QBE launches Contractors Combined to target evolving needs of middle market construction customers
Authored by QBE Senior Media Relations Manager Sandra Villanueva
QBE Contractors Combined packages core insurance covers into a single policy to meet the specific needs of the sector, with additional options including QBE’s Risk Solutions offering.
The policy will cover risks such as public and products liability, material damage, employer liability, business interruption, goods in transit and more under a single combined policy with comprehensive wording, targeting business in the £15,000-£100,000 insurance premium range.
Following a successful pilot, the product will be widely available today, 3 May, to UK customers.
Anna Bennett, Director of Underwriting, UK Casualty said: “We have a strong presence insuring large UK construction customers as well as established monoline solutions and SME, but we’ve had a gap in servicing the middle market. This new product builds on those strong foundations and fills this gap. It is a natural follow-on from our e-trade Contractors Combined and Tradesman products for the SME market. We recognised our customers needed a solution that encompassed all of the risks they face in a streamlined way and saw considerable opportunity to target this sector at a time when there is limited appetite for these risks in much of the insurance market.”
Customers taking out the new policy will have access to a suite of newly developed risk management services, including online self-assessments, risk snapshot guides, guidance notes, toolkits and other risk management material, plus health and safety e-learning in partnership with RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents).
As part of this, customers can also access QBE’s ‘Minds in Business’ mental health self-assessment optimisation tool, developed in collaboration with Mind and other mental health providers. Mental health and wellbeing being a big challenge in the construction sector - where suicide rates are three times the national average.
Construction is one of the largest industry sectors in the UK, employing 3.1 million people or around 10% of the workforce. QBE is highly experience insuring the industry, with two thirds of the UK’s leading construction firms relying on the insurer for market-leading cross-class insurance solutions.
Find out more about QBE’s Contractors Combined product HERE
About QBE
QBE European Operations is part of QBE Insurance Group, one of the world’s leading international insurers and reinsurers and Standard & Poor’s A+ rated. Listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, QBE’s gross written premium for the year ended 31 December 2018 was US$13.7 billion.
As a business insurance specialist, QBE European Operations offers a range of insurance products from the standard suite of property, casualty and motor to the specialist financial lines, marine and energy. All are tailored to the individual needs of our small, medium and large client base.
We understand the crucial role that effective risk management plays in all organisations and work hard to understand our clients’ businesses so that we offer insurance solutions that meet their needs – from complex programmes to simpler e-trading solutions – and support them in minimising their risk exposures. Our expert risk management and rehabilitation practitioners focus on helping clients improve their risk management so that they may benefit from a reduction in claims frequency and costs.