Concrete Cutting and Diamond Drilling Insurance
Concrete cutting and diamond drilling contractors work inside buildings that already exist, and frequently inside buildings that are still occupied. Wall sawing, floor sawing, wire sawing and core drilling create openings for lifts, stairs, services and doorways, and every cut goes through something somebody else designed and somebody else owns.
The risks are specific. A core through a slab can sever a post tensioned tendon, a buried cable or a water pipe. A structural opening cut without the right propping can let the structure above deflect. Cooling water and slurry find their way through floors, ceilings and into lift shafts, server rooms and shops below.
Then there is the work itself. Large sections of cut concrete have to be lifted and removed, hydraulic saws and drill rigs are anchored to the structure, and silica dust and vibration affect the operatives using the equipment day in, day out.
We can look at the type of cutting you do, the buildings you work in and how you scan and plan each job, and help arrange liability, tools and plant, contract works and, where you advise on openings, professional indemnity cover that reflects how your work is carried out.
Common claims and risk exposures
The exposures that produce claims in this trade, rather than a generic list.
Post tensioned slabs and reinforcement
Many modern car parks and commercial floors are post tensioned, and cutting a tendon can release significant stored energy and compromise the slab. Cutting main reinforcement in a beam or slab can also reduce capacity well beyond the opening. Scanning with ground penetrating radar or cover meters, and written approval from the structural engineer before cutting, are the controls insurers expect to see.
Embedded services
Cables, conduits, heating pipes and data runs are routinely cast into slabs and walls, often with no accurate record. Cutting a live cable is an injury risk to the operative and can take out power to an occupied building, while a severed water or heating pipe can cause extensive water damage before it is isolated.
Slurry and water damage
Wet cutting and core drilling use water for cooling and dust suppression, and the resulting slurry travels through cores, joints and service penetrations. Damage to ceilings, stock, IT equipment and finishes on the floors below is a frequent claim, and slurry washed into drains raises a pollution question as well.
Structural openings and temporary support
Forming a new opening in a load bearing wall or slab needs temporary propping or needling to a design. If the support is wrong, or removed too soon, the structure above can crack or deflect. Where you provide or advise on that support, the exposure moves into design territory.
Removing cut sections
A cut block of concrete can weigh several tonnes. Lifting it out, lowering it through a building or moving it across a finished floor brings lifting operations, floor loading and damage to the building being worked on into play, alongside the injury risk to the crew.
The cover we arrange
We arrange insurance around the work you carry out, the contracts you take and the sites you work on. The cover available will depend on the individual risk and the terms offered by insurers.
Public liability
Third party injury and property damage, including water damage to other parts of the building and damage to services. Commercial and infrastructure clients commonly ask for £5m or £10m.
- Third party injury and property damage
- Water and slurry damage to other areas
- Damage to underground and embedded services
- Limits typically £5m or £10m
Employers' liability
A legal requirement once you employ people, and it can be arranged where required, subject to the policy terms. Silica dust, hand arm vibration and noise are the long tail occupational exposures underwriters ask about in this trade.
- Operatives and labourers
- Silica dust and respiratory disease
- Hand arm vibration syndrome
- Noise induced hearing loss
Tools and specialist equipment
Wall saws, floor saws, wire saws, drill rigs, power packs and diamond tooling are expensive, portable and attractive to thieves. Cover needs to reflect the replacement cost of the kit you actually carry.
- Saws, rigs and hydraulic power packs
- Diamond blades, wires and core bits
- Scanning equipment
- Theft from vehicles, subject to conditions
Contract works
On larger structural alteration contracts you may be asked to insure the works in progress and temporary works. Smaller jobs are often covered by the main contractor or building owner, so the contract terms decide what you need.
- Works in progress where you are responsible
- Temporary propping and needling
- Materials on site
- Joint names where the contract requires
Professional indemnity
Relevant where you recommend opening positions, interpret scan results for the client or design temporary support. A wrong call on where to cut can produce a large remedial bill without anybody being injured.
- Advice on opening positions
- Interpretation of scan surveys
- Temporary works design
- Claims made basis
What an underwriter will ask
Having these to hand shortens the process considerably, and usually improves the terms.
- Turnover split between core drilling, wall sawing, floor sawing, wire sawing and demolition by cutting
- Types of buildings worked in: occupied, commercial, hospitals, infrastructure, domestic
- Your scanning procedure and the equipment used
- Whether written structural engineer approval is obtained before structural cuts
- How slurry and cooling water are contained and disposed of
- Who designs and installs temporary propping for openings
- How cut sections are lifted and removed, and whether you carry out lifting operations
- Dust and vibration controls, and health surveillance for operatives
- Tool and plant values
- Five years of claims, particularly water damage and service strikes
What affects the cost of your insurance?
The main factors insurers consider when assessing the premium.
Type of building
Coring a domestic wall for a boiler flue is a very different risk from cutting openings in a post tensioned car park deck or an operating hospital. The mix of building types matters more than turnover.
Scanning and approval process
A documented process of scanning, marking and engineer sign off before structural cutting shows how claims would be prevented and defended.
Water control
Wet vacs, slurry containment and protection of floors below are what reduce the frequent, moderate water damage claims that drive renewal terms in this class.
Equipment values
The value of saws, rigs and tooling, and how it is stored overnight, sets the tools and plant section.
Conditions and exclusions to consider
Terms vary between insurers, so treat these as the questions to ask rather than a description of any one policy.
Property in your care, custody or control
The slab or wall you are cutting, and possibly the room you are working in, may be treated as property in your care and fall outside public liability. Damage to the structure you are cutting is the claim most likely to land in this gap, so the wording needs checking.
Failure to scan or obtain approval
Some insurers attach conditions requiring services and reinforcement to be located before cutting. Where no scan was done, or the engineer's approval was not obtained for a structural cut, a claim can be challenged.
Pollution from slurry
Sudden and accidental pollution may be covered, but discharging slurry to surface water drains as routine practice is not something an insurer will accept as accidental. Containment and correct disposal protect both the environment and the claim.
Tools in unattended vehicles
Tool cover usually requires vehicles to be locked and may exclude theft overnight unless the tools are removed or the vehicle is kept in a secure location. With high value saws and power packs, overnight van theft is a costly claim to have declined.
Common questions
What insurance do concrete cutting contractors need?
Public liability is the core cover, typically at £5m or £10m for commercial work, and it needs to include damage to services and water damage to other parts of the building. Employers' liability is a legal requirement once you employ people and can be arranged where required, subject to the policy terms. Tools and equipment cover is important given the value of saws and rigs, and professional indemnity is worth considering where you advise on opening positions or temporary support.
Am I covered if I cut through a post tensioned tendon?
Injury and damage to third party property arising from it would normally fall under public liability, subject to the wording. The structure you were cutting may be treated as property in your care, which can be excluded. Insurers may also ask whether the slab was scanned and whether an engineer approved the cut. Records of both make a substantial difference to how a claim is handled.
Does my policy cover water damage to the floor below?
Accidental water damage to third party property is usually a public liability matter. Where the floor below belongs to the same client and is part of the building you are working on, the property in your care question can arise, so it is worth knowing how your wording treats it. Protecting the floor below and checking for openings before wet cutting are the practical controls.
Do I need professional indemnity for diamond drilling?
Not always. If you simply cut where the client or engineer has marked, the design responsibility generally sits with them. If you recommend where an opening should go, interpret a scan for the client, or design temporary propping, you are giving advice that could be wrong without anybody being careless in executing it, and professional indemnity is the cover that responds to that.
Are silica dust claims covered?
Employers' liability can respond to disease claims from employees, including respiratory disease from silica. These claims can surface many years after exposure, and it is generally the policy in force at the time of exposure that responds. Dust suppression, on tool extraction, face fit testing and health surveillance are the controls insurers ask about.
How do I get a quote from True Risk Solutions?
Call 01304 262880 and speak to a broker, or email info@truerisksolutions.co.uk with what you do, what you need cover for and a phone number with the best time to call, and a broker will call you back. We need a phone number to quote, because the cover and the price depend on questions that are quicker to answer on a call than by email.
Speak to a specialist who understands your industry
Tell us about your business and the work you undertake, and we will come back to you with cover options built around it. Call 01304 262880, or email us with a phone number and the best time to call and a broker will ring you back.