Construction insurance for building sites in French-speaking Switzerland

A construction project in Switzerland generally involves four separate coverages: construction work insurance for the work in progress, the civil liability of the project owner for damages to neighbors and third parties, the liability of the companies involved, and the financial guarantees required by the contract.Each one covers a risk that the others do not: the work itself, what happens around the construction site, and non-performance of the contract.

The allocation of risk depends on the nature of the risk. The project owner typically takes out construction works insurance and project owner's liability insurance; the contractors provide their own liability insurance and the financial guarantees stipulated in the contract.The key point to verify is that the contract specifically names the policyholder for each policy. Gaps in coverage arise from each party assuming the responsibility of the other.

Construction work insurance covers damage to the work being carried out, the owner's liability insurance covers damage caused to third parties and neighbors by the construction site, and construction guarantees cover the non-performance of the company's contractual obligations.A collapse of the main structure falls under the TRC; a crack in the neighbor's property, under the owner's RC; an abandonment of the construction site, under the performance guarantee.

Construction site insurance must be in place before any work begins on site, including preparatory work such as site setup, demolition, and excavation. It is often at this stage that damage to neighboring properties occurs.Waiting for final authorizations is the most costly mistake: no policy retroactively covers a loss that has already occurred.

The cost of construction insurance is calculated as a per thousand of the total cost of the project and varies greatly depending on the nature of the project, the depth of the excavations, the density of the surrounding buildings and the duration of the construction site.Two factors weigh more heavily than others: the proximity of neighboring buildings and the extent of the underground work.