third parties. A façade cracking from your excavation, a passer-by struck, a vehicle damaged. In renovations, damage to the existing building is often a separate section again.

Does cover continue after handover?

There is a maintenance period after handover during which cover continues. How long and what exactly it covers varies widely by policy: some cover only damage caused during the repair work, others also damage with a cause dating from construction. Have this checked before you sign.

Is theft on site included?

Usually yes, for material already delivered or installed, and subject to conditions about how the site is secured. Your own machines and tools are mostly excluded: they belong in equipment insurance.

Is this the same as ten-year liability?

No. Contractors all risks runs during construction and the maintenance period after. Ten-year liability starts at handover and runs for ten years for structural defects. The two join up; for homes with an architect the second is compulsory.

Who is behind Ōmata?

Ōmata Insurance is the AI-first studio of the Induver group and a sister company of Group Induver NV: two companies within the same group, not parent and subsidiary. Ōmata puts you in touch with Group Induver NV, an insurance broker holding FSMA number 016880; that is where the advice and the policy come about. The full identification is set out in the legal notices.

About Ōmata

Ōmata is the AI-first insurance studio of Group Induver. You tell us what you want to insure over chat; usually within two working days you receive a proposal, drawn up by an insurance broker at Group Induver NV, registered with the FSMA under number 016880.

Read on

Ready to start?

Send us a message and tell us briefly what you want to insure. You get an immediate reply and your proposal usually within two working days.