Mike_scotland Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 What is everyone's thoughts or experiences with site insurance? We have recently bought land and are in middle of design stage still... I'm just wondering do we need site insurance to start before we dig/start work or have any Materials/tools on site or? It's just a bit of a field and enclosed by fencing etc so bone can unexpectedly walk into it. Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeSharp01 Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 You need 3rd party cover as anything happens on your land you coukd liable. There are products for pre build but once you start it would not be sensible to proceed without insurance. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Many here report that their site insurance renewals increase at a punitive rate that reflects a captive market rather than true insurance risk. I think it makes sense to delay the date an expensive site insurance policy starts and when you are ready then buy a lengthy policy that covers the whole duration of your build. I recall that other forum members have insured their idle green field plot with cheaper general land owner insurance. In my case I found that Protek's self builder renewal quote was a little cheaper than the first policy, maybe there was some undisclosed no claims bonus applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_scotland Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 That is what I'm asking really... you think it's best getting 3rd party insurance ? We could be a year away from building....I have no idea the cost of site insurance just for a plot eith nothing actually happening (building work etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Mike_scotland said: That is what I'm asking really... you think it's best getting 3rd party insurance ? We could be a year away from building....I have no idea the cost of site insurance just for a plot eith nothing actually happening (building work etc). For a year of zero build activity then self builder site insurance, costing typically £400 to £600, would be throwing money away. Self builder insurance can include personal tools, plant hire theft, onsite storage, static carvans, worker & public liability, personal accident plus of course the big one = property rebuild cost including taking away the remnants of your part built fire gutted home. From an insurer's point of view a green field with 3rd party liability cover is a small fraction the risk. Edited January 25, 2020 by epsilonGreedy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_scotland Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 26 minutes ago, epsilonGreedy said: For a year of zero build activity then self builder site insurance, costing typically £400 to £600, would be throwing money away. Self builder insurance can include personal tools, plant hire theft, onsite storage, static carvans, worker & public liability, personal accident plus of course the big one = property rebuild cost including taking away the remnants of your part built fire gutted home. From an insurer's point of view a green field with 3rd party liability cover is a small fraction the risk. What do you suggest? It is a field with no construction going to take place for atmeast 20 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Field insurance is about £100 a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_scotland Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 7 minutes ago, PeterW said: Field insurance is about £100 a year. Did you have to get it? What was the company you went with if you did? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epsilonGreedy Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 5 minutes ago, Mike_scotland said: Did you have to get it? What was the company you went with if you did? Try a horse & pony or farming online forum if you do not get a response here. I recall previous references to land owners insurance on this forum but not a specific named insurer. A quick Google search for "land owners 3rd party liability insurance" produces many links to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 There is no legal requirement to buy third party insurance but these days if someone out walking their dog trips over a blade of grass they seem to feel they are entitled to claim a bundle off the rich land owner even if they were trespassing at the time. In my case we had a public footpath across our plot that was walked reasonably frequently in summer. If a tree fell on someone it could have bankrupt us so we felt insurance was worth getting. Incidentally I've just switched house insurance to the AA. Saved a bundle and got better cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_scotland Posted January 25, 2020 Author Share Posted January 25, 2020 Hi Temp, Did you have just a plot? If so who did you get insurance with? That is what I'm thinking it's all cattle fenced off orcas is a field I just own an acre of it with pp.but I'm worried some Cinderella falls and crys about it. If your found to be trespassing shouldn't have any worries but that's not the world we live in unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 Try the NFU or search Field Insurance - as long as it’s still a field and you don’t start any work then it’s fine. £75 - 100 now versus £10k because some snowflake trips on a muddy field is peace of mind ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 10 minutes ago, Mike_scotland said: If your found to be trespassing shouldn't have any worries but that's not the world we live in unfortunately. it makes no odds - you can break into someone’s house and if you injure yourself due to some reason you can claim .... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewpot Posted January 25, 2020 Share Posted January 25, 2020 4 hours ago, Mike_scotland said: Hi Temp, Did you have just a plot? If so who did you get insurance with? That is what I'm thinking it's all cattle fenced off orcas is a field I just own an acre of it with pp.but I'm worried some Cinderella falls and crys about it. If your found to be trespassing shouldn't have any worries but that's not the world we live in unfortunately. As you are in Scotland, you will be familiar that there is a general right to roam - traspassing doesn't come in to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, Mike_scotland said: Hi Temp, Did you have just a plot? If so who did you get insurance with? That is what I'm thinking it's all cattle fenced off orcas is a field I just own an acre of it with pp.but I'm worried some Cinderella falls and crys about it. If your found to be trespassing shouldn't have any worries but that's not the world we live in unfortunately. It was a field between a Church and 16C Cottage. Already had PP but we needed more than a year to get it changed. I'm afraid its 12 years ago. As I recall the company we got Site Insurance from was able to delay the start date of the "site" part and give us just the public liability part. Sorry I can't find details of the company in my files. Edited January 26, 2020 by Temp 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roundtuit Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 We got a 'Property Owners Policy' on our plot (about 3/4 of an acre) for a year or two before we started building, mainly as we had a lot of trees to clear in and around the plot, and many of them were not in the best shape. The policy was from Versatile Insurance, and from memory was about £140 for £2 million public liability/property owners liability insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postasb Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 A few pointers for consideration : - Are you using an Architect / Builder or managing Sub Contractors, different approach to the Insurance Cover requirement? Ground Works usually involve expensive Plant equipment on site, possibly being left overnight or will driver / operator of JCB to take his Plant off site at end of day, if Demolition works on Site think of damage to tyres on site, broken glass, injuries etc. N.B I put a lot of effort into removing glass etc. from derelict structure before bringing it down and then a lot of time removing wood + nails etc. from ground (who wants a nail in sole of foot)...a lot easier if I had a metal detector then. Precautions (and Cost) that older property may have asbestos. Understand your H &S responsibilities (Site Owner) and could be liable e.g a child goes onto Site and gets injured before you start work, site security because of local theft in area etc. (you may live on Site but what happens when you go to Builders Merchants / Shopping etc), secure container / lockup for smaller items (generators etc), read the small print of the various Site Insurance Policies because you also need to state what Plant Cover you require.....look up the cost of Plant! Premium goes up substantially depending on Cover value. Key point is that Plant Hire Supplier often needs to know you have Site Insurance for their equipment. If going to demolish structures suggest it is mentioned in Planning Application / Permission as helps with VAT Refund Claim for the works activity. Plan for Site Insurance Premium might need to be funded for possible 2 years but 2nd Year much reduced Cost if no longer needing Cover for Plant Hire, if living in property might get this Cover via 'House Insurance'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_scotland Posted January 26, 2020 Author Share Posted January 26, 2020 2 hours ago, Postasb said: A few pointers for consideration : - Are you using an Architect / Builder or managing Sub Contractors, different approach to the Insurance Cover requirement? Ground Works usually involve expensive Plant equipment on site, possibly being left overnight or will driver / operator of JCB to take his Plant off site at end of day, if Demolition works on Site think of damage to tyres on site, broken glass, injuries etc. N.B I put a lot of effort into removing glass etc. from derelict structure before bringing it down and then a lot of time removing wood + nails etc. from ground (who wants a nail in sole of foot)...a lot easier if I had a metal detector then. Precautions (and Cost) that older property may have asbestos. Understand your H &S responsibilities (Site Owner) and could be liable e.g a child goes onto Site and gets injured before you start work, site security because of local theft in area etc. (you may live on Site but what happens when you go to Builders Merchants / Shopping etc), secure container / lockup for smaller items (generators etc), read the small print of the various Site Insurance Policies because you also need to state what Plant Cover you require.....look up the cost of Plant! Premium goes up substantially depending on Cover value. Key point is that Plant Hire Supplier often needs to know you have Site Insurance for their equipment. If going to demolish structures suggest it is mentioned in Planning Application / Permission as helps with VAT Refund Claim for the works activity. Plan for Site Insurance Premium might need to be funded for possible 2 years but 2nd Year much reduced Cost if no longer needing Cover for Plant Hire, if living in property might get this Cover via 'House Insurance'. Hi, Thanks for the Information, Currently it is a field on outskirts of dundee, scotland. There are a few houses next, I will 100% get insurance when building is ongoing but I was just wondering what peoples thoughts,experiences where with getting 3rd party before the build is even started. I think we will look at getting 3rd party cover for the next 12 months on monday anyway then look at full insurance promptly after. We are using an architect to design then going to manage self contractors yourself once pp and bw is through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postasb Posted January 26, 2020 Share Posted January 26, 2020 (edited) When you take out the Land Owner Insurance ask about any options for 'short term upgrade' to cover for any unforseen work needed e.g the Architect may need 'trial pit(s)' dug by JCB to ascertain ground conditions for the Foundation Design...no 'trial pit' is one way to pour money away into unnecessary foundation design costs BUT also allows for correct foundation design. Bad ground is an expensive, unforseen cost to put right and could kill the Project. If you saw the field in Summer and bought it on that basis ask yourself how does it perform in Winter rainfall conditions, wear wellingtons and at least walk the field this Winter, check for Winter Springs / not part of historical river flood plain. Ask the neighbours etc. My Site's Trial pits info of heavy clay soil + grey clay + flint boulders had significant cost implications for Foundation design and dealing with roof / surface run off / drainage / soak away calculations. To help buffer water run off from large roof area I piped it to large, underground, reinforced concrete water storage tanks which overflow into a 'wildlife' pond. This seasonable Pond was also created to deal with regular winter flooding of the access track from a higher adjacent field (now piped to pond), overflow pipework from buffer pond went to drainage ditch. All this work was part of Planning Application / Permission detail. Edited January 26, 2020 by Postasb Clarification 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike_scotland Posted February 26, 2020 Author Share Posted February 26, 2020 All sorted, £140 for the 12 months, covers the field basically encase any idiot trips and falls over grass haha, thanks again to all for assistance. Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottishjohn Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 looking at insurance for my estate and cover for plant on site --any reccomendations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NWGEAR Posted March 10, 2020 Share Posted March 10, 2020 I went ahead with £450 protek since my site has an existing building and have ongoing plant hire liability plus storage/caravan coverage. I'd say the risk is near-zero apart from storm damage but the main benefit is a better night's sleep. A simple theft of hired plant would kill the project. Protek was best of two quotes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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