Construction involves large number of manpower and huge investments of money. The workers at a construction site risk their lives working at great heights, with dangerous tools, toxic materials, heavy equipment, under tunnels, etc. Hence, construction is associated with high amount of risk for money and lives. A slight negligence or bad fortune on part of the worker or owner may prove too costly. It may lead to a huge financial loss. These unfortunate events require tools, which can bail the company out of the situation. Here arises the need of ‘Construction Insurance’, the risk management tool, customised specifically for the construction industry. Construction insurance is like any other insurance, which is used to protect the various parties associated with construction process.A comprehensive construction insurance policy covers all the expenses that may occur due to property damage or personal injuries at the construction site. This insurance not only includes the organization owner, but also workers, employees, tenants, sub-contractors, sole proprietors and business partners.Importance of construction insurance
As discussed above, construction involves usage of heavy equipment, materials, labour, etc. and is more prone to accidents. Since the business stands liable for any accident on the construction site, it is the business owner or the contractor that should pay for the medical treatment charges of the injured or compensation to the families, in case of death of the worker.Material costs associated with construction are very high. Any damage to the structure or the materials leads to huge financial loss. Insured with the construction insurance, one can seek financial assistance from the insurance company.The buyers of the flats or the constructed property will have all rights to sue the construction company, in case of faulty construction. In such cases the construction company has to pay for the remodelling or repairing the constructed site. Construction insurance protects the builders from those claims, by providing financial assistance.Apart from the above circumstances, construction insurance provides wide coverage, providing security to the business in case of unpredicted events.Four main areas it covers
Construction insurance is very significant in terms of its coverage. It is very comprehensive and is specifically designed to cover every aspect of construction process, to make the business process flexible. Construction insurance covers four major areas of business insurance. They are:Public liability insurance
Public liability insurance is a general insurance to be possessed by any business which involves interaction with the customers or people in general. Public liability insurance as part of construction insurance helps the businesses in case any damage to third party property or individuals is caused by employees or the tools used in construction.Employers liability insurance
As the construction industry involves lot of risks, any worker can get injured or die at any point of time, due to the faulty equipment or negligence of supervisors or co-workers. Employers are responsible for the health and safety of their employees at construction site. Moreover, the employees will have every right to sue the owner and claim for compensation. In case of such unexpected events, the employer or the owner can benefit from the construction liability insurance, as the insurance company pays the medical costs or the compensation associated with the claims.Contractors all risks insurance
Contractors all risks insurance is customised for construction businesses. It provides assistance for contract works of new houses, theft of materials or tools, damage to the materials or tools due to unexpected events, sudden stoppage of on-going works of new houses, owned or hired plants, etc. This insurance acts as a perfect help for the most commonly incurred accidents in the construction process.Personal accident insurance
This insurance is specifically designed for managers, sole proprietors or business partners. This is useful in the cases, where the person injured can’t blame any other person for the injury caused to him. This is helpful in providing assistance during the period for which the injured person cannot get income.Construction insurance is very important for construction businesses as the damage or the financial loss occurred is very hard to be recovered. Businesses should realise that the cost of premiums for insurance is less when compared to the compensation costs. Therefore, it can be concluded that, construction insurance is very valuable in making the business sustain for long run.

Overview Of The Construction IndustryMany construction businesses are struggling currently; due partly to the changing economic climate, but also to the countries recession.The nations population is ballooning however houses are not being built to house the population sufficiently. With growing population comes the need for facilities (schools, libraries, businesses) also which are not being build quick enough.The problem lies with the funding; because many clients are being careful with their money it is not being spent on capital projects. The big construction firms are therefore struggling due to big projects being put on hold or canceled (which costing millions of pounds each is a big loss) which is then cascading down to the smaller construction firms, electricians, builders, plumbers etc.The large companies have financial reserves that they can draw on, or can cost cut in order to ease cash flow up; however the smaller companies (or freelancers) are hardest hit as they may rely on the feed of work.Marketing In The Construction IndustryConstruction companies historically do not really market themselves (as a general rule) but do historically rely on word of mouth or on recommendations from friends in the trade.The need therefore needs to be on construction companies being more proactive and actually hunting down work. This is a change from years gone by when work did used to be plentiful and business was booming construction companies had the freedom to pick and choose. However as work had dried up, it is a case of taking what they can get. One other thing that makes things harder is that during the boom years of the 2000’s many new construction companies started up and quickly grew, now things are hard many are now competing on the existing projects that are left so competition is high.Construction businesses are great at construction but not very good at construction marketing; most have not done marketing in the past and do not really understand how it works. Many construction companies do not have websites or done any marketing historically – as the industry has been busy, word of mouth has been used.Marketing Options For Construction CompaniesAll construction firms are different (architects, builders, M&E etc) but there are marketing options that each can utilise.As the industry is deep in recession, all construction companies need to ‘shout’ in order to pick up new business. Shouting would be done through marketing – by being seen an heard will mean they will pick up contracts and construction projects.Websites For Construction CompaniesFirst and foremost, all construction businesses would benefit from having a website. This gives a ‘virtual’ presence and a chance for customers to find out more without the need of a phone call or visit.As we are now in a digital world, the construction industry as a whole needs to modernise and get on board.PR for Construction CompaniesAnother good marketing tool for construction firms to do for starters, would be to talk to construction experienced PR agencies that may well be able to help them with industry exposure.PR is all about generating exposure and by talking to a industry experienced PR agency construction firms should be able to stand out in the crowd and get more sales enquiries.The type of marketing that construction firms would need would depend on the sector that they are involved in. PR has been generally known to be effective for most industries however within the construction sector; there are other forms that may be more suited.Telemarketing For Construction CompaniesConstruction companies may well benefit from using telemarketing as a way to generate new sales leads; this is generally acclaimed to be a fairly quick form of marketing in generating new sales enquiries. Although it may be expensive in the short term, in the long term it should prove worth while. Telemarketing is a very pro active form of marketing and as such would certainly boost new enquiries in the short term.The Need For Construction MarketingThere are numerous different forms of marketing on offer, each one does it’s job effectively; however it would be wise to talk to a specialist marketing company that knows the construction industry in order to find the right one for your construction business.The problem is that the work is out there, it is just that the work is not as plentiful as the boom years – so construction companies need to be aggressive in their marketing, pro active and shouting louder than the competition.