Building your new home involves a lot of time, effort and cash, and getting your planning and preparation right will lead to a much smoother project.

No matter how much you plan, things can go wrong and it’s essential that you have the right insurance in place for your project.

What if someone gets injured on site, or valuable tools are stolen? It doesn’t take much to throw the project off course and put you out of pocket. It’s therefore essential to arrange self build home insurance cover in case anything does go wrong.

We’ve put together a few tips to explain why insurance and warranties are essential for your new self build project.

Site insurance - There are several specialist insurers that offer cover for self build projects. Site insurance policies cover a range of risks including flood, weather damage and fire, and usually cover any temporary buildings on site such as caravans, as well as the property under construction. If you are considering taking out site insurance, it may also be worth checking that the site insurance includes any professional fee, site clearance and rubbish removal in the event of a claim.

Theft of equipment - Although it’s your responsibility to lock up the site when not in use, many self build insurance policies pay out if thieves break into the site and steal equipment hired or owned, and will also cover any tools and personal equipment belonging to employees.

Site owner responsibilities - You may be considering building your own home, if so, you need to think about protecting more than the site and its content. You’ll need to consider your liabilities to members of the public and people working on site with you. If a trespasser came onto site and injured themselves, or a falling branch damaged the neighbours property, as a site owner you could be held legally responsible, which means you could be left with a hefty compensation bill. A self build insurance policy could cover public liability of up to a certain amount. Remember to ensure that the insurance policy is in place before you begin your project.

Employer’s liability - You also have legal reasonability to other builders working on your site and could be liable to pay compensation as well as any additional costs if an employee suffered an injury on site. Make sure you check the limits on your policy and remember this is compulsory!

Structural warranty - If you are considering to take on a self build project, it may be worth buying a 10 year structural home warranty which can give you piece of mind, since it will pay for any damages if you were to discover a serious defect in the design process, materials used, or the actual workmanship itself causing major damage.

You shouldn't miss out on self build insurance, it’s vital to have this in place but neither should you pay over the odds for cover. Before you dive in and buy insurance cover, do a bit of investigating and compare several self build home policies to ensure you get the best deal and price.

Arc Design Services Ltd are a fully Accredited Planning Agent in the Trafford Council area, catering for all client aspirations. We work on all types of residential architectural design projects within the South Manchester and Cheshire area relating to residential design, from domestic extensions, loft conversions, remodeled homes, alterations and refurbishments to one-off designed, bespoke new build homes.