What Is Contractors All Risk Insurance? Why Do I Need It?

by constructaquote - 6 May 2017

Contractors all risk insurance is an important policy to have in place if you are a tradesmen or contractor. This type of insurance offers one of the most comprehensive methods for protecting building works and the tools, plant and equipment on a construction site.

Contractors typically work on a whole range of different construction sites. With the sheer variety of different work places comes an equally diverse range of different risks and perils – all of which may prevent you from being able to carry out the work you have agreed to do.

Although construction sites are likely to vary from one place to another, there is one common threat likely to be shared by them all: the risk of theft, loss or damage to the tools, equipment and materials you own and use.

Contractors all risk insurance (CAR) is designed to provide you with the protection you need for the tools of your trade, the plant and equipment you may be using on site, as well as the materials required to get the job done.

Contractors all risk insurance is designed to protect you against such risks fire, floods, storms, malicious damage, vandalism and theft.

What Does Contractors All Risk Cover?

Contractors all risk insurance is cover provided against the theft, loss or damage of all your tools, plant and equipment, including those which have been hired for use on the site. A CAR policy can also cover temporary buildings such as on site houses, architects drawings, show home contents.

Here are some examples of how contractors all risk insurance can be a useful policy to have in place.

1. If a fire destroys important planning documents and architect designs.
2. If a robbery takes place on a construction site resulting in loss of tools
3. If any accidental damage takes place within a show home resulting in damaged goods.
4. If the contractor has broken or misplaced vital tools to complete the agreed job.

What Happens If I Don’t Have A Contractors All Risk Policy?

Whilst contractors all risk insurance is not vital, it is however a useful policy to have in place to soften the blow of any unexpected theft, damages or loss.

The tools and equipment used by contractors can be very costly to buy and replace and they are also an essential requirement to do certain jobs.

Without them, you are likely to miss out on winning new business and therefore a loss of money earned. Contractors all risk insurance can prevent the contractor from being in a position where they lose work and get into financial difficulty as a result.

Additional cover…

Since contractors all risk insurance aims to provide comprehensive cover within a single policy, there are typically a number of additional options which you might want to consider.

These might include, for example:

• Demolition and site clearance costs following a major insured event
• Engineers or other professional fees incurred during the investigation of repairs
• Costs associated with the clearance or cleaning of drains
• Cover for insured items whilst in transit.

Reflecting that comprehensive approach, this form of cover is also likely to be one that gives you the ability to tailor the cover to meet your precise needs and requirements.

Not sure what insurance you need? Checkout our Tradesman and Construction resource section by clicking here.

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