We always provide a minimum of Property Owners Liability (POL) insurance. When you come off risk with the existing building insurer, the POL cover will also be cancelled. We will re-instate this cover. It will indemnify the property owner for injury/loss stemming from ownership of defective property/land and additionally and it will provide legal defence costs in the event that the property owner is named as a co-respondent in an action against the contractor.
Please note that this insurance will not cover a property owner for injury/loss stemming directly from the performance of contract works. It is only appropriate where there is a main contractor who is in full control of the site and fully responsible for the management of contractors and H&S on site.
Where a property owner does have a role in the ‘project management’ function (particularly where there is no main contractor in full control of the site), then wider Project Public Liability (PL) cover is required. This cover will indemnify a property owner for contract works related loss and injury. We see a fair few projects where renovators opt not to appoint a main contractor, but rather, manage a series of bona-fide sub-contractors. In these circumstances, whilst the contractors are likely to hold their own insurances, it is appropriate for the renovator to hold his/her own project PL cover. Apart from anything else, it may be the contractors themselves who are injured whilst performing activities directed by the renovator.
Project Employers Liability (EL) insurance will only be required where the renovator is directly employing labour-only sub-contractors, casual labour and/or volunteers.
Where Project PL or Project PL/EL is required, we will require additional information around project management experience and risk management on site. We will request this information once we have established the need for these heads of cover.
