Insurance and site safety: builder's risk, liability cover and WorkSafeBC duties for homeowners

Two policies every contract should name

Insurance on a building site answers two questions. What happens if the work itself is damaged before it is finished, by fire, theft or water? And who pays if someone is hurt or a neighbour's property is damaged? The first is property insurance on the work. The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) glossary defines builders risk insurance as "insurance coverage on property under construction, including loss to buildings, machinery, and equipment." It is also called course of construction insurance. The second is liability insurance. IBC describes a commercial general liability policy as "a standard form of liability insurance developed for use in the business sector."

The CCDC publishes insurance minimums for its standard contracts in CCDC 41, Insurance Requirements, published 14 December 2020 and free to download. It asks for general liability insurance of not less than $10,000,000 per occurrence, with a deductible of no more than $10,000. It asks for broad form property insurance, its term for property cover on the work, of not less than 1.1 times the contract price plus the value of products the owner supplies, also with a deductible of no more than $10,000. It sets limits for automobile liability and contractors' pollution liability too (all figures as of the 14 December 2020 edition).

Those numbers were written for projects of every size, and a house contract may set different ones. Whatever the numbers, the contract should name each policy, its limit and deductible, who buys it and who is named on it, and require a certificate of insurance before work starts.

Your own home insurance during the work

A homeowner's policy is written for a house that people live in, and a renovation changes the risk. The IBC Code of Consumer Rights and Responsibilities says consumers should "promptly inform your insurance company, broker or agent of any change in your circumstances," and gives renovations to your home as the example. Call your insurer or broker before demolition starts, describe the work and whether you will move out, and get the answer in writing.

Moving out matters. IBC's glossary defines an unoccupied building as one where the premises contain contents but no people, and a vacant building as one where all occupants have moved out with no intention to return, or no new occupant has moved in. Ask your insurer how your policy treats each state, and for how long.

On a full renovation in Vancouver or a rebuild in North Vancouver, the builder's risk policy and your home policy need to fit together, with no period where neither applies. Put the question to your own broker and to the builder's broker, and keep both answers with the contract.

Deductibles, named parties and who pays a claim

A deductible is the agreed amount the insured pays on a claim before the insurer pays. When the builder buys the property policy, the contract should say who pays the deductible if the loss is caused by the owner, by a trade, or by weather. Without that clause, the deductible on a water loss becomes an argument.

Subrogation is the process by which an insurer, after paying a loss, takes over the insured's rights to recover from whoever caused it. That is why named parties matter. CCDC 41, for example, requires the contractor's equipment insurance to bar subrogation claims by the insurer against the owner. Ask your broker whether you are named on the builder's property policy and what that means if you or your own trade cause a loss.

Collect certificates before the first payment: the builder's liability and property insurance, and a liability certificate for each major trade. Check that the policy dates cover the whole build, and note the renewal dates so a lapse is caught.

WorkSafeBC: who is the prime contractor

A building site with more than one employer is a multiple-employer workplace, and the Workers Compensation Act gives one party the job of coordinating safety on it. Section 13 defines that party, the prime contractor, as the contractor or other person who enters into a written agreement with the owner to be the prime contractor or, if there is no written agreement, the owner of the workplace. On a house or multiplex where the homeowner hires a general contractor, the contract should say in plain words that the general contractor is the prime contractor.

Section 24 sets the prime contractor's duties: make sure the safety activities of all employers, workers and others at the site are coordinated, and do everything reasonably practicable to establish and maintain a system that ensures compliance with the safety law. Every employer must give the prime contractor the name of the person supervising its workers there. Section 20.3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation adds that where overlapping work creates hazards and more than 5 workers are on site in total, the owner or prime contractor must appoint a qualified coordinator.

The owner keeps some duties after naming a prime contractor. Section 25 requires every owner of a workplace to keep the land and premises safe for people at or near the site, to give the employer or prime contractor the information the owner knows that is needed to identify and control hazards, and to comply with the safety law and orders. For an older Vancouver house, a hazardous materials survey you hold is information to hand over.

Registration, clearance letters and unpaid premiums

WorkSafeBC's page for homeowners separates two cases. A homeowner who hires an independent business is that business's customer and is not eligible for WorkSafeBC coverage. A homeowner who hires workers directly may have to register, depending on the work and its length. For a one-time project, coverage is required at 24 or more hours of work in total, counted across all workers (as of 24 October 2026).

The money risk sits in premiums. WorkSafeBC says a homeowner could be held responsible for an independent business's premiums if it is not registered and paying, and that a homeowner acting as prime contractor could be held jointly liable for a contractor's unpaid premiums for the period it worked for them. A clearance letter confirms a business is registered with WorkSafeBC and paying its premiums. WorkSafeBC's clearance letter page advises getting one before and after you receive services, and says that to be cleared of liability, the letter must be addressed to you and show the contractor active and in good standing for the whole contract period.

Build this into the payment schedule: a clearance letter for the builder with the first payment request, and a new one with the final payment request.

Notice of project before work starts

Section 20.2 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation requires the owner, or the prime contractor the owner engaged, to send WorkSafeBC written notice at least 24 hours before work starts on a construction project that meets any of these conditions: estimated labour and materials over $100,000; design by a professional engineer, other than pre-engineered or pre-manufactured parts; new building, major alteration, structural repair or demolition of a building over 2 storeys or 6 metres high; or an excavation, other than a trench, over 1.2 metres deep (rules as of 24 October 2026). Certain asbestos and lead work has a separate notice under section 20.2.1, due at least 48 hours before the work starts.

A new house or multiplex in Metro Vancouver can meet more than one of these conditions at once, for example an engineered structure and a basement excavation. The contract should say who files the notice. If the builder is the prime contractor, the filing is the builder's job, and the owner should ask for a copy.