Renewals
What to do at every renewal, why continuity matters more than price on claims-made coverage, and the two ways a cheaper renewal quietly reduces your coverage.
Renewal is the moment contractors most often change carriers to save money, and it is the moment where that decision carries the most risk. On claims-made coverage, a gap does not just leave you uninsured going forward, it can leave work you completed years ago permanently uninsured.
On every policy, a lapse creates a period with no coverage at all. And a renewal that nobody tells the general contractors about means certificates expire silently.
The two most common ways a renewal gets cheaper are both coverage reductions rather than price reductions.
Additional insured for ongoing operations only. The certificate looks right, the premium falls, and the exposure that produces most construction claims is no longer covered.
An inland marine form that excludes theft from a vehicle left unattended overnight. Since that is how most tool thefts happen, the coverage is on the policy and useless in practice.
Both changes are invisible on a price comparison. Ask what changed in the coverage, not only what changed in the premium.
Yes, and it is often worth doing. The important thing is that the new policy starts the day the old one ends, with no gap, and that everyone holding a certificate receives the new one.
Claims-made policies cover claims made while the policy is in force, not the date the work was done. A lapse can leave completed work permanently uninsured, which is why professional liability is the coverage you least want to have gaps in.
Payroll changes, new trades or states, vehicles bought or sold, changes in subcontractor use, any claims including small ones, and larger projects coming up. Renewal pricing follows the information you provide.
Yes. Certificates show the policy period, so they expire when the policy renews. Everyone holding one needs the updated version, otherwise the document in their file shows a lapsed policy.
Tell us what you need and when you need it. Deadlines are noted and handled first.
