Building or rebuilding in Surrey? Insure the project while it’s still going up.
Course of construction insurance — also called builder’s risk — covers the structure, the materials, and the work itself from the first day on site until the building is finished and occupied. For builders, contractors, developers, and owner-builders across Surrey and the Fraser Valley.
Tell us about your project — we’ll structure the right coverage before work startsAlready have a start date or a lender deadline? Request a quote — or call 604-582-0557, where a licensed advisor answers during business hours.
Two commitments that matter on a construction file.
When a lender needs proof of coverage to release a draw, or a project owner needs you on site tomorrow, paperwork speed is the whole game. Here’s what we hold ourselves to.
2-Hour COI Service Commitment
Need a Certificate of Insurance for a lender, an owner, or a site? Request it during business hours and we turn it around within two hours.
15-Minute Review
Bring us the project details and we’ll tell you in fifteen minutes what coverage the build needs, who should be named, and what your lender will want to see.
What a course of construction policy actually covers.
Course of construction and builder’s risk are the same product — two names for one policy. It’s first-party property insurance for a project while it’s being built or substantially renovated. As the Insurance Bureau of Canada describes it, the policy protects against loss or damage to the structure itself, along with the building materials and supplies that go into the project.
In practical terms, a properly built COC policy responds to physical loss or damage to:
The structure under construction
The partially completed building — foundation, framing, envelope, finishes — whether it’s a custom home, a multiplex, a coach house, or a commercial shell.
Materials and supplies
Building materials and fixtures staged on site waiting to be installed, materials in transit to the job site, and — subject to sub-limits — materials held temporarily off site.
Temporary structures and site works
Scaffolding, hoarding, formwork, falsework, fencing, and temporary structures are commonly covered or can be scheduled into the policy.
What it is not: it’s property coverage, not liability. Contractor-owned tools and equipment are typically excluded and belong on a separate tool/equipment policy, and injuries and third-party claims sit with commercial general liability and WorkSafeBC, not here.
Hard costs are built in. Soft costs are not — and that’s where projects get hurt.
The direct, brick-and-mortar costs of the build — materials, labour, structure — are covered as a matter of course. The indirect costs are the trap. A fire that sets a project back three months doesn’t just cost you the rebuild; it costs you the loan interest, the re-issued permits, the re-drawn plans, and the rent or sale you were counting on at completion.
Those are soft costs, and they are not standard. They’re added by endorsement, and they respond only when a covered physical loss is what caused the delay. The soft costs worth scheduling on most BC projects include extended financing and loan interest, building permit re-issue fees, additional architectural and engineering fees to re-document the work, and lost rental income or delayed occupancy. If your project carries real financing or a revenue date, ask us to price the soft-cost extension — it’s the cheapest part of the policy and the first thing people wish they’d added.
What responds, and when.
The single biggest source of confusion on a construction file is assuming one policy does the work of another. It doesn’t. Four different coverages handle four different risks at four different moments — and the gaps between them are exactly where uninsured losses happen.
| Coverage | During construction | After completion | What it protects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course of Construction / Builder’s Risk | ✓ Yes | Ends at occupancy | Physical loss or damage to the project itself |
| Commercial General Liability (CGL) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | Third-party injury or property damage — not the project itself |
| 2-5-10 Home Warranty | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | Construction defects after the home is finished |
| Standard Homeowner Policy | Limited / often suspended | ✓ Yes | A finished, occupied dwelling |
The key line, in IBC’s own words: a contractor’s CGL policy generally does not cover damage to the construction project itself — it’s liability protection, not property coverage. Builder’s risk fills that gap. And the 2-5-10 warranty doesn’t start protecting against defects until the build is done. Neither one replaces course of construction during the build.
Covered perils, and the exclusions people misread.
Most BC course of construction policies are written on an all-risk basis: physical loss or damage is covered unless it’s specifically excluded. That picks up the common job-site exposures — fire, wind, theft of materials, vandalism, explosion, and similar sudden, accidental events.
The exclusions are where the misreadings live:
Faulty workmanship or design
The cost of fixing the defective work itself is excluded — but resulting damage to other, sound parts of the project may still be covered, depending on the policy wording. This is the single most misunderstood clause in builder’s risk, and it’s worth having an advisor walk you through which version your policy carries.
Earthquake and flood
Typically excluded from the base policy and added by endorsement. In the Lower Mainland, seismic and water exposure aren’t academic — if your site or your lender warrants it, these belong on the schedule, with their own deductibles.
Wear, breakdown, and the tail end
Ordinary wear and tear and mechanical/electrical breakdown are generally excluded or handled separately, and theft coverage narrows sharply once the project reaches substantial completion.
The day it ends is the day people get caught.
Place the policy before work begins — including demolition or site clearing. Many insurers won’t quote a project that’s already underway, and a loss before the policy incepts is a loss you eat.
At the other end, course of construction coverage ends at the earliest of project completion or occupancy — and occupancy can end it the moment any part of the building is used for its intended purpose. That’s the trap on a staged project: move into one suite of a duplex while the second is finishing, and you may have quietly ended the property coverage on the whole thing. Don’t assume the policy rolls on after move-in. The hand-off to a permanent home or commercial property policy has to be arranged so there’s no gap between the two — that transition is a conversation to have with an advisor before, not after, you take possession.
Insure to the finished value — not what you’ve spent so far.
The limit on a course of construction policy should reflect the completed value of the project — the full cost to rebuild the finished structure, hard and soft costs included — not the money spent to date, and not the land or market value. A project is worth almost nothing the day the policy incepts and reaches full value only at completion; the limit has to carry the finished number from day one.
The mistakes are predictable: insuring only the contract price, leaving out soft costs and site work, forgetting owner-supplied materials, and — the big one right now — not updating the limit when costs climb mid-project. Residential construction costs in Canada have risen sharply over the past few years, and a limit set off an estimate from eighteen months ago can leave a finished building underinsured. When the budget moves, the limit moves — tell us, and we’ll re-rate it.
Who should be named — and why it matters at claim time.
A course of construction policy can be placed by the property owner or the general contractor, and on most files both belong on it — along with the lender. The Insurance Bureau of Canada puts the economics plainly: the owner ultimately pays for the coverage, but it can be arranged either by the owner directly through a broker, or by the contractor who folds the cost into the project quote. Either way works; what matters is that it’s agreed before work starts so there’s no gap.
- Contractor-built: the general contractor often places the policy with the owner named alongside, and the lender added as loss payee.
- Owner-built: the owner is the named insured, with any trades and the lender added as their interest requires.
A caution for the “contractor on paper” arrangement.
Around here, it’s common for a homeowner to run the build day-to-day while a contractor sits on the file in name only. That creates a real exposure: if the policy names a contractor who isn’t actually directing the work, an insurer can treat the risk as misrepresented when a claim lands. The fix is straightforward — insure the party with the genuine interest in the project, and tell the underwriter who is actually controlling the build. We structure these so the coverage holds up, instead of falling apart at the worst possible moment.
Where this fits with BC’s building rules.
Two things get tangled together with course of construction, and they’re worth keeping straight, because neither one is the same as insuring your project during the build.
Owner-builder authorization
If you’re building your own home and leading the project, BC Housing administers the Owner Builder Authorization under the Homeowner Protection Act. An owner-builder is exempt from being a licensed residential builder and from arranging third-party home warranty — but you must build or directly manage the work yourself, and you stay personally liable for construction defects for ten years. That exemption covers the warranty; it does nothing for physical loss during the build. An owner-builder still needs course of construction to protect the project itself.
The 2-5-10 home warranty
New homes built by licensed residential builders in BC must carry third-party 2-5-10 home warranty insurance — two years on materials and labour, five on the building envelope, ten on the structure — provided by an insurer approved by the BC Financial Services Authority. The warranty answers for defects after the home is finished and occupied. Course of construction answers for physical loss during the build. Different risks, different timing, and one never substitutes for the other.
Who actually requires it: the lender, not the permit counter.
A persistent myth is that the City makes you carry course of construction insurance to get a building permit. It doesn’t. To issue a residential permit, the City of Surrey wants the BC Housing new-home registration and home-warranty enrolment (or an owner-builder exemption), a valid business licence for the builder, and liability insurance certificates for the registered professionals on the project. The $5 million liability requirement people sometimes hear about applies to road and right-of-way work with the City named as additional insured — not to the building permit itself.
The party that really requires course of construction is your lender. A construction or mortgage lender will want builder’s risk in force before it advances a single draw, written to the full completed value, with the lender named as loss payee or mortgagee to protect its interest in the collateral. If you’re financing the build, plan on this being a condition of funding — and plan on having the certificate ready, which is exactly what our 2-Hour COI commitment is for.
Why this matters more in Surrey right now.
BC’s small-scale multi-unit housing rules have changed who builds here. Surrey adopted the new zoning on July 8, 2024, replacing twenty residential zones with nine and opening more than 72,000 lots to small-scale multi-unit housing — up to six units on a single lot near frequent transit, built by right, without a rezoning. The practical effect is a wave of duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, coach houses, and secondary suites going up across Surrey and the Fraser Valley — many of them built by small builders and owner-occupiers stepping into a developer role for the first time.
That’s exactly the buyer who most often gets the insurance wrong: a first multiplex, a self-managed rebuild, a custom home where the financing and the coverage have to line up before the first draw. We work these projects every week, in English, Punjabi, and Hindi, and we structure the coverage so it holds — from the first day on site to the day you hand over the keys.
Renovating a home you already own?
If you’re a homeowner planning a major renovation rather than a ground-up build, the gap is the same but the starting point is different. Standard homeowner policies are written for occupied homes, and substantial work — structural changes, a gut rehab, an addition, or anything that leaves the home unoccupied — can suspend or void key coverage while the work is underway. Visiting the site every day doesn’t make the home occupied. The fix is to talk to us before the work starts, so the right coverage — a renovation endorsement for smaller jobs, course of construction for the big ones — is in place from day one.
More on that on our homeowner insurance page, which covers where BC homeowner policies go wrong and how to keep yours in force through a renovation.
What Surrey builders and owners say.
The reviews below span Autoplan, home, and commercial files — read all of them, including our construction and commercial clients, on our Google Business Profile.
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Frequently asked questions.
Is course of construction insurance the same as builder’s risk?
Yes — they’re two names for the same policy. “Course of construction” is the term you’ll see in BC and on regulatory and broker documents; “builder’s risk” is common in contracts and with lenders. Both mean property coverage for a project while it’s being built or substantially renovated.
Who should buy it — the owner or the contractor?
Either can. The owner ultimately pays for it, but it can be arranged by the owner directly through a broker, or by the contractor who includes the cost in the project quote. On most files both the owner and the general contractor are named, with the lender added as loss payee. What matters is that it’s agreed and in place before work starts.
Does my homeowner insurance cover a major renovation?
Usually not, once the work is substantial. Standard homeowner policies are written for occupied homes; structural work, a gut renovation, or anything that leaves the home unoccupied can suspend or void key coverages while the work is underway. Cosmetic work with you still living there can often be handled by a renovation endorsement — bigger jobs need course of construction. Tell your insurer before the work starts either way.
Do owner-builders in BC need course of construction insurance?
Yes. Owner-builders are exempt from the 2-5-10 home warranty requirement, but that exemption only concerns post-completion defects — it does nothing for fire, theft, wind, or other physical loss during the build. The project itself still needs course of construction coverage.
Does Surrey require course of construction insurance for a building permit?
No. To issue a residential permit, the City wants BC Housing new-home registration and home-warranty enrolment (or an owner-builder exemption), a valid business licence for the builder, and liability certificates for the registered professionals. Course of construction is required by your lender and by construction contracts — not by the permit counter.
What happens to the policy when I move in?
Course of construction coverage ends at the earliest of completion or occupancy — and occupying even part of the building can end the property coverage on the whole project. You need a permanent home or commercial property policy ready to take over with no gap. Arrange that hand-off with an advisor before you take possession, not after.
Does it cover theft of materials and tools from the site?
It covers theft of building materials and supplies destined for the project, subject to the policy’s security conditions. It does not cover the contractor’s own tools and equipment — those belong on a separate tool and equipment policy. Note that theft coverage also narrows sharply once the project reaches substantial completion.
What about earthquake and flood — we’re in the Lower Mainland?
Both are typically excluded from the base policy and added by endorsement, each with its own deductible. Given the region’s seismic and water exposure, they’re worth pricing on most projects here — and your lender may require them. We’ll tell you what’s available and what it costs for your site.
Tell us about the project before the first shovel.
Whether you’re a contractor placing your tenth file this year, a small builder on your first multiplex, or an owner-builder doing it once — bring us the project. We’ll tell you what coverage the build needs, who should be named, what your lender will want, and how the coverage hands over when you’re done. We shop the BC market across multiple carriers in one conversation, and we get your certificate out fast.
Course of construction is part of our commercial insurance practice. Contractors placing work across several sites should also see contractor insurance.