Self-Build Insurance Ireland
Self-build projects come with unique risks that standard insurance won’t cover. Make sure you’re protected throughout your build.
While some people have the skills to do all the work on a self-build, this is rare for most. You can expect to have various tradespeople and even family members working on your building project over an extended period. Each of these will bring its own level of risk and possibility of liability, so it’s crucial to be prepared.
What Is Self-Build Insurance?
Another name for self-build Insurance in Ireland is Course of Construction Insurance. It means the same thing, but it is the industry standard reference for the insurance type.
A Course of Construction (self-build Insurance) policy covers new builds, renovations and major extensions. It’s designed to protect against accidents, fire and theft as well as protect the building site itself against vandalism and storm damage, among other things. It also generally comes with public and employers’ liability.
Every insurer offers different coverage levels and has different exclusions, so make sure you compare policies before choosing one.
When comparing self-build insurance policies, there are a number of factors to consider:
Essential coverage: You’ll need cover for property damage, public liability and employer’s liability.
Timing: Most policies last from a year to 18 months. While this may be longer than anticipated, work-related tasks such as snag lists can continue well after the planned completion date.
Common exclusions: Any damage caused to your building by tradespeople or contractors may not be covered. They should have their own insurance. Also, if major works to an extension cause a defect in the rest of the building, subsidence, for example, this will likely not be readily included.
Motivation: even if you’re building a single-room extension, your normal home insurance won’t be valid for the duration of the build. You must take out self-build insurance to make sure you are covered throughout.
Who Needs Building Under Construction Insurance?
In Ireland, the attraction of a self-build is strong. It reduces costs, lets you shape your property to your exact specifications, and gives you better control over project completion timing. But it doesn’t come without risk. You need to factor in how you will cover yourself in the event of an on-site accident or theft, and this is where self-build insurance comes into play.
What Does House Under Construction Insurance Cover?
A house under construction insurance policy is wide-ranging and designed to protect liability in the event of work-related incidents for tradespeople, injury or theft of possessions to visitors to your home and the risk of fire, theft, weather damage or accident during construction.
Depending on how you’ve set up your project, you could be held responsible if someone gets injured on site. Ensuring your building under construction insurance is in place is vital to protect you against injury to, or damage to or loss of, equipment and possessions owned by tradespeople while on site.
While your self-build or home extension is under construction, you are likely to have visitors on site (including family). Normally, your home insurance would cover any injury to or loss or theft of possessions of these guests. However, during a self-build, your normal home insurance is not valid, so you need to ensure you have builders’ public liability insurance in place.
In the event of an accident or injury to anyone on site, there is the likelihood of extensive legal expenses to resolve outcomes. It’s vital that you are covered for this as part of your policy. When comparing and researching competing offers, ensure a legal expenses cover is included.
Are You Legally Required To Have Self-Build Insurance?
It is not legally required, however many lenders, contractors and project managers do ask for proof of cover before work begins.The cost of insurance for home construction should be factored into your budget at the outset, as it could cost you a great deal more in the long run if you are not covered.
Undertaking a self-build is a precarious and potentially dangerous undertaking on many levels, so not preparing for injury to you, your family or tradespeople – or even your home – is not advised.
While tradespeople and contractors should have their own insurance in place, it’s common that they don’t. Make sure to ask all tradespeople to confirm that they have their own insurance before joining your project.
How Much Is Self-Build Insurance?
Budgeting for self-build insurance should allow for a guide price of €1,000 to €2,000 for the duration of the build. It is often calculated as a percentage of the total cost of the build, normally 0.5-1% of the total budget. This is a useful ready reckoner, but the cost of your build will be affected by many different factors.
Your premium will depend on the size and type of your build, plus the level of coverage you choose. Since you only need this insurance while you’re building, shopping around can save you from paying more than necessary.
Security is a big factor in controlling the cost of self-build insurance. Some questions to consider include:
- How open to the elements will your site be and for how long?
- Will workers be exposed to weather conditions or just the building itself?
- Is the site secured from the road?
- Can people walk in or easily gain access in other ways?
- Do you have security lighting, video cameras or alarms in place if no one is on site at night?
- Is equipment securely stored?
- Is off-street parking for tradespeople available?
Ensuring your site is optimised for the safety of contractors and tradespeople is vital. While they should have their own insurance in place, you also need to account for their safety.
- Are they required to work outdoors for long periods?
- Have safety evaluations or risk assessments been carried out on the site?
- What are the contingencies in the face of storms or bad weather?
- Is the equipment you are supplying up to date and well-maintained?
- Are electrical hazards provided for?
- Are you assured of their qualifications to undertake the work asked of them?
In Ireland, the typical limit of an employer’s liability is €13 million. This can be increased depending on the project type and the number of employees to be covered.
This typically ranges from €2.5 to €6.5 million and covers liability for injury to visitors to your site, including family members, as well as for the loss, damage, or theft of their possessions.
Naturally, the type of home being built is a big factor in the cost of self-build insurance. The bigger the home, the bigger the risk, so it’s vital that you share all your plans with your preferred insurance provider.
While you’re probably hoping to get the build completed as quickly as possible, experience shows that self-builds tend to overextend the time needed to complete works. A self-build insurance policy is generally planned to cover 12-18 months.
You can choose to extend the cover of your policy by including add-ons. These might include:
- Tools and equipment cover
- Personal accident cover
- Existing structure cover
- Site materials storage
Excess payments vary across providers, so it can be worth comparing the details of each. In general, you can expect to pay around €600 excess on a claim, but it differs depending on whether it is public, employer or damage excess.
Each of these claim types requires a different excess calculation. Employer liability tends to have a zero excess associated with it, while public and damage excess can differ.
Self-Build Insurance Providers in Ireland
There are a number of self-build insurance providers in Ireland due to the popularity of the project type. They include:
Availability and cover options vary, so it is advisable to compare terms, excess levels and liability limits before choosing a policy.
Self-Build Insurance FAQ
It is likely that your normal house insurance will be invalidated during the period of your self-build project, so it’s advisable that you check with your normal insurance company and discuss your options. Your policy provider will be able to quote for a self-build policy, which you can then compare against competitors in the market to ensure that you are adequately covered for the full range of risks that you and your workers may face during the self-build process.
In most cases, your home insurance is not valid during the period of a self-build. The process of building or renovating changes the risk attached to your home to one of a workplace, and so you should discuss your plans with your current home insurance provider.
If you are developing a green site, then you will need self-build insurance before you begin work. It’s important that you are insured before contractors, tradespeople, or any other visitors appear on the site. You also need to consider whether equipment is covered before work begins. If it arrives before the work and the insurance start date, it won’t be covered for theft or damage.
Tradespeople are expected to have their own insurance, but many don’t fulfil this requirement. It’s highly advised that you ask any contractors or tradespeople to confirm in writing that they have their own insurance before they start work on your site.
Yes, irrespective of whether you do most of the work or none of it, you should consider taking out self-build insurance. While it is not a legal requirement, the risk of a self-build is much higher than with a standard house insurance policy, and course-of-construction insurance is vital.
Yes. If a contractor or tradesperson says that they are qualified to undertake certain jobs on your self-build project, then you should get assurances that those qualifications are correct and sufficient for the task. If an unqualified electrician, for example, undertakes work on your build, then the insurance may be invalidated.
Yes, most insurers will require that you and all tradespeople working on site hold a Safe Pass certificate. This is a safety awareness training course for construction workers provided by the State training body SOLAS. It usually takes one day to complete and is valid for four years. After this time has elapsed, holders are expected to take a refresher course.
