Whilst there is a link between the levels of insurance set out in the contract data and also the entries in X18, there is not a generic answer to this question.
I’d suggest that you consider the following when setting the insurance levels:-
- What is the nature of the works/projects and risks associated with the project? This is probably the biggest determining factor for setting the insurance cover levels. In short higher risk/larger projects = higher levels of insurance cover.
- What type of insurance policies do you require. The common insurances are: - All risks insurance, employer’s liability insurance, professional indemnity insurance, product liability insurance, public liability insurance and latent defects insurance. The choice of insurances policies required will affect the remaining risks that are potentially uninsured.
- What are the caps on liability (under X18)? X18 will normally be drafted to work with the insurance entries in the contract data, so the entries in the contract data are partly dependent on each other. For example an Employer will not want to pay for an insurance premium it cannot use, e.g. if the liability cap is lower than the insurance cover!
- What is the Contractors or markets appetite for this project and the risk?
Given the above, it would therefore be prudent to speak with your insurance broker.