When planning your upcoming home renovation or new build project, there are so many decisions to make and plans to put in place that it would be easy for one of the most important aspects to be overlooked: INSURANCE. As boring as the subject may be to some, having the right insurance coverage in place will ensure you can sleep well, with peace of mind throughout the duration of your project.
We’ll try to simplify things to make the different types of insurance policies a bit more clear.
WHAT YOUR CONTRACTOR PROVIDES
As your contractor, we provide two main types of protection/coverage. The first one, and the big one, is our “Commercial General Liability” Insurance. This is a policy that any licenced and reputable contractor will have. It covers the contractors liability arising from completing your project. It protects the contractor from many things including injury, mishaps, etc.
Additionally, your contractor will also provide “Worksafe BC” coverage. Worksafe BC covers the safety of all construction related workers on site, both contractor and subtrades, and is legally required.
So, with the jobsite AND workers covered, you’re totally protected, right? Sorry, not quite.
WHAT YOU, THE HOMEOWNER, PROVIDE
You, as the homeowner, still have liabilities arising from your project. You’ll need to ensure you have 2 types of coverage to protect yourselves and your home during your project. The first is Homeowner Insurance. If you own a home, you almost definitely have this in place already. It covers mainly your liability, the existing structure (any area that’s not new or being renovated), etc. So with this in place, you MUST be fully covered, right?
Almost there, but not quite there yet.
The VAST majority of standard home insurance policies do not cover the renovation/build project itself, and a contractors Commercial Liability Coverage only covers the contractors risk. This gap needs to be covered to give you complete protection from risks arising from your renovation or build. To cover this, you’ll need a Course of Construction insurance policy. This policy is a property insurance policy for the specific risks of building and renovating. For example, if in the middle of a renovation, your home is vandalized one night, materials stolen, and completed work ruined, this Course of Construction insurance policy provides the coverage to rectify this. This is one example of many of a need for a “construction specific property insurance” policy to protect you.
So, in summary, there are 4 “layers” to provide protection when renovating or building a home. The Contractor is responsible to provide a Commercial General Liability policy as well as Worksafe BC coverage. You, as the homeowner, should have a valid Home Insurance policy, as well as a Course of Construction policy.
As you move towards figuring out the details of your upcoming project, remember to ensure your contactor has Commercial and Workers Coverage, and ensure you speak with your insurance provider about your upcoming project, provide them the dates, details and scope of work, and ensure you’re properly insured. With this taken care of ahead of time, you will have one less thing to think about during your project!
Here at Kenorah, we will guide you through the entire renovating process, from the first steps of the design journey to the little (but very important details) like ensuring you have proper insurance process during the construction phase, resulting in an enjoyable construction project with peace of mind through the process!
