While you are actually constructing your house, you will probably need insurance in order to protect yourself and to meet the requirements of your mortgage lender. In particular, you are looking for insurance to protect yourself against the following claims:

• Contractor and third party claims
  To protect yourself against claims for injury or death of people working on your site or any other third party.
• Employer’s liability insurance
  To protect yourself against any claims in your role as a building employer.
• Site and Materials
  To protect yourself against loss, theft or damage of building materials and your partially completed house.
• Equipment
  To protect yourself against loss, theft or damage to equipment on site.

Your precise insurance requirements will depend on the level of your involvement in the project. For example, if the whole build is being undertaken by a single builder, it is unlikely that you will need to insure yourself as an employer. If however, you are managing the entire build and directly employing individual contractors it is likely you are acting as an employer. As every situation is different, it is essential you carefully specify your requirements to your insurer/broker.

Most self-builders take out an ‘All Risks’ policy with a specialist broker. There are a handful of specialist self-build insurance providers and you will find their details here.