Ground up residential and commercial projects
New construction from the first footing, residential, commercial and mixed use, for builders, owners and developers whose lender requires coverage before the first draw.
Course of Construction Insurance in California
Ground up builds, covered in days not weeks. Start a quote in minutes and a licensed California broker shops the construction markets for you.
We shop the market for you, no broker fees
Alchemy
New construction builders risk
Green Shield
Ground up construction, residential to $4M
Zurich
Builders risk plan via US Assure, to $75M
Builders Mutual
Residential and commercial construction
Travelers
Inland marine builders risk
Chubb
Commercial and residential construction
Kinsale
Hard to place construction, primary and excess
Blitz
E&S builders risk to $5M per location
What the course of construction market writes in California
Projects from the modest to the very large
Programs from a hundred fifty thousand dollars of completed value up to seventy five million on the largest forms, so one market fits the build instead of three quotes that each miss.
The location decides eligibility
The highest wildfire hazard groups, coastal proximity and over water sites restrict or end eligibility. The broker checks the hazard groups from the project address before quoting.
Soft costs and materials are the difference
Soft costs from a covered loss, theft of building materials with a ten thousand dollar sublimit, vandalism and malicious mischief, and cosmetic renovation allowances mid build.
How it works
10 minute form
A few questions about your business or home.
We shop the market
We compare carriers and read the forms line by line.
Pick the best policy
We explain what is covered, what is not, and what it costs.
The lender's requirement is the easy part
Every lender requires course of construction coverage before funding. The hard part is a policy that still matches the project at month nine, after the scope changed twice.
The completed value has to be right
Course of construction insures what the building will be worth finished, not what has been spent so far. Undervaluing it is the most common cause of a shortfall at claim time.
Soft costs are the hidden loss
When a covered loss delays the build, interest, rents and re-engineering pile up faster than the frame goes back up. Soft costs coverage is what separates a real policy from a cheap one.
The term has to match the schedule
Ground up terms run to the certificate of occupancy. A standard twelve months with an extension path, matched to the real build schedule, beats a cheap policy that lapses at month ten.
Written for California ground up projects, including:
- Residential new construction
- Commercial and mixed use builds
- Wood frame projects to $10 million
- Larger projects to $75 million by market
- Projects already started, by review
- Modular builds by review
What changes your premium
There is no flat rate for this coverage. These are the inputs a carrier prices against, and they are the same things the quote form asks you for.
- Completed value of the project
- Construction type, stories and square footage
- Wildfire hazard group and coastal distance from the address
- Builder's experience and prior claims
- Protection class and hydrant distance
Text us. We're by your side.
Questions we get asked
Is course of construction the same as builders risk?
Yes, the two names describe the same coverage: property insurance for a structure while it is being built. Lenders and contracts use the names interchangeably, and this page exists because you searched the other one.
When does coverage start and end?
It starts at first delivery of materials to the site in most programs and ends at the certificate of occupancy or the policy term, whichever comes first.
What are soft costs?
The costs that continue after a covered loss delays the project: construction loan interest, lost rents, re-engineering and permit refiling. They are covered as a scheduled option, not automatically.
Who buys the policy, the owner or the builder?
Either can hold it, and lenders accept both. The builder holding it is the more common placement because their experience rating drives the price.
Are materials on site covered against theft?
Yes, with theft of building materials carried as a sublimit, ten thousand dollars on the standard form, and higher by market.
Can you write this where my business is?
We are licensed in California, Texas, Pennsylvania and New York, and applications in Ohio, North Carolina and Michigan are with those states now. We do not quote a state before its license is issued. Start a quote and we will tell you where you stand before you spend time on it.
What actually happens after I start a quote?
You answer a short set of questions, and a licensed broker at Menlo reads them, maps your operation to a class, and shops it with the carriers we are appointed with. There is no instant bind and no black box. You talk to a person before anything is quoted.
Get it placed by someone who reads the fine print
Start a quote and a licensed broker takes it from there, or talk to one now.