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Are my husband and I considered the “general contractor” when we build our small retirement home ourselves (literally) on our vacant land? Our current Homeowners Insurance covers liability on the land as long as there are no structures. But how do we carry liability coverage once we start building? I’ve be researching Comprehensive Personal Liability policies that are independent of Homeowners policies, but so far they all say they cover land with “Dwellings under renovation or construction, where the insured is not acting as general contractor”. Does this mean as owners/builders we are not eligible for liability coverage? Thank you for your help!
Ask your insurance agent about "builder's insurance". There is a special policy designed for houses under construction that can then be converted to a regular Homeowner's policy when construction is complete. This should cover the actual structure of the house. If I remember correctly, there is also a provision for covering you in case a (sub)contractor gets hurt while on your job site, but ask your insurance agent to be sure.
Since this is a relatively unusual policy for people to get, your personal insurance agent may not have heard of it, but ask him/her to check with their company or find another agent who will. Our agent had a bit of a learning curve with ours since it was the first she'd ever done, but at least I had the confidence that she WOULD go find the answers.
