Contract Works Insurance
Cover for your build, from site prep through to handover.
Call Us: 1300 900 207
START YOUR CONTRACT WORKS QUOTE
Complete the form to request a QUOTE. Call us at 1300 900 207 for an immediate response.
Please note we are unable to assist with singe project owner-builder cover
Cover For The Build, Not Just The Business
Contract works insurance, also known as construction all risk insurance, covers construction work from site preparation through to handover. It responds to damage to the works themselves, fire, storm, theft or vandalism, and to liability if someone is injured or property is damaged because of the job site.
It’s commonly written into contracts as a condition of starting work. Even where it isn’t specified, it’s one of the most practical protections a builder or contractor can have on site.
What Does Contract Works Insurance Cover?
- Material Damage: Covers the works in progress, building materials, stock, and temporary structures like scaffolding and site sheds against fire, storm, flood, theft or vandalism.
- Public Liability: Covers injury or property damage to a third party arising from the job site.
This is the standard, core cover. Tools and equipment, existing structures, and debris removal are typically arranged as optional extensions rather than automatic inclusions, covered in full below.
Who Needs Contract Works Insurance?
- Licensed builders managing complete builds
- Owner-builders taking charge of their own projects
- Subcontractors working under contract
- Developers coordinating multiple sites
- Civil contractors working on excavation, drainage or earthworks
- Display home builders
5 Star Google Reviews
We are proud to provide trusted business insurance solutions, backed by 5-star Google reviews. Experience peace of mind with coverage tailored to your needs and exceptional customer service you can rely on.
One-Off Project Cover Or Annual Turnover Cover
A single project policy covers you from the moment you start on site until that one job is complete, suited to a one-off build or renovation. An annual turnover policy covers everything you work on across a 12-month period, premiums based on expected turnover rather than a per-project quote, better suited to builders and contractors running multiple jobs at once.
Defects Aren't Covered, But The Damage They Cause Can Be
The cost of fixing your own faulty workmanship, design, or materials generally isn’t covered, that’s treated as a rectification cost, not an insured loss. But damage that faulty work causes to something else, a leaking shower that damages the ceiling and subfloor below it, can be covered, since that’s resultant damage from the defect, not the defect itself. Knowing this distinction matters more at claim time than it does when you’re arranging the policy.
Your Subcontractors Aren't Automatically Covered
A principal contractor’s policy doesn’t necessarily extend to every subcontractor on site. Some contracts require subcontractors to carry their own contract works or public liability cover and name the head contractor as an interested party, rather than relying on the head contractor’s policy alone. Worth confirming who’s actually covered before work starts, not after an incident.
Financiers And Lenders Often Need To Be Named
If a project is bank-funded, the lender providing finance may require the works to stay insured until completion, and may need to be named on the policy as an interested party. This is a common contractual requirement on larger or financed builds, worth checking early rather than as a late addition before settlement.
Your Trusted Business Insurance Partners, Wherever You Are
For immediate response please give us a call.
Our team continues to work remotely but you are welcome to arrange an appointment with one of our consultants.
Find The Right Cover
Complete the form to request a QUOTE. Call us at 1300 900 207 for an immediate response.
Optional Extensions Worth Considering
Delay in Start-Up
Covers loss of income or additional costs if an insured event delays the start or completion of a project, relevant where a client, lender, or downstream contract depends on the project finishing on time.
Defects Liability Period
Keeps your standard cover active during the maintenance period after handover, when you’re contractually required to fix any defects that surface. It responds to damage from an insured event during that window, not the cost of fixing the defect itself.
Tools and Equipment
Adds protection for mobile plant, tools and machinery used across sites, useful where this isn’t already covered under a separate mobile plant policy.
Existing Structures
Covers a standing building during renovation or extension work, essential wherever you’re altering something that already exists rather than building on a clear site.
Removal of Debris
Covers the cost of clearing damaged materials and debris after an insured event, a cost that’s separate from, and additional to, the rebuild itself.
Escalation
Covers the increased cost of materials or labour if a delay pushes a project’s completion into a period where prices have risen, protecting the sum insured from falling short due to timing alone.
Testing and Commissioning
Covers accidental electrical or mechanical breakdown to plant forming part of the works while it’s being tested or commissioned, before it’s formally handed over, a distinct risk period most base cover doesn’t automatically extend to.
Advance Loss of Profit
Relevant for principals and developers rather than the builder itself, covering the loss of anticipated rental income or profit if an insured event delays a project past the date it should have started earning, separate from the contractor’s own delay-related costs under Delay in Start-Up.
Goods in Transit
Covers materials and equipment while they’re being transported to or from the site, or held in off-site storage, separate from cover for material already on-site.
Professional Indemnity
Relevant for builders providing design input or advisory services, separate from the physical construction work itself, since a design error is a different kind of claim to physical damage.
Professional Fees
Covers the cost of engineers, architects or consultants needed to assess and manage rectification work after an insured event.
What's Not Covered By Contract Works Insurance?
- Faulty Workmanship or Design: The cost of rectifying your own faulty work, though resultant damage it causes elsewhere can still be covered.
- General Wear and Tear: Gradual deterioration rather than sudden, accidental damage.
- War or Terrorism: Standard exclusions across virtually all policy types, contract works included.
- Indirect Losses: Penalty fees, liquidated damages, or loss of expected profit generally sit outside the policy.
It’s solid, practical cover for the stuff you can’t always control.
Get in Touch
Simply fill in the form below and we’ll be in touch shortly, or feel free to call and tell us about your specific requirements.
-
Suite 10B, Level 10, 2 Corporate Court, Bundall QLD 4217
-
PO Box 7005, Mount Crosby QLD 4306
Our team continues to work remotely but you are welcome to arrange an appointment with one of our consultants.
Please complete the form to submit an enquiry.
