Insurance for Custom Homes & Subdivisions Projects
Single-family homes and subdivisions bring in owners who are not construction professionals, who are spending personal money, and who live in what you designed.
Subdivisions add grading, drainage and soils across many lots at once, so one mistake can repeat house after house.
Why Residential Work Is Different
Budget overruns, finishes and scope disagreements lead to disputes more often than on commercial work.
Settlement and water problems across a subdivision can become group claims.
Work next to or on an occupied home puts the existing house at risk.
For example: the subdivision that settled
Several homes in a 40-lot subdivision show cracking five years after completion. The homeowners sue the builder, who brings in the civil and geotechnical engineers over the grading and fill.
The engineers’ reports, their observation of the earthwork, and whether their coverage stayed continuous decide how each firm fares.
Hypothetical example for illustration. Coverage for any claim depends on the policy terms and the facts.
Custom Homes & Subdivisions: Common Questions
Why is residential work priced higher for engineers?
Claims from homeowners and homeowner groups are frequent, arrive late and often involve soils. Carriers price that experience.
Does my contract with a homeowner need to be different?
A clear written scope and a limitation of liability help a lot with individual owners. Have your attorney review your residential form.
Do I need general liability if I only design homes?
Yes, in most cases. Site visits, meetings at the home and your office all create injury and property exposure that professional liability does not cover. Many homeowner contracts also ask for it.
Disciplines Most Active on Custom Homes & Subdivisions Projects.
Tell Us About Your Firm. We’ll Tell You What We See.
Starting out or renewing, with a policy in hand or not. If something is worth discussing, we’ll call. If not, we’ll say so.