HDD Contractor Coverage
Builders Risk & Installation Floater
The conduit, pipe, cable, and materials you're installing are at risk from the moment they arrive until the job is accepted. Builders risk and installation-floater coverage protect the work itself — the materials and the work in progress — against loss along the way.
What's covered
Coverage included with Builders Risk & Installation Floater
Covering the work, not just your equipment
Contractors equipment coverage protects your rigs and tools; builders risk and installation floaters protect something different — the materials and the work you're installing on the project. On a bore job that's the conduit, pipe, cable, vaults, and components being placed underground, plus the materials staged on site waiting to go in. Until the project is complete and the owner accepts it, that work-in-progress is an exposure: it can be damaged, stolen, or destroyed, and replacing it on a tight schedule is costly. Installation-floater and builders-risk coverage fund that replacement so a loss to the work doesn't come out of your margin.
From delivery to acceptance
The coverage follows the materials through the life of the install. It covers them in transit to the job, while they're stored on site before installation, and as work-in-progress as they go into the ground — up until the project is complete and accepted. That window matters on bore jobs because materials often sit staged on open sites, and the installation itself can span days or weeks. We make sure the coverage spans the full timeline so there's no gap between when the conduit shows up and when the job is signed off.
What it protects against
Installation and builders-risk coverage responds to physical loss or damage to the materials and work from covered causes — theft from the job site, fire, weather and storm damage, vandalism, and accidental damage during handling and installation. Theft of staged conduit and materials from open utility job sites is a real exposure, and weather can damage staged or partially installed work. By covering the materials you're responsible for installing, the coverage protects the part of the project value that isn't your equipment and isn't yet the owner's accepted work — the in-between that a standard policy can leave exposed.
Per-project or blanket coverage
How the coverage is structured depends on how you work. A contractor with one large project at a time may carry per-project builders risk sized to that job's value. A contractor running multiple concurrent installs is usually better served by a blanket installation floater that covers materials across all active jobs up to a limit. We match the structure to your project flow — and to the contractual requirements owners and GCs impose, since many contracts specify builders-risk or installation coverage with particular limits. The goal is coverage that fits how you actually run work, not a generic policy.
Sizing it to project values and contracts
The limit needs to reflect the real value of materials and work at risk at any one time, including your largest projects and the materials you stage ahead. Underinsuring leaves you exposed on exactly the big jobs where a loss hurts most. We work from your typical and peak project values and your contract requirements to set the right limit, and adjust it as you take on larger work. Done right, a fire or theft on a project is a covered loss and a schedule delay — not a hit to your company's capital.
Why Contractors Choice Agency
We insure trenchless work the way it actually runs.
The HDD and underground-utility-contractor specialty division of Contractors Choice Agency — licensed in all 50 states, covering frac-outs, utility strikes, your iron, and your crew.
We cover the frac-out
An inadvertent return of drilling fluid is the exposure that defines HDD — and standard GL excludes it. We lead with contractors pollution liability so a frac-out is actually covered.
We answer the utility strike
Hitting an existing line is the claim every bore contractor fears. We close the below-grade and care-custody-control gaps standard policies leave open.
We insure the iron
Your drill rig, mud system, and locators are the business. We write contractors equipment coverage that protects them on site, in transit, and between jobs.
Specialty markets, fast COIs
We place HDD contractors with carriers that understand trenchless risk — and turn certificates around fast, because a GC won't let you mobilize without one.
Answers
Builders Risk & Installation Floater — FAQs
Straight answers to the questions directional boring contractors ask us most about this coverage.
Contractors equipment (inland marine) covers your own machinery — rigs, mud systems, locators, tools. Builders risk and installation floaters cover the materials and work you're installing on the project — the conduit, pipe, cable, and components going into the ground, plus materials staged on site. They protect different things: your equipment versus the work itself. A complete HDD program needs both, because both your iron and the project materials are at risk.
It covers the materials you're installing — conduit, pipe, cable, vaults, and components — against physical loss or damage from covered causes like theft, fire, weather, vandalism, and accidental damage, from the time they're in transit and staged on site through installation until the project is complete and accepted. It protects the project-value exposure that isn't your equipment and isn't yet the owner's accepted work.
It generally covers materials from delivery and transit, through on-site storage before installation, and as work-in-progress during installation, up until the project is complete and accepted by the owner. That full window matters on bore jobs because materials often sit staged on open sites and installation can span days or weeks. We make sure the coverage spans the whole timeline so there's no gap from delivery to sign-off.
Yes — theft from the job site is a standard covered cause of loss under installation and builders-risk coverage, which matters because staged conduit and materials on open utility sites are a real theft target. Weather and fire damage to staged or partially installed work are covered too. We'll also discuss site-security practices that reduce these losses and support your coverage at renewal.
It depends on how you work. A contractor with one large project at a time may carry per-project builders risk sized to that job. A contractor running several concurrent installs is usually better served by a blanket installation floater covering materials across all active jobs up to a limit. We match the structure to your project flow and to the contract requirements owners and GCs impose. Tell us how you run work and we'll recommend the right approach.
Many do. Owners, general contractors, and utilities frequently require builders-risk or installation coverage with specified limits as a condition of the contract, and they'll want a certificate proving it. We structure the coverage to satisfy those requirements and issue the certificates in the form your contracts demand, so the insurance side of a project award is handled without delay.
Enough to reflect the real value of materials and work at risk at any one time, including your largest projects and any materials you stage ahead. Underinsuring leaves you exposed on the big jobs where a loss hurts most. We work from your typical and peak project values and your contract requirements to set the right limit, and adjust it as you take on larger work.
Call 844-967-5247 or request a free quote with your typical and largest project values and how many jobs you run at once. We'll set up per-project or blanket installation coverage sized to your work and contract requirements, alongside the rest of your program. Quotes are free and carry no obligation.
Still have questions? Call 844-967-5247
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Other coverages
One frac-out shouldn't be able to sink your business.
Talk to a specialist about pollution, equipment, underground-utility, and the full coverage an HDD operation needs. Free, no-obligation quote — usually same day.
Licensed in all 50 states · Specialty contractor carriers · Mon–Fri 8am–5pm MST (AZ)