Why you should Insure your Self-build
Self-build insurance helps protect you and the home or extension you are building during the construction phase.
What is self-build insurance?
Self-build insurance is a specialized home insurance policy that covers you, your builder, your construction site and your new home under construction. If you plan to build a home or add an extension to your current property, you will need a self-build insurance policy to cover your construction project. A self-declared insurance policy will cover your social and employer responsibilities, as well as your own home and building materials. On-site insurance will then continue throughout the construction process until the home is completed and put into service.
What’s covered for self build homes?
On-site insurance provides coverage for new work and materials, liability and other risks that may arise during the project. Perhaps one of the most important things to understand is that site insurance will cover you for a new building (or an extension to an existing building), but not any coverage for your existing property. The main thing to consider when choosing a policy for a refurbishment project is that it will cover the existing structure as it is usually vacant during construction. The next thing to do is to make sure your fixtures, fittings and materials are covered by the new building insurance when your fixtures arrive on site.
It will cover you for as long as you want until the work is completed and the old house is ready to move in. New construction insurance covers many of the same things as traditional home insurance, such as theft, accidental damage, and fire coverage, but it also covers you during the construction phase. It also covers claims related to temporary workers or friends and family members who can help on site but have not covered their own temporary workers’ civil liability.
Does my builder’s policy not cover my house ?
If you have hired a general contractor or have subcontractors on site, everyone should have their own liability insurance, but new build insurance will be a fall-back in case it goes bankrupt or there are grey areas. In any case, the stand-alone insurance policy only covers the construction phase, so you will need to take out a standard policy after it is concluded. Self build insurance, on the other hand, will provide more personalized coverage and protect you from the risks associated with building your home.
Luckily, there is a growing number of home insurance providers offering custom home insurance and one of the options they can offer is self built home insurance for a property that is still under construction. People often assume that their standard home insurance will cover them during a renovation project, but this is often not the case. Yet every year many people build or renovate their homes without any kind of insurance, and this project costs tens or even hundreds of thousands of euros.
The cost of building your home can be in the tens or hundreds of thousands of euros, so it’s smart to protect your investment with the right insurance policy. Even if your insurance policy is technically sufficient, the whole business of do-it-yourself building is about getting what you want, being interested and involved in the process, and it is likely that at some point you will decide to purchase your own materials such as kitchen cabinets. , sanitary or even plumbing equipment.
If you choose to include property insurance, you should opt for a combined building and contents insurance policy, because insuring the building itself is likely to be your most important property insurance concern. is likely to represent the greatest financial burden if something goes wrong. The insurance required to cover existing buildings will be part of your existing building insurance or a separate new policy if you have just purchased a building for conversion, renovation or expansion.
You may also need contract works insurance for properties that are undergoing major renovations or expansions. Whether you are building your property or managing a major project, major renovation, modification or expansion, you need to consider what kind of insurance you need for the work you do.
At some point you will need to insure a plumber, electrician or builder. Backed by Irelands’ leading insurance broker, our self-build insurance products protect the property you live in from a wide range of risks. Self-build is sometimes referred to as new build insurance, and for new properties we offer all-risk insurance as part of our personalised insurance quotes. Self-built zones also offer developer insurance for small and medium-sized greenfield projects, and can handle larger projects upon recommendation.
Whether you are planning to build a new home or expand or renovate your current house, a self-build policy will provide you with the coverage you need before and during the construction process. Personal effects and furniture will not be covered by the construction policy, although when the home build policy is converted to a standard house policy after the completion of the project, coverage will be extended in the normal way.
Self-build insurance helps protect you and the home you are building during the construction phase, for properties built on vacant sites or homes that are about to be demolished and fully rebuilt. This is a special kind of home insurance – standard home insurance does not cover you. Site insurance, also known as contract work insurance, is similar to the insurance offered by building contractors called “contractor’s all risks insurance”.
Usually you will collect it during the exchange of contracts or just before starting work. We also recommend that you purchase site insurance coverage while your build is progressing as this is also important.
