Guide
Where self build cover most commonly leaves a gap
Updated
Most self build insurance disputes are not about whether a policy existed. They are about whether it reached the thing that went wrong. These are the gaps that recur, and each is closed by a question asked before inception rather than after.
Unfixed materials and hired plant
Materials not yet built into the structure and plant hired in for a fortnight are the two categories most often sub-limited or excluded, and between them they represent a large share of what is actually stolen from building sites.
Ask for both explicitly and in writing. A works policy that covers the permanent works beautifully and caps unfixed materials at a low figure is a policy shaped for a different project.
The liability limit, not the liability cover
Almost everyone buys public liability. Rather fewer check the limit against the realistic worst case, which on a constrained site is damage to an adjoining property rather than injury to a passer-by.
Where you are building in a terrace, next to a neighbour's wall, or anywhere a party wall is involved, the plausible loss is the cost of somebody else's building. Size the limit against that, and ask whether it applies per claim or in aggregate across the policy period.
Who is insured, and for what
A contractor's own public liability covers the contractor's liability. It does not cover yours as the person who commissioned the works, and it may not extend to the permanent works at all.
Collect certificates from every contractor, check the expiry dates against your programme, and do not assume that somebody else's cover removes your need for your own.
The shutdown period
Sites go quiet: a Christmas break, a funding delay, waiting on a specialist trade. Policies frequently carry conditions about works left unattended for extended periods, and a claim during a stoppage is where those conditions get read carefully.
If the project is going to pause, tell the insurer before it does. It is a five minute call that converts a potential coverage argument into a noted circumstance.