Builders Insurance for building firms
Builders insurance for firms running several sites at once, with directly employed staff, subcontract gangs, vans and a yard. Compare a contractor's package through brokers who place building risks every day.
- Public and employers' liability set to your contracts
- Contract works cover for jobs in progress
- Plant you own or hire in, plus tools and site huts
Reviewed October 2026 by the MyBusinessComparison.com editorial team
What is builders insurance?
Builders insurance is the set of covers a building contractor relies on, usually combining public liability, employers' liability and contract works on one policy. It responds to harm your work causes to others, injuries to your workforce, and loss of or harm to the building work and materials on site before handover.
For an established firm the package is normally extended to owned and hired-in plant, tools, site huts and the yard, with vans insured on a separate motor or fleet policy. Limits and sections are set around the contracts you sign, so the schedule should match what clients, main contractors and lenders actually ask for.
Insurers rate the policy on turnover, payroll and what you build: domestic extensions, commercial refurbishment and small new-build schemes are each priced differently, and some activities need declaring separately.
Builders insurance at a glance
- Suits
- General builders and building contractors with employees and several live jobs
- Core sections
- Public liability, employers' liability and contract works
- Compulsory part
- Employers' liability, covering direct staff and labour-only gangs
- Common add-ons
- Own and hired-in plant, tools, non-negligent liability, professional indemnity
- Priced on
- Turnover, wage roll, type of work, depth and height of work, claims
- Not included
- Vans and lorries, which go on a fleet or vehicle policy
What does builders insurance cover?
A building firm's policy is built from these sections. Your schedule shows the limit or sum insured for each, the excess, and any conditions on how the work is carried out.
Public liability
Accidents involving visitors, neighbours or the public, and harm to clients' and adjoining property. Many commercial clients ask for higher limits than a domestic builder would carry.
Read more about public liability insurance
Employers' liability
Claims from staff and labour-only subcontractors injured or made ill on site, such as falls from scaffold, manual handling injuries and dust-related disease.
Read more about employers' liability insurance
Contract works
The permanent and temporary works, and materials on site, against fire, flood, storm, theft and vandalism until the job is handed over.
Read more about contractors' all risks cover
Own plant
Mixers, dumpers, small excavators, access towers and site equipment you own, wherever it is working or stored.
Read more about plant and machinery insurance
Hired-in plant
Machines taken on hire, including the rental that keeps running until the hire company is compensated for a damaged or stolen item.
Tools and site huts
Hand and power tools, site cabins, welfare units and scaffolding owned by the firm. Tools left in vans overnight often carry conditions, so check them.
Yard and office
Buildings, contents and stored materials at your own premises, with cover for theft of stock held in the yard.
Read more about commercial combined policy
Non-negligent liability
Damage to neighbouring property from collapse, subsidence or vibration when nobody was negligent. Some building contracts require it in the client's name when work affects adjoining buildings.
Other covers building firms add
- Professional indemnity: for design and build work, or where your own staff produce drawings or specify materials
- Commercial legal expenses: adjudication, unpaid valuations and tribunal claims from staff
- Group personal accident: benefits for directors and site staff after an injury, whoever was at fault
- Commercial vehicle insurance: tippers, panel vans and crew cabs, with tools in vehicle cover where offered
Which building firms is builders insurance for?
Building contractors vary widely, and insurers ask exactly what you do. A builder's package is designed around firms like these.
Specialist trade? Groundworks, brickwork and plastering firms have their own pages. Browse the trades hub or see cover for larger construction companies.
- Extension and renovation builders: domestic extensions, loft conversions and structural alterations to occupied homes, where the existing structure needs careful thought
- Refurbishment contractors: strip-out and refit of offices, shops and pubs for commercial clients, often under a main contract with set insurance clauses
- Small housebuilders: a handful of new homes at a time, with contract works and site security that matter more than on alteration work, alongside developer cover where you own the land
- Design and build contractors: taking on the design as well as the build, which brings in professional indemnity
- Maintenance and repair builders: reactive and planned work for housing providers and landlords, often with frameworks that set the liability limit
- Heritage and restoration builders: work on older and listed buildings, where heat work, lime and stone and the value of the existing fabric all need declaring
- Builders with their own trades: firms employing their own bricklayers, plasterers and joiners rather than subcontracting
- Builders who run groundworks: firms digging their own foundations and drainage, which needs the cover described on our groundwork contractors page
How much does builders insurance cost?
Building firms are not priced from a rate card. The premium follows what you build, who for, and how much of it is your own labour. Underwriters concentrate on six things.
Type of work
New build, extensions, refurbishment and maintenance carry different rates. Demolition, underpinning, roofing and work on occupied buildings each need declaring.
Declared figures
Your estimated turnover sets the public liability rate and your payroll sets employers' liability. Both are normally adjusted once the year closes and the true figures are known.
Subcontractor spend
Labour-only gangs count towards employers' liability. Bona fide subcontractors who hold their own cover are rated differently, so the split matters.
Contract values
Contract works is priced on the largest single contract and the annual value of work, so a big one-off job can change the premium.
Height, depth and heat
Many policies set limits on working height, excavation depth and the use of heat. Work beyond them is either excluded or rated separately.
Claims and site control
Insurers look at past claims, scaffold and fall prevention, site security and how materials are stored overnight.
Gaps in a typical builders insurance policy
Most of these gaps can be closed if the work is declared before it starts.
- Redoing your own faulty workmanship or replacing defective materials, even when the damage they lead to is covered
- Damage to the existing structure being altered, unless the policy is extended or the contract places that risk elsewhere
- Work above the height or below the depth limit on your schedule
- Injury caused by bona fide subcontractors who do not hold their own public liability cover
- Asbestos, unless disturbed accidentally and the policy has a limited extension for it
- Design errors and specification advice, which need professional indemnity insurance
- Vans and tippers on the public road, which belong on motor fleet cover
- Structural defects in new homes found after completion, which fall to a new home warranty rather than a liability policy
Builders package or a full contractors' all risks policy?
As building firms grow, many move from a trade package to a contractor's policy with a full contractors' all risks section. This is how they usually differ.
| Feature | Builders package | Contractors' all risks policy |
|---|---|---|
| Typical buyer | Builders on domestic and smaller commercial jobs | Firms taking on larger or multi-phase contracts |
| Contract works limit | Set limit per contract, often modest | Matched to contract values, with annual turnover cover |
| Existing structures | Often excluded or limited | Can be added where the contract requires it |
| Plant and huts | Sometimes bundled with low limits | Owned and hired-in plant with separate limits |
| Underwriting | Short proposal and set terms | Full underwriting, often with contract reviews |
How to compare builders insurance
Brokers place building risks faster when they have these details at the start.
Describe your work mix
Split turnover between new build, extensions, refurbishment and maintenance, and list anything unusual such as heat work or underpinning.
Separate your labour
Give the wage roll for direct staff, the spend on labour-only gangs and the spend on bona fide subcontractors.
List contract values
Note the largest contract in the coming year, the annual value of work and any contracts requiring set insurance clauses.
Value plant, tools and huts
List what you own, what you hire in and the replacement value of each, plus anything stored at the yard.
Check the contract terms
Read the insurance clauses in your main contracts and ask the broker to confirm the policy meets them before you sign.
Quotes for building firms
Share your sites, turnover and type of work, so a broker who handles building firms can line up quotes.
Compare quotesBuilders insurance FAQs
How much does builders insurance cost?
Turnover, payroll, the type of work, contract values and your claims record set the premium. A firm doing loft conversions in occupied homes is rated differently from one building new houses on a cleared site. A broker can show which sections are driving your premium and where limits could be matched to your contracts.
Do building firms have to hold employers' liability insurance?
Yes, if you employ staff. Employers' liability is compulsory for nearly every business with staff, and insurers normally treat labour-only subcontractors as employees too, so they need to be included in your declared wage roll.
What public liability limit does a builder need?
It depends on the client. Domestic work is often covered at a lower limit, while commercial clients, housing providers and main contractors frequently ask for higher limits. Check the insurance clause in each contract before you price the job.
Does builders insurance cover damage to the house I am extending?
Not always. Many policies exclude or limit damage to the existing structure being worked on, and some contracts make the homeowner insure it instead. Ask the broker how your policy treats existing structures and what the contract says.
What is contract works cover?
Contract works covers the building work itself and the materials on site against damage or theft until handover. If a storm brings down a newly built wall or a fire destroys a half-built extension, it pays to rebuild, subject to the policy limit.
Are my subcontractors covered by my policy?
Labour-only subcontractors are usually covered under your employers' liability. Bona fide subcontractors who supply their own labour and materials are expected to carry their own public liability, and many policies require you to check it before they start.
Does builders insurance cover hired-in plant?
Only if you add a hired-in plant section. Under the usual hire conditions the hirer carries the cost of damage, theft and lost hire, so a missing excavator can cost far more than its value without this cover.
Do I need non-negligent liability cover?
Usually only when a contract asks for it, which is most common when work is close to or supports neighbouring buildings. It covers damage such as subsidence or collapse when nobody was negligent, is normally arranged in the client's name, and is a question for the broker before you sign.
How do I get a builders insurance quote?
Request one from this page and a broker who places building risks takes it from there. It speeds things up to have your turnover split by type of work, wage roll, subcontractor spend, largest contract, plant list and claims record to hand.
Ready to compare builders insurance?
Liability, contract works and plant for your building firm, placed by people who read building contracts for a living.