Will Builders Insurance Cover Equipment if Robbed on-Site?

Building work comes with a lot of risks – but one that’s often overlooked is theft of tools and materials. But is this covered by your builder’s insurance?

Yes, once there is a contractors all risks policy in force. This covers you for all of your equipment on site and all equipment for which you are responsible while the job is ongoing.

This means that even if you hire in equipment for a special job, it will still be covered under your All Risks insurance.

In this article, we’ll cover the following questions:

• Am I covered if my tools are stolen on site?
• What is Contractors All Risks?
• Does my insurance cover equipment I hire in?

Building is a high-risk profession where working with expensive tools comes as standard. This is why you need comprehensive cover to protect you against all scenarios.

What is contractors’ insurance?

Contract works insurance or contractors’ all risks (CAR) insurance – not to be confused with “car insurance”, just to make things more complicated! – gives you protection if the building works flooded or destroyed by fire. Not only that, it also covers damage to materials and equipment, including hired-in equipment.

Contractors’ all risk insurance protects against physical damage to works and site materials that you were contracted to undertake. You should always consider getting insurance to cover any building works while they are in progress.

If a contractor or tradesperson causes damage to a property they were hired to work on, standard public liability insurance would not provide full coverage for everything. Having a contractors’ all risk policy in place would fill the gaps and help to rectify the damage.

Say for example you are building a house and it burns down before you hand it back to the owner, but no one suffered injury because it was empty. Public liability would not cover the disaster, as no members of the public were at risk. If you had a contractors’ all risks policy, this would cover the cost of the build.

Tools and equipment

Your contractors’ all risk policy can be extended to cover your own plant, or any plant that you hire from somewhere else and for which you are responsible, even if they are stolen.

Talk to us today, and we can help you find coverage for everything you need. Building materials and tools can be expensive, so it makes sense to ensure you have good coverage in place.

For example, adding Products Liability covers you in the event of a claim relating to parts and materials you install. Bought a faulty pack of ceramic wall tiles? This is the policy you need if the tiles arrive damaged or the wrong colour, and the job suffers a delay as a result.

In the majority of cases, the insurance provider you have your policy with will pursue the manufacturers. As long as the part turns out to be defective, it wasn’t your own fault and you installed the materials correctly, the manufacturer will be liable.

Prevent on-site theft

Of course, the first thing to do is prevent your tools and plant from damage or theft in the first place. Always keep your van locked, and never leave tools outside in a public place, even for a short while. Make sure you have no expensive tools left in your van overnight, and place a sign saying as such.

Return hired tools promptly and in good condition. Place padlocks on your toolboxes, and keep your keys on you at all times, or stored in a safe location.

Be aware of whoever is entering and leaving your client’s house, and keep your equipment close to you while you work. As long as you take all necessary on-site precautions, your insurance will have no problem processing any claim you make.

Talk to us today about getting in place the correct level of builder’s insurance and whether you need contractors’ all risks insurance for your business – we can help make sure all your materials and equipment have the right cover in place.