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Project insurance for owner & contractor
On a construction project the employer/owner and the contractor both have an interest in the works — and the cleanest way to protect both is a single policy in their joint names, or one that dual-insures each party. It’s what JCT and NEC contracts are built around, and getting it right avoids the subrogation and dispute problems that catch owners out. Apex arranges joint-names and dual-insured project cover for developers, property owners and contractors.
Part of: Construction & contractor insurance at Apex
In short
One project policy covering both the owner/employer and the contractor for the contract works — joint names or dual insured, with waiver of subrogation, aligned to JCT and NEC insurance options.
Joint names means both parties — typically the employer/owner and the contractor — are named as insured on one contract works policy. Dual insured (or composite) cover insures each party separately under the same policy, with non-vitiation and a waiver of subrogation so that one party’s breach or error can’t void the other’s cover.
Why it matters: a co-insured insurer can’t turn round after a claim and pursue the other insured party, and both the owner’s asset and the contractor’s works are protected under one arrangement. Get the wording wrong and an owner can find themselves uninsured on a technicality.
Joint-names insurance is written into standard construction contracts. JCT sets it out as Option A (new works insured by the contractor), Option B (new works insured by the employer) and Option C (works to existing structures, including cover for the existing building), with NEC using equivalent provisions. We read the option in your contract and match the policy to it — see JCT insurance options A, B and C explained.
If you specify the insurance requirements in your clients’ contracts, joint-names and dual-insured cover is one of the most common things to get wrong — and one of the most useful to get right for a client. We work with architects, quantity surveyors and project managers to make sure what’s written into the contract can actually be placed, and we arrange the cover for the owner or contractor so your client is properly protected.
Point your client to us and we’ll handle the project cover; you stay focused on the build. It sits alongside your own professional indemnity, which protects your advice — a different job from insuring the works.
The contract and its insurance option (JCT or NEC), the contract value and period, whether the works are new-build or to an existing structure, the parties to be insured, and the site details. With those we can arrange joint-names or dual-insured cover for the project.
It depends on the contract wording. Joint names puts both parties on one policy; dual insured keeps each separately insured with cross-liability protection. We read the contract and match it.
Either, depending on the JCT option. We can place it for whichever party the contract makes responsible.
Under JCT Option C it can include the existing structure as well as the new works — important for refurbishment, fit-out and conversion projects.
It stops the insurer chasing a co-insured party after a claim — the whole point of insuring jointly. We make sure it’s in place.
Yes — a one-off project policy or a contractor’s annual cover; see single project contract works insurance.
Send us the contract and the insurance option and we’ll arrange joint-names or dual-insured cover. Architects and QSs — refer a client and we’ll take it from there. Or call 0117 325 0027.
Get a quote Call 0117 325 0027Apex Insurance Brokers Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered in England and Wales, company number 07014570. This page is general information, not advice on your individual circumstances, and it does not guarantee that cover will be available or on what terms.
