Prepare For The Unexpected: Navigating The Complexities Of Insurance

Insurance policies usually contain exclusions for which the insured person isn't covered. Below are some possible exclusions that construction professionals should watch out for.

Damage Exclusions

Your construction insurance may have some exclusions regarding what kind of damage is covered or not covered by your policy. For example, one insurance company may exclude mould damage from your policy. Others may exclude pollution damage, such as damage resulting from the dust rising from the construction site. Read the policy document carefully so that you can decide whether the policy is still adequate, even if it has those damage exclusions.

Defense Costs Exclusions

Different insurers regard the legal costs arising from a claim differently. For example, one insurance company may have an exclusion that states that they will not be responsible for meeting any litigation costs related to a claim. Others may regard the legal costs as part of the sum that they will pay out once the dispute over the claim is settled. Some insurers may even state that you will be responsible for all legal costs, including the attorney fees for the legal team hired by the insurer during the litigation of a claim against you. Think carefully about these kinds of exclusions so that you can make proper arrangements for them in time. For example, you could purchase a policy rider to cover that exclusion if you consider it a serious risk to your construction company.

Claims Exclusions

You should read the construction insurance policy to identify what exclusions it has regarding when claims can be made. Some policies may only cover the risks that occur while that policy is in force. Other policies may be designed to cover any risks that arise regarding the construction project as long as the claim arises from a time when you had a valid policy. For example, the first type of policy cannot be of help in case a liability claim arises regarding work that you did when a previous insurer was providing coverage for the risk. The second type of policy would have covered such a risk since the claim arises from the time when the insurance policy was valid. Weigh these two kinds of policies and select what will suit you.

As such, what is excluded from a policy can at times be more important than what is covered. Study the policy documents carefully so that you decide what you should do about the exclusions rather than take the chance of an excluded risk occurring when you do not have coverage. To learn more, contact a company like Proinsure.