Builder's Risk Insurance for Contractors & Developers
Protect your construction project from the ground up. Builder's risk insurance covers the building under construction, materials, and supplies against fire, theft, weather damage, and more.
Quote Builder's Risk
What Builder's Risk Insurance Covers
Builder's risk (also called course of construction insurance) is project-specific coverage that protects the financial investment in a construction project.
Building Structure
Covers the building under construction itself — framing, roofing, walls, and permanent fixtures — against covered perils like fire, windstorm, and vandalism.
Materials & Supplies
Protects building materials and supplies stored on-site, in transit, or at a temporary storage location away from the job site.
Fire & Lightning
One of the most common causes of construction loss — fire damage to a partially completed structure can be catastrophic without this coverage.
Theft & Vandalism
Construction sites are frequent targets for theft of materials and equipment. Builder's risk covers losses from theft and malicious damage.
Wind & Hail
Severe weather can destroy a partially built structure. Wind and hail coverage ensures a storm does not put your project permanently behind.
Soft Costs
Extended coverage options include soft costs like architect fees, permit re-application costs, and additional financing costs caused by a covered loss delay.
Who Needs Builder's Risk Insurance?
Builder's risk insurance is essential for any new construction project or major renovation. A half-built structure is extremely vulnerable — it has no functioning fire suppression systems, no weatherproofing, and is typically unsecured. The cost to demolish and rebuild after a major loss on a project without builder's risk can be financially devastating.
Construction lenders (banks and hard money lenders) almost universally require builder's risk insurance as a condition of the construction loan. If you are financing a project, you will need to provide evidence of builder's risk coverage before funds are disbursed.
Builder's Risk Is Typically Needed For:
- New residential construction (custom homes, tract homes)
- Commercial ground-up construction
- Multi-family residential (apartments, condos)
- Major renovations and additions
- Commercial tenant improvements (TI)
- Residential flip and rehab projects
- Mixed-use development projects
How Builder's Risk Coverage Is Structured
Builder's risk policies are written on a project-specific basis for a defined term (often 3, 6, or 12 months) based on the expected construction timeline. The policy limit is set at the completed value of the project — not the current value of work in place.
Coverage is typically written on an "open perils" or "all-risk" basis, meaning all causes of loss are covered unless specifically excluded. Common exclusions include flood, earthquake, mechanical breakdown, and employee theft. Many of these exclusions can be addressed with endorsements or separate policies.
Altamira can help you obtain builder's risk insurance for residential and commercial projects of all sizes. We work with carriers that specialize in construction insurance and can provide competitive pricing on both individual project policies and blanket builder's risk programs for developers with multiple active projects.
Builder's Risk Insurance — FAQs
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