Versicherung für Bauunternehmen

Liability insurance for construction

Liability insurance for the construction industry: On a construction site, small errors can have major consequences for which you as contractor are liable. If third parties suffer losses due to your operation or your employees, your company together with its assets will be held liable. Zurich provides optimal protection against these kinds of unpredictable risks.

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Benefits of commercial liability insurance

New building or renovations – as a contractor on a construction site, you are subject to various liability risks such as inadequately protected buildings sites, flawed installation of roof tiles and faulty wiring.

  • Commercial liability insurance protects you from the financial consequences of justified claims.
  • Where claims are not justified, the benefits provide for defense as well as legal protection in criminal or administrative procedures.
  • Zurich Commercial Liability Insurance makes the insured risks calculable for you.

Benefits for Zurich customers

  • With the extensive basic insurance, your company gets comprehensive basic protection for the activities insured.
  • The selection of construction-specific supplementary insurance options enables us to put together a solution specific to your activity.
  • As one of the leading providers of liability insurance, we have a team of specialists such as construction experts, engineers and lawyers who are available to assist you in the event of a loss. 
  • For joint ventures and individual projects, you can take out a separate insurance policy.
  • If the sum insured has been exhausted, you benefit from the full sum insured in case of another loss within the same year.
  • Companies operating in various sectors can be easily insured in a single policy.
  • Start-ups get a 10% discount for the first three years of the insurance.

Scope of coverage

Scope of coverage of the basic insurance

Business premises risk: Risks relating to buildings, premises, plants or properties.
Example: Part of the ceiling comes loose at your construction firm and injures customers.

Operational risk: Risks brought about by day-to-day operations.
Example: While building work is underway, a wall collapses and injures someone.

Product risk: Risks arising from manufactured, processed or sold products.
Example: A water pipe you installed breaks and the leaking water causes considerable damage to the building.

Environmental risk: Risks to which the company is exposed as a result of an unexpected environmental incident.
Example: A neighboring plot of land is contaminated by leaking liquid.

Examples of the supplementary insurance options we offer

Dismantling and assembly expenses: A wooden floor you installed in a sauna was not treated for moisture protection and warps over time. The costs for dismantling and assembly are insured. 

Determination and remedy costs: As a water pipe you supplied is leaking in a building, the defective section has to be found using a pipe camera. The costs for the search with the camera are insured.

Financial losses due to incidents during construction: During construction work, an underground power cable belonging to an electricity plant is damaged, whereby businesses dependent on it suffer business interruptions and thus financial losses. These purely financial losses are insured. 

Extended loss to property in the custody of/worked upon by the insured: You are drilling into a wall and as you do so the sandstone crumbles around the drill hole. The crumbled sandstone is insured.

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Additional benefits of the basic insurance

Additional benefits of the basic insurance are for example:

  • Insurance coverage is also provided for cross liability claims between insured companies under the same third-party liability policy.
  • If a claim is at least CHF 1,000, Zurich will provide claims handling for insured events for you even within your deductible. This includes legal examination of claims for their accuracy and appropriateness.
  • Insurance coverage for activity as a general and main contractor as well as for joint ventures (without separate liability insurance and for contracts worth up to CHF 2,000,000)
  • Advance payment of expertise costs (50% of the effective costs up to a maximum of CHF 10,000)
  • Crane hook coverage (damage to loads)
  • Work contracts with licensed telecommunication companies (contractually transferred third party liability arising from activity on underground communication cables).
  • Financial losses resulting from damage to or destruction of work not yet delivered.
    Example: As a flooring installer, you damage the doors that the carpenter has installed but which have not yet been approved by the developer.
  • Damage to phases of construction already approved. 
    Example: You are constructing a conservatory and six months later you also install the blinds, but while you are doing so the conservatory you originally constructed is damaged.
  • SIA and FIDIC standards
 
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Frequently asked questions regarding liability insurance

Am I insured if I am involved in a joint venture?

Yes, provided that

  • the joint venture has not set up any separate liability insurance,
  • the total value of the joint venture’s contract does not exceed two million francs, and
  • the wages and turnover are reported for the joint venture.

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