Project-Specific Liability
Project-specific general liability and excess dedicate limits to one site, so claims from a contractor's other work cannot erode the aggregate protecting this project. Owners and lenders often ask for it on larger jobs, and GCs use it when a contract requires per-project limits or a long completed operations term. The questions it answers: who is the named insured, how is the project defined, how do subcontractor forms and exclusions interact with it and how long does completed operations coverage run.
Builders Risk
Builders risk is property insurance on the work in progress: the structure, materials on site and often materials in transit or in off-site storage. The construction contract decides whether the owner or the GC buys it, and lenders usually want to be named on it. The main decisions are the insured values, whether soft costs and delay are included, how existing structures and renovations are handled and how the form treats testing, commissioning and partial occupancy.
OCIP and CCIP Wrap-Ups
A wrap-up puts one liability program, and sometimes workers' compensation, over everyone enrolled on a site. In an owner-controlled program (OCIP) the developer sponsors it; in a contractor-controlled program (CCIP) the GC does. Wraps can simplify risk transfer and dedicate limits, but they bring administration: enrollment, excluded parties, audits and a completed operations term that has to be tracked after turnover. Project size and the sponsor's appetite for that administration usually decide whether one fits.
Construction Surety Bonds (Not Insurance)
Bid, performance, payment, subdivision improvement and maintenance bonds are surety, not insurance. A bond is a surety's promise to the obligee, usually the owner or a public agency, that the principal will perform or pay; if the surety pays a claim, the principal and its indemnitors owe it back. Public owners often require bonds by statute, private owners and lenders by contract and cities as security for subdivision improvements. Sureties underwrite the contractor's or developer's financial statements, work in progress and track record.
Contractors Pollution Liability
Contractors pollution liability answers a gap that many general liability forms leave through their pollution exclusions. It matters most for grading, underground utilities, directional drilling, demolition and any site with fill, fuel or soil of uncertain history. It can be written on a contractor's annual program or for a single project, and the decision usually turns on the site's history, the scope of work and who the owner or lender expects to be protected.
How to Choose: Buyer, Contract and Phase
Three questions narrow the list. Who are you on this project: the developer or owner, the general contractor or a civil and infrastructure contractor? What do the construction contract, the lender's exhibit and any public agency require? And what phase is the project in, from land acquisition through site work, vertical construction, turnover and completed operations? A developer usually controls builders risk and a possible OCIP and posts improvement bonds; a GC carries liability and performance and payment bonds; a civil contractor often adds pollution coverage.
Most projects use several of these tools together, and the gaps sit where one ends and another begins. Bring the contract exhibits and the schedule to a project review, and the right combination usually becomes clear from the documents themselves.
Questions Buyers Ask
Which coverage do I need first on a new project?
It depends on your role and the phase. A developer buying land often starts with environmental diligence and owner's liability, then lines up builders risk and any improvement bonds before work starts. A GC usually starts with the bid and contract bond requirements and the contract's insurance exhibit. Reading those documents first tells you which tools the project calls for.
Can one policy handle the whole project?
Rarely. Property damage to the work, claims from third parties, pollution and performance of the contract are answered by different instruments, and bonds are not insurance at all. A wrap-up can consolidate liability for enrolled contractors, but builders risk, bonds and often pollution coverage are still placed separately and coordinated.
How do I know if my contract calls for a wrap-up or traditional insurance?
Look at the insurance exhibit and the general conditions. A contract written for an OCIP or CCIP usually says that the owner or GC will furnish certain coverage, describes enrollment and asks bidders to exclude that insurance cost from their price. If the exhibit instead lists limits each contractor must carry and asks for additional insured endorsements, it assumes traditional insurance.
Reviewed by the Principal, Gleason Insurance Brokers, LLCUpdated
