New GIRI guide highlights insurers’ risk management advice

A new guide aimed at bringing the construction and insurance industries closer together has been launched by the Get It Right Initiative (GIRI). Intended as a good-practice guide to risk management throughout the life of a construction project, the publication sets out the key considerations that influence how insurers assess the risk profile of a project from concept to end of life, and steps that can be taken to reduce these risks.

The GIRI Insurance Guide was conceived and its creation led by Kennedys partner Paul Lowe, a member of the Get It Right Initiative’s strategic leadership group, in response to a perceived need to boost collaboration between the two sectors. It brings together the expertise of a wide range of construction insurance specialists into a no-nonsense explainer of the specific risks that may arise, how insurers expect these to be managed, and the assistance and advice that project teams can call on them to provide.

Paul Lowe says: “One of our key ambitions with the Guide is to highlight how greater collaboration with insurers can help reduce the cost of error in construction. The Guide sets out some practical steps, which we hope will lead to a more effective construction sector.”

At a time when the number of insurers offering cover to construction projects is critically low, and premiums continue to rise, its publication offers a welcome sense-check enabling construction companies to gain a better understanding of the impact their actions, processes and behaviours can have on the risk profile of a project.

GIRI executive director Cliff Smith says: “The insurance industry assesses risk on a daily basis and their input and support in avoiding error is of crucial importance. Collectively they represent a fount of knowledge that the construction sector should be making better use of.”

The guide has received endorsement from the International Underwriting Association.

The 20-page guide has six main chapters, five covering risks during specific stages in the RIBA plan of work, and a sixth focusing on environmental, social and corporate governance. Written in non-technical language and with a helpful glossary, it is aimed at de-mystifying risk management, types of cover and the claims process for those in construction who may only come into contact with insurers when something goes wrong.

The guide can be downloaded free of charge from the GIRI website here.