Protect your project from day one with C. T. Lowndes & Company.
Builders risk insurance customized to your business.
Whether you’re breaking ground on a new build, a renovation project, or a major remodel, unexpected setbacks can derail your progress fast. Theft, fire, wind damage, and vandalism can cost you time and money.
A builders risk insurance policy is designed to help you protect your investment before the job is complete. At C.T. Lowndes & Co, our local South Carolina agents work directly with builders, contractors, and property owners to offer policies that match your project, timeline, and risk exposure.
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Building or Structures Under Construction Coverage
Risk Factor
Your work-in-progress is a risk in the open. Damage from covered weather, vandalism, or other risks can slow or stop a project.
Solution
Building or Structures Under Construction coverage helps protect against damage to the building or structure being constructed from covered risks.
Materials and Supplies Coverage
Risk Factor
The materials and supplies you have on the job site are vulnerable to risks such as theft, fire, or other types of loss or damage.
Solution
Materials and Supplies coverage pays for the loss of covered materials and supplies used to complete the construction.
Equipment Coverage
Risk Factor
Your tools and equipment are of the utmost importance when building. Losing them to theft or damage could be a major problem.
Solution
Add Equipment coverage to protect valuable construction equipment used to complete the project from damage or other forms of loss.
Temporary Structures
Risk Factor
Weather, accidents, and other risks are potential dangers to temporarily erected structures that help you complete key projects.
Solution
Adding Temporary Structures coverage to your policy covers structures like scaffolding or signs from damage or other forms of loss.
Soft Cost Coverage
Risk Factor
There is often more at stake than what is at the construction site. Damages and delays can affect other parts of your business.
Solution
Soft Cost coverage helps with extra costs such as loan interest, lost sales income, rental income, real estate taxes, and more.
What is Builders Risk Insurance?
A builders risk insurance policy (also known as course of construction insurance) offers coverage for buildings under construction or renovation. It helps to protect against physical loss from a covered peril for damage to the structure, construction materials, temporary structures, and even some equipment used on-site.
This is not your standard homeowners insurance. It’s a highly specialized policy that accounts for the unique risks of a construction project, such as fire, theft, lightning, vandalism, and certain weather events.
Whether you’re building from the ground up or tackling remodeling projects or a renovation, this coverage bridges the gap until the project is complete and a standard property insurance policy kicks in.
Who Needs It?
Builders risk insurance is for both residential and commercial structures. It’s for anyone with a financial interest in a building under construction.
That can include:
- Property owners
- General contractors
- Developers
- Construction firms
- Subcontractors, depending on the contract
If your construction agreement or construction contract holds you liable for property damage before completion, you likely need a builders risk policy.
What Builders Risk Insurance Covers
Builders risk insurance covers a wide range of potential losses during the build.
- Covered property like the building itself, scaffolding, fencing, signage, and temporary structures
- Property and construction materials on-site or in transit
- Labor costs and installation expenses
- Soft costs such as architect fees, permit fees, recertification fees, and contract penalties caused by delay
- Debris removal, pollutant cleanup, and other post-loss expenses
- Stolen building materials from the construction site, like copper wiring
Coverage will include the existing structure during renovation projects, and some policies even include enhancements.
C.T. Lowndes & Co will walk you through your coverage options and help you find an insurance policy to fit the project type, construction type, and total construction budget.
What Builders Risk Insurance Does Not Cover
While builders risk insurance is broad, it does have exclusions. It generally does not include:
- Liability coverage (This can be handled by general liability insurance and in some cases can extend from a current homeowners insurance policy that you might have in place)
- Accidents involving workers
- Earthquake or flood (unless optional coverage is added)
- Wear and tear or poor workmanship
- Tools and equipment owned by contractors
Understanding what’s excluded is just as important as knowing what’s covered. That’s why working with a knowledgeable local agent like C.T. Lowndes matters.
Builders Risk Insurance Cost: What to Expect
The cost of a builders risk insurance policy is influenced by several factors, including:
- Project value and total construction budget
- Construction type and materials
- Location and risk exposure
- Policy term and coverage limits
- Additional fees like policy fees and surplus line taxes
We help you compare insurance costs and find a competitive rate based on your project details. For projects greater in scale or complexity, we offer scalable solutions.
Get a Builders Risk Quote
For more than 175 years, C.T. Lowndes & Company has helped South Carolina builders, contractors, and property owners get the right insurance policies to keep their projects on track. From Charleston to Columbia and beyond, we stay informed on the coverage requirements that affect the construction industry in our state.
Let us help you explore your builders risk insurance options.
Contact C.T. Lowndes & Co today to request a quote and speak with a knowledgeable advisor.
Get Started Today
As an independent agency, we are here to help you find the right Builders Risk Insurance coverage.
Get a Quote
Builders Risk Insurance Quote Request
As an independent agency, we are here to help you find the right coverage.
Get a Quote
It only takes a minute to get started.
- Fill out the form, we’ll be in touch.
- Review options with an agent.
- Get the coverage you need.
