The construction of your new self-build property is an exciting time, watching your house being built from the foundation right up to roof level and completion.
A much less exciting, though absolutely vital aspect of self-build houses however, is the provision of proper levels of insurance cover. Your loan provider may insist on you obtaining adequate insurance cover before releasing the staged payments of your mortgage.
The insurance cover you need for your self-build house can be divided into various categories.
Public liability insurance provides you with insurance cover against the possibility that visitors to your new house site , whether invited or not, receive injuries to themselves or to their property whilst on your land and building site.
Without public liability insurance, which currently is not legally compulsory, you are exposed to the risk of being forced to personally pay any claim awarded against you. Having public liability insurance reduces your cost to just the excess on the policy, which is normally around one thousand euro. It also gives you peace of mind and allows you to concentrate on what you really want to do, which is build your own house.
As well as public liability cover for yourself, you should ensure that each of the building tradesmen and contractors employed by you are adequately insured and properly certified. If you have any doubts, ask to see the documentation relevant to this insurance.
The cost of public liability cover depends on the level of cover you need and the number of people working on your house building site. The level of cover varies but usually ranges between 1.5 million and 2.5 million euro.
Employers liability insurance protects you against claims being made against you by tradesmen working on your land or building site, even if the tradesmen or contractor is working for someone else. Employer’s liability insurance will protect you against possible negligence claims from both primary contractors and any subcontractors or tradesmen working on your new build house site.
Public liability insurance will not protect you against claims made by people working on your site so it is vital that you obtain employers liability insurance. Again, the loan company providing you with a mortgage for your new house may insist on the proper level of insurance cover.
Contract works insurance is a insurance policy for builders and may include cover against the loss of machinery, materials or tools by theft, fire or vandalism. An important aspect of contract works insurance is that it usually has provision to cover the loss or damage to machinery that is hired and brought onto the building site.
Personal Accident Cover is also important to minimise the monetary loss you may suffer if you are injured in an accident on site and unable to continue working for a period of time.
No matter how small the building project, you should treat the construction site as a professional workplace.
As well as having proper levels of insurance cover, you should reduce your risk of claims made against you by setting a high standard of safety from the very start of your house building project and demonstrating that you are committed to keeping that standard.
Make sure all the tradesmen and contractors employed by you are properly insured and certified. If you have any doubts, ask to see the documentation relevant to this insurance.
Minimise your exposure to insurance claims, from both building site workers and also from visitors to your new house site.
Make sure that the proper protective gear is worn by workers on your house building site at all times and that notices regarding site safety are prominently displayed on your site entrance and around the site. Move these safety signs around the building to reduce the chance of them being taken for granted and so that they will receive more attention from contractors and visitors to your site.
Do all you can to keep the site building tidy. Piles of broken bricks, loose cable and tubing and offcuts of wood should all be regularly removed and either stored safely or else disposed of. As with safety, if you set a high standard of tidyness, construction staff are more likely to follow your lead. If you allow your site to accumulate rubbish, the chances of an accident and a subsequent claim against you are increased.
This article is only intended as a basic general summary and you should always seek professional advice where necessary.
