Contractors all risks insurance and water damage coverage at construction sites and office towers
Jan 30, 2018
פוליסת ביטוח לעבודות קבלניות מכסה נזקים מסוג זה. הרי בשביל מה עשית ביטוח קבלנים אם לא לשם כך? ועדיין, יש כאן ניואנסים ועניינים שמחייבים שליטה ובקרה בפוליסה, אחרת המשבר הוא גם ביטוחי.
אפתח בסיפור מקרה קצר מהשטח שימחיש את ה'דקויות' הביטוחיות ועל בסיס זה את המלצותיי כיצד נכון לבנות את פוליסת ביטוח העבודות הקבלניות שלך.
אירוע אמיתי מהשטח
לפני כחצי שנה קבלתי בשעת ערב טלפון בהול מלקוח ששיפץ משרדי חברת היי טק בבניין משרדים בן 18 קומות בירושלים: "איציק- צינור מים מסיבי נפגע תוך כדי ביצוע עבודות הפירוק בקומה 12, לקח זמן רב עד שאיתרנו את מגוף המים, כל הקומה הוצפה, המים זרמו מטה והציפו את כל הקומות, יש כאן נזק רב, מה עושים?
An insurance policy for contractor work covers this type of damage. After all, why did you take out contractor insurance if not for this? And yet, there are nuances and matters here that require control and monitoring of the policy, otherwise the crisis is also an insurance one.
I will begin with a short case story from the field that will illustrate the insurance 'subtleties' and, based on this, my recommendations on how to properly structure your contractor all risks insurance policy.
A real event from the field
About six months ago, I received an urgent call in the evening from a client who was renovating the offices of a high-tech company in an 18-story office building in Jerusalem: "Itzick - a massive water pipe was damaged while performing demolition work on the 12th floor. It took a long time for us to locate the water pipe. The entire floor was flooded. The water flowed down and flooded all the floors. There is a lot of damage here. What do we do?"
Water damage – one of the most problematic
The description as detailed reflects one of the most problematic types of damage.
Repairing the pipe that caused the damage is usually negligible, but the resulting and environmental damage is often very large.
Water pipe damage that causes severe damage can occur in a wide range of renovation and construction projects: during the construction of a new building, while performing renovations in a populated and prestigious office building or apartment building, in an industrial plant, in a complex and system-intensive facility, above the floor of computer and server rooms, in a place where water-sensitive equipment is stored, complex electrical systems, and more.
There are many causes of water damage.
A pipe that was damaged while performing work, water taps that were left open because someone asked to open them and, realizing there was no water, didn't bother to close them, a failure in the construction of the pipe that suddenly bursts, malicious damage, and more.
The damage can be much greater and more severe if the workers on the site or in the building have not received training on the subject and are not aware of the location of the water bodies (as described above). Therefore, sometimes a long time passes before the water source is cut off. Meanwhile, the damage spreads, the water flows and washes the entire building - and the damage is enormous.
התיאור כמפורט משקף את אחד מסוגי הנזק הכי בעייתיים.
תיקון הצינור שגרם לנזק - הינו זניח בד"כ - אולם הנזקים התוצאתיים והסביבתיים הינם פעמים רבות - גדולים מאד.
נזקי צנרת מים הגורמים לנזקים כבדים, עלולים לקרות בקשת רחבה של עבודות שיפוץ ובניה: בזמן בניית מבנה חדש, אגב ביצוע שיפוץ בבניין משרדים מאוכלס ויוקרתי או בבית דירות, במפעל תעשייה, במתקן מורכב ועתיר מערכות, מעל קומת חדרי מחשבים ושרתים, במקום בו מאוחסן ציוד רגיש למים , מערכות חשמל מורכבות ועוד.
הסיבות לנזקי המים הינן רבות
צינור שניזוק אגב ביצוע עבודה, ברזי מים שהושארו פתוחים כי מישהו בקש לפתוח ומשנוכח שאין מים - לא טרח לסגור, כשל בביצוע הצנרת שמתפרץ לפתע פתאום, נזק בזדון ועוד.
הנזק עלול להיות גדול וכבד הרבה יותר אם העובדים באתר או במבנה לא קבלו הדרכה בנדון ואינם מודעים למיקום מגופי המים (כפי שתואר לעיל). לכן, לעתים עובר זמן ארוך עד שמקור המים מנותק. ובינתיים, הנזק מתפשט, המים זורמים ושוטפים את הבניין כולו - והנזק עצום.
During the formulation and construction phase of contractor works insurance policies, careful attention must be paid to the details and matters that require control and oversight in the policy, otherwise an insurance crisis could develop here as well.
Protection Conditions Established in the PolicyOften, the protection issue is a condition for maintaining insurance coverage: A requirement recorded in the policy to shut off the water supply when the building is unoccupied, ensuring faucets are closed, etc. Failure to perform such actions may reduce the insurance company's liability or even cancel it entirely.
Coverage Limitation for Damage to Property Being Worked On and Adjacent PropertyThis is a truly critical matter. It's important to remember that when performing work for a client, the work site (the property being worked on and adjacent property) is not considered third-party property. The standard extension in contractors' insurance policies for property being worked on and adjacent property is typically limited to 20% of the project value. Therefore, if the project value is low (when performing renovation or minor repairs), the coverage amount may be extremely low and completely disproportionate to the damage caused - especially regarding consequential damage. In such cases, the contractor may be exposed to claims from the client or subrogation claims from the client's insurance company - without adequate insurance coverage.
Coverage Limitation for Third-Party DamageEven in the third-party insurance chapter of the contractor policy (mainly in small projects, though not exclusively), the contractor may find himself retrospectively with a contractor policy having a low and sometimes ridiculous insurance amount, stemming from a lack of understanding of insurance needs in the construction industry. Thus - exactly like in the field example I brought at the beginning of the article - in small work performed on an upper floor, when hysterical water damage occurred to a large office building where many floors were flooded, and both the building and valuable contents were severely damaged - the damage costs may be immeasurably greater than the modest third-party insurance amount sometimes purchased.
DeductiblesRecently, insurance companies have begun setting high deductibles for this type of damage: starting from ₪50,000 and upward.
Summary of the Topic:Awareness of the importance of proper handling of the water aspect in any type of construction project, proper employee training - and purchasing appropriate insurance that takes into account all aspects, including work location, work environment, and policy limitations - may save a lot of money and headaches.
Important highlights in the contractor's all risks insurance policy
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