The growing use of Building Information Management (BIM) systems is not impacting insurance cover at present say major contractors.
Most however think that changes are on their way with the majority expecting to review cover in the future according to a recent survey.
Building Magazine and Zurich Insurance undertook a poll of main contractors to understand how BIM was impacting insurance purchasing decisions. Nine out of ten (94{0a6a65c996ed4169444354e707b897cdb00dbefc1d0429e8febb9bf11027ba53}) said they had not reviewed the scope of their insurance cover as a result of greater adoption of (BIM). A majority (53{0a6a65c996ed4169444354e707b897cdb00dbefc1d0429e8febb9bf11027ba53}) however expect to review cover in the future. Most (87{0a6a65c996ed4169444354e707b897cdb00dbefc1d0429e8febb9bf11027ba53}) believed that adopting BIM had not made any difference to insurers attitudes to providing cover, but a small minority (8{0a6a65c996ed4169444354e707b897cdb00dbefc1d0429e8febb9bf11027ba53}) said they found BIM a hindrance to securing insurance. Opinions are split whether single project insurance is the answer to liability issues on BIM enabled projects – with nearly 42{0a6a65c996ed4169444354e707b897cdb00dbefc1d0429e8febb9bf11027ba53} saying it would make a difference and a similar number believing it would not.
“The goal is that over time BIM will reduce risk in development projects, as all parties working on a project will be fully aware of the work being undertaken by others on a single universal system.” said James Burgoyne, Director, Brunel Professional Risks. “At present, however, BIM introduction has opened the door to new issues, and the professional indemnity market is still assessing their impact. The good news is that they have only had a limited impact on insurance rates so far- however this is likely to change as the BIM market matures.
“We recommend that all construction professionals advise their professional indemnity insurers if they start working on BIM-enabled projects for the first time.”
