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Every employer is responsible for insuring a safe working environment for his or her employees. If you’re in construction, workplace safety should move to the top of your priorities because more than 20% of the work-related fatalities in 2013 occurred in the construction industry. 

STEP #1: Identify Construction Safety Hazards

First, you need to identify potential hazards.  OSHA lists the following hazards for individuals in the construction industry:

1. Falls (from heights),
2. Trench collapse,
3. Scaffold collapse,
4. Electric shock and arc flash/arc blast,
5. Failure to use proper personal protective equipment, and
6. Repetitive motion injuries.

STEP #2: Address Construction Hazards

Next, you need to address those hazards.  OSHA has identified the following as some of the most frequently cited hazards:

1. Scaffolding – Approximately 2.3 million construction workers regularly use scaffolds, and it is estimated that 4,500 injuries and 50 fatalities related to the use of scaffolding occur each year.  To help avoid some of these injuries and fatalities, you need to ensure that scaffolding is erected by a competent person using stable supports on solid footing and that it is inspected regularly.  Scaffolding should be sound; located at least 10 feet from electric power lines; equipped with guardrails, midrails, and toeboards; and accessible by ladders or stairways.
    
2. Fall protection – Falls account for the greatest number of fatalities in the construction industry.  They’re caused by unstable work surfaces, failure to use fall protection equipment, and human errors.  Using guardrails, fall arrest systems, safety nets, covers and restraint systems, you can prevent many deaths and injuries caused by falls.
    
3. Ladders – there are approximately 24,882 injuries and 36 fatalities each year due to falls on stairways and ladders used in construction.  To avoid some of those falls, you need to use the right ladder for each task, inspect ladders regularly, ensure that ladders are long enough to safely reach the work area, and never over-load ladders. 
    
4. Head protection – You need to ensure that workers wear hard hats where needed to reduce serious head injuries that can result from blows to the head, from falling objects, or other hazards.
    
5. Hazard communication – In order to avoid chemical burns, respiratory problems, fires and explosions caused by not recognizing the hazards associated with chemicals, you should maintain a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and make the information accessible to employees.  Plus, you need train employees on how to read those MSDS and provide personal protective equipment, a written spill control plan, and spill clean-up kits.
    
6. Electrical – Electric shock, electrocution, fires, and explosions can be serious workplace hazards in the construction industry.  To avoid these hazards in your workplace, ensure that all electrical tools are properly grounded and extension cords have grounding prongs, locate and identify all overhead electrical power lines and inspect and ensure that equipment and materials never come within ten feet of those lines,  and maintain all electrical tools and equipment.

Ensuring the safety of your employees is important to the health and safety of your employees and the health and safety of your business.  Neglecting the safety of your employees can cause lawsuits, higher health insurance premiums, higher construction insurance premiums, and higher workers compensation premiums and related costs. 

Get the Right Construction Insurance

To learn more about reducing your construction insurance costs while acquiring quality insurance protection, contact an American Insuring Group agent at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848. We're Independent Insurance Agents, so we're free to shop among many competing insurance carriers to find the right insurance at the best price, including construction insurance, worker's compensation insurance, and every other type of insurance your business may need. Contact us today. 

What is Builder's Risk Insurance?

Builder’s Risk Insurance (a.k.a. Course of Construction Coverage) is property insurance that covers damage to a building during construction.  It may cover just the structure itself, or it can include materials, fixtures, and/or equipment being used in the construction or renovation of the building.  

Why Builders and General Contractors Need It

Builder’s Risk Insurance is often required by lending and municipal authorities. It can be required as a condition of many contracts, and it can apply to both new project construction and remodeling projects.  It protects the custom builder or general contractor from financial loss due to damage.  Builder’s Risk Insurance is sometimes purchased by the ultimate owner of the property, the lending institution, or others.

What Does it Cover and How Much Insurance is Needed?

Most Builder’s Risk Insurance policies cover damage caused by fire, explosions, lightning, hail, theft, vandalism, and damages by aircraft and vehicles. The amount of coverage should represent the total value of the structure, including labor costs and the cost of raw materials; however, the cost of the land value should not be included.  The construction budget is a good way to determine the amount of coverage needed.

It is normally taken for a period of three, six, or twelve months, but can be extended if the duration of the construction exceeds the duration of the policy, but only one extension at a time is possible.  Builder’s Risk insurance is intended to cover unforeseen damage during the construction period only.  Coverage should be effective prior to when the materials are delivered to the job site.

Once the work has been completed and the property is ready for use or occupancy, the policy terminates.  Once the Builder’s Risk coverage has expired, the new owner should take out permanent property insurance, such as a home owner’s insurance policy or a commercial property insurance policy.

What Doesn’t it Cover?

Generally, Builder’s Risk Insurance does not cover damages caused by earthquakes, employee theft, water damage, contract penalty, flood, wind, war, government intervention, damage to property left in the open, or machinery breakdown.  It also doesn’t cover damages that occur as the result of inferior quality materials, inefficient design or planning, or faulty workmanship. 

Tools and equipment are not covered.  Builder’s Risk Insurance doesn’t cover for liability or accidents that occur at the site.  It’s also important to note that Builder’s Risk insurance doesn’t cover property belonging to other people, such as sub-contractors. 

Coverage Extensions for Builder's Risk Construction Insurance

Sometimes coverage extensions are needed or recommended, such as… 

• Property in transit to worksite
• Scaffolding while located at the insured location and pertaining to the insured company
• Property in temporary storage that will be used or installed in the insured location and pertaining to the insured company
• Debris removal that’s a result of damage caused by a covered incident
• Valuable papers, such as site plans or blue prints.

Get the Right Construction Insurance

Whether you need general contracting insurance, contractor workers’ comp, builder’s risk insurance, or any other type of insurance, we have you covered.  We’ll take a close look at your business; recommend the right insurance for you, then (after shopping many competing insurance brands) offer you the best insurance protection at the best price.

To get started with the right contractor insurance for your business please contact us at (610) 775-3848 or (800) 947-1270