ACORD 147 is the Installation / Builders Risk Section of a commercial insurance submission. It collects project, value, transit, storage, rigging, and site information an insurer needs to evaluate property while it is being installed, built, or renovated.
The form is an application section. It does not insure the project, certify coverage, or replace the issued builders risk or installation floater policy.
What does ACORD 147 collect?
For installation coverage, the form asks about operating territory, receipts, number and duration of jobs, values, transit, temporary locations, rigging, and jobsite security. For a specific builders risk project, it asks about the location, parties, construction, occupancy, dates, completed value, existing structures, renovations, protection, and catastrophe exposures.
A published specimen shows separate entries for the maximum at one location, per-disaster amount, temporary-location limit, and transit limit.[1] These numbers answer different accumulation questions and should not be replaced by one average project value.
Installation floater or builders risk?
An installation floater commonly follows property an installer owns or is responsible for from transit through temporary storage and installation. Builders risk commonly covers the building or structure under construction and specified property that will become part of it. Policy wording varies, so the business role and contract should drive the submission.
An HVAC contractor with many short jobs may have an annual installation exposure. An owner building one warehouse may need a specific builders risk placement. A contractor can need both when its annual operations and a particular project create different accumulations.
What should be checked before signing?
Reconcile the completed value with the construction budget and update it for change orders. Identify values in existing structures, temporary works, scaffolding, materials awaiting installation, and offsite storage. Explain testing, hot work, cranes, unusual rigging, flood, earthquake, wind, and water exposures.
Also review when coverage begins and ends, who must be named or scheduled, whether soft costs and delay are requested, and how deductibles apply. Listing a lender or owner on ACORD 147 does not itself grant loss-payee, mortgageholder, or additional insured rights.
Frequently asked questions
Is ACORD 147 itself a builders risk policy?
No. It supplies underwriting information. Coverage exists only under the policy and endorsements the insurer issues.
Should the value be the contractor's annual receipts?
Not for every field. The form distinguishes receipts from project values and peak accumulations at a location, in storage, and in transit.
Does listing a lender protect its interest?
No. The insurer must issue the appropriate policy provision or endorsement for the lender's actual role.
Where can you obtain ACORD 147?
ACORD provides current licensed forms through its Forms Portal for eligible users.[2] Use the copy supplied by the agency or authorized system, because editions and insurer supplements can change.
This guide is for educational purposes and describes the application in original words. Menlo Insurance Services is not affiliated with ACORD Corporation. ACORD 147 does not bind or amend coverage. Your issued policy controls. Talk to a licensed broker about the project.
The Bottom Line
ACORD 147 gives the underwriter a map of property from transit and storage through installation or construction. Accurate peak values, project details, parties, and site protections are more useful than rough averages.
References
- 1.NIF Group. “ACORD 147 Installation / Builders Risk Section Specimen.” https://nifgroup.com/resources/Acord/Acord-147-Installation-Builders-Risk-Section.pdf ↩
- 2.ACORD. “ACORD Forms Portal.” https://formsportal.acord.org/ ↩