High Risk Insurance
Insurance for complex constructions projects and high-risk property
Some construction projects don’t fit neatly into standard insurance policies. Whether it’s due to earthquake exposure, location, project size, design complexity, or past claims history, many insurers will simply decline the risk. That’s where specialist placement matters.
Sentinel Insurance works with construction businesses facing difficult or high-risk insurance placements, helping secure cover that keeps projects moving and contracts compliant.
Insurance
What makes a project “hard to place”?
A construction project may be considered high risk or difficult to insure if it involves:
Significant earthquake or natural disaster exposure
Large-scale or high-value contract works
Complex structural or engineering design
Unusual construction methods or materials
Challenging site locations (CBDs, coastal, remote, seismic zones)
Tight contractual insurance requirements
A history of claims or previous insurer declines
Standard insurance markets often won’t accommodate these risks — or they impose restrictive terms that don’t meet contract requirements.
Your Insurance
How the process works
We’ll make sure you have the right insurance options to protect your business, your people, and your projects.
1. Tell us about your project
You share the details of your construction project, including scope, location, contract requirements, and any challenges you’ve faced getting cover. This helps identify what makes the risk complex or hard to place.
2. We assess the risk
Your project is reviewed to understand key exposures such as earthquake risk, build type, value, timeframe, and contractual obligations. This step ensures the right insurers are approached from the start.
3. We prepare a specialist submission
Your project is presented clearly and professionally, highlighting risk controls and key information insurers need to see. How the risk is presented can make all the difference.
4. Specialist markets are approached
Rather than standard insurers, we approach specialist and non-standard markets suited to high-risk construction projects. This is where experience and market relationships matter most.
5. Cover is structured and negotiated
Policy terms, limits, excesses, and wording are negotiated to align with your project and contract requirements. The goal is practical cover that actually works — not just a policy on paper.
6. Ongoing support throughout the project
From changes to scope through to claims support, you’ll have guidance from start to completion. So you stay protected at every stage of the build.
Insurance
Why work with us?
Specialist experience matters.
With 26 years of experience, Sentinel Insurance has helped New Zealand construction businesses secure insurance for some of the most challenging projects in the market.
You can benefit from:
- Experience placing high-risk and declined risks
- Access to specialist and non-standard insurance markets
- Clear guidance on what insurers need to see
- Practical advice to improve insurability
- Support from pre-contract through to claims
- Principal / head contractor requirements (where required)
It refers to risks that standard insurers won’t accept due to factors like size, location, earthquake exposure, or project complexity. These risks require specialist markets.
Yes. Previous declines don’t mean cover is impossible — it often means the risk needs to be presented differently or placed with specialist insurers.
Generally yes, however there can be strict restrictions or endorsements for Earthquake prone areas, and availability depends on location, project type, and insurer appetite. We have a number of solutions to ensure you and your financers are comfortable with your Earthquake exposure.
That’s a key focus. Policies are structured to align with principal, head contractor, and contract wording requirements wherever possible.
It can be, due to the nature of the risk. However, the cost of being uninsured, or underinsuredm ,is usually far greater.