Infiniti Insurance Limited has expanded its offerings to include Construction and Engineering.

CEO Sharon Paterson says the development has been driven by increasing demand from brokers who perceive that the insurance industry needs a fresh approach and are finding the construction industry has taken a battering over the past few years which makes it difficult for the construction company to assume risk.

“The Engineering Division dovetails with our Guarantees and Liability products, enabling us to offer a more holistic engineering insurance proposition and risk management solution. The Engineering division is headed up by Jim Connolly, she points out.

“Jim’s division provides cover for the engineering and construction industry as an economic safeguard against risks encountered during contract implementation and execution in the course of rollout and installation as well as risks affecting machinery and equipment,” explains Paterson.

Connolly points to some of the more contentious issues in the field; “The free issue material is an interesting subject and one that needs careful consideration. While it is easy to add a figure to the contract value and to cover an existing structure that way, it would require completely different underwriting criteria if  that free issue material were to be  the facade of a heritage building being retained and propped up during demolition and construction. How is such a unique item valued 100 or 200 years later? Who is qualified to value such an item taking into account the existing condition? Could the value exceed the value of the sum insured for the new works? When underwriting such risks, the values are agreed to after sensible dialogue between underwriter, broker and the insured.”   

Loss of Profits or Revenue / Rental is again an interesting topic. One of the benefits of a Principal Controlled Insurance Policy (PCI) is that the Contract Works Insurance is taken out by the principal or employer who has a clear insurable interest in covering any loss of Revenue following an indemnifiable event under the Contract Works section.

More conventionally, Infiniti’s Engineering division will cover employer’s property in the care, custody and control of the contractor up to a limit agreed and stated on the policy. 

“We consider infrastructure and housing projects and the risks associated with this to be our mainstay. A strong partnership between trusted brokers and a focused underwriter specialising in Project and Engineering Insurance is fundamental to the Infiniti Engineering solution. The involvement of the insured at underwriting stage is always welcome as we consider this approach to be an important risk mitigation platform that may be beneficial to brokers, employers and contractors alike,” explains Connolly.

Paterson concludes by pointing to uncertain and turbulent times across the world. “While we are seeing economic meltdowns, natural disasters and other recurrent eventualities which demand rigorous and proactive risk management, South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa are certainly experiencing continued growth in the mid-size projects arena which is most encouraging and is part of the motivation for our entry. From the Infiniti point of view the introduction of the Engineering products is in line with market demand and works alongside our Guarantee and Liability products, allowing all of our brokers a strong platform for growth.”