Builders Risk Insurance for Contractors
Course-of-construction coverage that protects a project — structure and materials — against fire, wind, theft, and vandalism until the job is finished and handed over.
A project under construction is uniquely vulnerable. The structure isn't finished, materials are stacked on site, and there's no occupant keeping watch — yet the value at risk grows every day the work progresses. Builders risk insurance (also called course-of-construction coverage) protects that work-in-progress against fire, wind, theft, vandalism, and other covered perils until the project is complete.
Builders risk is project-based by nature, written for the duration of the job and tied to its value, and it's frequently required by owners and lenders before construction begins. Buy Contractor Insurance arranges builders risk for new construction and renovation projects so the building, the materials, and often the soft costs are protected from groundbreaking to handover.
Who Buys It and Why It's Required
Builders risk is often a contract or lender requirement, and for good reason: a fire or major storm mid-project can destroy hundreds of thousands of dollars of work and materials that nothing else covers. Depending on the contract, the general contractor or the project owner may be responsible for placing it, and the policy typically names the parties with a financial interest — owner, GC, and lender — as insureds.
The key point is that a standard property policy doesn't cover a building that isn't finished, and general liability doesn't cover damage to the project itself. Builders risk fills that specific window — from the moment ground is broken until the structure is complete and occupied — and it's precisely the window when a catastrophic loss would be most devastating.
Structuring It for Your Project
Every project is different, and builders risk is written to match. The policy limit reflects the completed value of the project, the term matches the construction schedule, and coverage can be extended to materials in transit and in off-site storage, plus optional soft costs like financing interest and permits that a covered delay would add.
We help structure the coverage to the specific job — new build or renovation, its value, its timeline, and the parties who need to be named — and coordinate it with the contractor's ongoing general liability and other coverages. The result is a project that's protected as a whole, with the right parties covered and no gap between the course-of-construction policy and the contractor's standing program.
Who Needs This Coverage
- General contractors and owners on new construction projects
- Contractors on major renovation and remodel projects
- Projects where a lender or owner requires course-of-construction coverage
- Anyone with significant materials and work value exposed on an active site
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