There’s an old saying: “The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.” The Philippines has just officially entered summer. With the tropical sun shining, you might be planning fixes beyond your roof or starting a new project.
Construction sites can be full of risks and challenges, though, no matter how well you or your contractor adheres to occupational safety hazard mitigation. We’ll look at some of these risks and why it’s important to ensure the safety of everyone involved in a project with construction insurance.
Common Construction Site Risks
Construction sites are busy environments. At any one time, you’ll have people, machinery, and materials moving. Without the proper safety precautions and processes, many of these can become hazards:
- Heavy Machinery: Even the simplest modern construction projects have power tools like motorized saws and jackhammers, while the biggest could feature cranes. All these can cause accidents if their operations are not properly supervised.
- Obstacles: Project sites are a mess of materials and partially built structures. Any of these can present obstacles that lead to accidents like tripping over a cement mound or hitting one’s head on an overhanging fixture, or worse.
- Heights: Unless your project is a small pit or garden, most construction sites will feature really high places. These could put your people at risk of falls, especially from slips, and from falling tools at that height.
- Materials: Many construction materials pose health risks. Cement alone, if inhaled in large amounts, could injure your lungs. The same could be said for paint, certain types of sealants, or even fibers from insulation.
- Unforseen Events: Construction sites can be exposed to the elements and multiply the danger from natural disasters and the like. Even a mild earthquake can bring down structures or make people fall from heights. Materials and equipment can also get damaged by floods or heavy rain.
How to Protect Your Construction Project
Even if it’s not mandated by laws and ordinances, no one engaging in a build disregards safety processes and procedures. Safe construction sites mean work is done fast and confidently, and costs are kept within budget.
But we can’t emphasize enough how easy it is for an accident to happen on a construction site. You can try your best to avoid them, but you need to be confident that, if they happen, your people, equipment, and project are covered.
What Contractors’ All Risk (CAR) Insurance Covers
A Contractors’ All Risk insurance, or CAR insurance, is a common coverage taken by parties involved in a construction project to mitigate liabilities and other expenses incurred from accidents and property damage during a build.
The “All Risks” part of a CAR insurance suggests what it does: a comprehensive coverage of the property damage or third-party injury (including passersby) while a build is ongoing. This coverage can handle claims from incidents that include:
- Damage from fires, floods, winds, and earthquakes
- Injury from falling debris (including subcontractors and passersby)
- Construction faults
- Negligence
Most CAR insurance policies cover damages regardless of who caused them. They can also have extensions to the coverage for instances like damage to the surrounding property, losses due to breakage, and even project delays.
What Erection All Risks (EAR) Insurance Covers
An Erection All Risks insurance, or EAR insurance, is taken out for any project involving the installation of machinery and equipment in a factory or office. Like CAR insurance, these plans typically cover all the risks involved in the project, specific to the type of construction activity involved.
EAR insurance often includes third-party liability to cover damages to everyone in a worksite, especially passersby. This kind of product is typically taken out for one-time installation projects or for annual recurring builds.
Like other insurance products, CAR and EAR are designed to mitigate liabilities from damage or injury. While you and your contractors do their best to reduce any kind of risk in a project, accidents do happen, especially given everything you can find in a construction project.
Reliable Insurance Brokers are ready to help you find the right insurance for your construction project. Call today to start your insurance selection and approval process so your build remains safe, on time, and on budget.
Contact Information for Inquiries and Support
If you have any questions or need assistance with your insurance, feel free to reach out to us:
- Call: +63 2 8631 9285 to 86
- Mobile: +63 917 138 5120
- Email: info@reliable-insurance.ph
- Messenger: m.me/reliable.insurancebrokersph
Sources
- High Speed Training (2017, October 18), Ten Common Construction Site Hazards.
- Investopedia (2025, July 1), Contractors’ All Risks (CAR) Insurance: Definition and Example.
- John Morgan Partnership (No Date), Engineering Insurance.
- UIB (2024, October 29), What is Engineering Insurance and Why Do You Need It.
