Hard to Place Construction Insurance

Some construction risks sit outside a standard insurer’s appetite. If your construction insurance has been declined, non-renewed or loaded with exclusions — because of the work you do, the materials involved, your claims history or how your business is structured — you are what the market calls a hard to place risk. It does not mean you are uninsurable. It means you need a broker who works in the specialist end of the market every week.

Silverback is a specialist construction insurance broker for hard to place and declined construction risks across Australia. We prepare the risk evidence underwriters actually want to see, approach specialist and international markets that standard brokers rarely access, and negotiate cover on terms you can price into your jobs.

Why Construction Insurance Gets Declined

Insurers have tightened appetite across Australian construction. Risks that renewed without question a few years ago are now being declined, non-renewed or quoted with heavy excesses and exclusions. The common triggers we see:

• High-risk activities — demolition, asbestos removal, structural steel erection, working at heights, hot works, piling and underpinning
• Combustible materials exposure — cladding rectification work, EPS and sandwich panel construction, spray foam insulation
• Claims history — one large public liability or contract works claim, or a pattern of smaller ones
• Defect and water-damage exposure — waterproofing trades, balcony and facade work, past defect claims
• Business history — prior insolvency, a lapsed policy, gaps in cover, or a new entity taking on major contracts
• Unusual projects — heritage restoration, remote and regional sites, marine works, high-rise refurbishment while occupied

Standard insurers decline these because the risk evidence in front of them is thin — not always because the risk itself is bad. That distinction is where placement is won.

Hard to Place Construction Risks We Arrange

• Public liability insurance for high-risk trades — demolition contractors, asbestos removalists, roofing contractors, scaffolders
• Contract works insurance for non-standard projects — heritage, remote sites, staged occupancy, unusual construction methods
• Cover for builders and trades with claims history or previous insurance declines
• Cladding rectification and facade remediation projects
• Contractors returning after insolvency or restructure (new entity, phoenix concerns addressed properly with underwriters)
• Working-at-heights and confined-space exposures above standard policy limits
• Owner-builders and developers taking on head contractor obligations
• Design and construct exposures standard PI wordings exclude

How We Place Difficult Construction Risks

1. Rebuild the risk story. A decline usually follows a two-line description on a proposal form. We prepare a full underwriting submission — WHS systems, subcontractor prequalification, claims narratives with what changed since, project methodology — because Silverback’s director spent years inside a major Melbourne builder as a contract administrator and knows what genuine risk controls look like on site.

2. Match the risk to the right market. Beyond the standard insurers sit specialist underwriting agencies and international markets with appetite for exactly the risks the majors decline. Access and relationships matter here; a submission from a broker those underwriters trust gets read differently.

3. Negotiate terms, not just a premium. On hard to place business the wording matters more than the price — excess structures, condition precedents, exclusion carve-backs, and certificates that will actually satisfy your principal’s insurance clauses.

4. Plan the way back. Specialist market cover often costs more. We build a 12–24 month plan — documented controls, clean claims period, evidence file — to move you back toward standard markets at renewal, with a genuine renewal review rather than an autopilot rollover.

Request a Hard to Place Risk Review →

What Underwriters Want to See

Australian insurers increasingly expect documented evidence before they will quote a high-risk construction business: contractor prequalification processes, safe work method statements and WHS systems, incident registers and training records, subcontractor insurance compliance (certificates of currency, indemnity clauses in subcontracts), and an honest account of any claims with the corrective action that followed. If your last submission did not include these, that alone can explain the decline — and it is fixable.

What Is Typically Not Covered

Being honest about limits matters more in this segment than anywhere else. Even specialist markets commonly exclude or restrict: known defects and rectification of your own defective workmanship, asbestos liability unless specifically negotiated, contractual liabilities beyond what the law would impose, and losses arising from unlicensed work. We flag every exclusion before you bind, not after a claim.

High-Risk Trades and Sectors in Focus

Demolition and asbestos removal insurance

Demolition contractors and licensed asbestos removalists face the thinnest standard-market appetite in Australian construction. Underwriters want to see your licence class, clearance certificate procedures, air monitoring arrangements, waste transport chain and exclusion zones documented before they will consider public liability limits at the level principals demand. We arrange cover for Class A and Class B asbestos removal, structural demolition and strip-out contractors through markets that write this class deliberately rather than by exception.

Cladding rectification and facade remediation

Combustible cladding remediation is one of the fastest-growing hard to place segments. Insurers scrutinise the replacement product specification, fire engineering sign-off and the interface between the facade contractor, fire engineer and certifier. Builders taking on cladding rectification projects need their public liability, contract works and professional indemnity reviewed together — a gap between the three is where these claims land. We structure the program so the design responsibility sits where a policy actually responds.

Roofing, waterproofing and working at heights

Roofing contractors and waterproofing trades carry two of the market’s least-loved exposures: falls from height and water damage. Height limitations, hot works conditions and water-damage excesses are where these policies quietly narrow. We negotiate realistic height clauses and excess structures that match the work you actually do, rather than accepting a standard wording that excludes half your revenue.

Builders with claims history or past insolvency

A builder returning after liquidation, or carrying a significant claim, will not get far with a proposal form alone. Underwriters need the account of what happened and what is different now — different capital structure, different project mix, different controls. Presented properly, these risks get placed; presented thinly, they get declined again. This is the segment where our contract administration background does the most work.

Annual Policy or Project-Specific Placement?

Hard to place cover can be structured as an annual program or placed project by project. Annual cover suits contractors with a consistent, high-risk trade profile. Project-specific placement often works better for one-off exposures — a single demolition stage, a heritage facade, a remote-site build — because the underwriter prices one defined risk instead of loading a whole year for it. Many of our clients run a standard annual program with project-specific top-ups for the jobs their annual insurer will not touch. If a principal’s contract demands limits or terms your current policy cannot meet, a project placement is frequently the fastest path to a compliant certificate of currency.

Who We Help

Builders whose insurer declined renewal or exited construction. Trade contractors in high-risk classes — demolition, asbestos, roofing, structural steel, waterproofing. Developers and head contractors with non-standard projects. Businesses carrying a claims history who need cover to keep winning contracts. Contractors restructuring after insolvency who need underwriters approached with the full story, properly told.

Hard to Place Construction Insurance FAQs

Can I get construction insurance after being declined?

Usually, yes. A decline from one insurer is not a market-wide verdict. Specialist underwriting agencies and international markets exist precisely for risks outside standard appetite. The placement succeeds or fails on the quality of the submission — which is the part a specialist broker controls with you.

Do I have to disclose that an insurer declined or cancelled my cover?

Yes. Your duty of disclosure requires you to tell insurers about declines, cancellations, non-renewals and special conditions when asked. Non-disclosure can void a policy exactly when you need it. We help you present the history accurately and in context — disclosure done well is a credibility asset, not a liability.

Will hard to place construction insurance cost more?

Often, at first. Specialist markets price for uncertainty. The premium comes down as the evidence improves — documented controls and a clean period typically open standard markets again within one to two renewals. We plan for that from day one.

Can builders with a claims history still get public liability insurance?

In most cases, yes. Underwriters read a claim with a clear narrative — cause, response, and what changed — very differently from a bare number on a claims summary. A well-documented claims history with corrective action is placeable.

How long does it take to place a hard to place risk?

Allow two to four weeks for a considered placement — longer for complex risks needing multiple markets. If a principal is holding a contract open, tell us the deadline up front and we will triage accordingly. Coming to us before your renewal date, rather than after a decline, always widens the options.

What information should I prepare?

Your last three years of claims history, current and expiring policy schedules, WHS documentation, details of the activities and materials involved, revenue split by activity, and any decline or non-renewal letters. The more complete the picture, the stronger the submission.

Speak to a Specialist Before Your Renewal

If you have been declined, non-renewed, or quoted terms you cannot price into a job, talk to us before accepting them. Request a quote or call 0410 152 835 — Monday to Friday, 8:00am–5:00pm.

Related Cover

• Contract Works & Public Liability Insurance
• Management Liability Insurance
• Design & Construct Insurance

General advice only. This information does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before deciding to acquire any insurance product. Silverback Insurance Pty Ltd (CAR 1283436 | ABN 74 643 561 746) is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Australian Broker Network Pty Ltd (AFSL 253131 | ABN 89 062 882 080).