Our office is at 440 Louisiana Street, nine blocks from most of the projects we insure.
Houston construction carries exposures that a generic builders risk policy handles poorly, and the three that matter most here are water, wind, and theft.
Flood is the Houston question.
Builders risk excludes flood. On a Houston project that is not a technicality — it is the difference between a covered loss and a total one. Harvey put water into structures that had never flooded, and a partially built structure has no envelope to keep it out.
If your project sits in or near a mapped floodplain, in a Harris County Flood Control District watershed, or anywhere the site drains poorly, ask about flood coverage as a separate placement before you break ground. Lenders on floodplain projects usually require it, and it is not something to discover at closing.
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Building or Structures Under Construction Coverage
Risk Factor
Your work-in-progress is a risk in the open. Damage from covered weather, vandalism, or other risks can slow or stop a project.
Solution
Building or Structures Under Construction coverage helps protect against damage to the building or structure being constructed from covered risks.
Materials and Supplies Coverage
Risk Factor
The materials and supplies you have on the job site are vulnerable to risks such as theft, fire, or other types of loss or damage.
Solution
Materials and Supplies coverage pays for the loss of covered materials and supplies used to complete the construction.
Equipment Coverage
Risk Factor
Your tools and equipment are of the utmost importance when building. Losing them to theft or damage could be a major problem.
Solution
Add Equipment coverage to protect valuable construction equipment used to complete the project from damage or other forms of loss.
Temporary Structures
Risk Factor
Weather, accidents, and other risks are potential dangers to temporarily erected structures that help you complete key projects.
Solution
Adding Temporary Structures coverage to your policy covers structures like scaffolding or signs from damage or other forms of loss.
Soft Cost Coverage
Risk Factor
There is often more at stake than what is at the construction site. Damages and delays can affect other parts of your business.
Solution
Soft Cost coverage helps with extra costs such as loan interest, lost sales income, rental income, real estate taxes, and more.
Named windstorm and the catastrophe area.
Projects in Galveston County, and in the part of Harris County within the state’s designated catastrophe area, face named-storm deductibles calculated as a percentage of the limit, and wind and hail are often excluded from the base policy and written separately.
Structures in that territory may also require windstorm certification, with inspections at specific construction phases rather than after completion. If your project is east of Highway 146 or on the island, confirm the inspection schedule before framing rather than after.
Theft on open sites.
Houston’s residential growth corridors — Katy, Cypress, Spring, and the Grand Parkway submarkets — run large numbers of simultaneous open jobsites. Copper, condensers, appliances, and lumber move off unfenced lots routinely. Several carriers condition theft coverage on fencing, lighting, or documented site security. Tell us what your site controls actually are and we will market to carriers whose requirements you can meet.
The projects we see most in Houston.
Ground-up industrial and warehouse along the Ship Channel and the Highway 90 corridor. Medical office and clinical build-outs near the Texas Medical Center. Tilt-wall distribution in northwest Harris County. Multifamily inside the Loop. Custom residential in West Houston and The Woodlands. Tenant improvements throughout downtown and the Energy Corridor.
If you are renovating an existing Houston building rather than building new, ask us specifically how the policy treats the existing structure — it is usually excluded unless added.
Frequently asked questions.
Does builders risk cover hurricane damage in Houston?
Wind damage is generally covered, subject to a named-storm deductible, but storm surge and flooding are not. Coastal and catastrophe-area projects may need wind written separately.
My lender requires builders risk before closing. How fast can you quote?
Send the project address, completed value, and construction dates and we will quote most Houston projects within one business day.
Do I need builders risk for a tenant improvement in an existing building?
Frequently yes, and the important question is whether the existing structure is covered. Standard forms cover your work, not the shell.
Talk to a Houston builders risk agent.
We are an independent commercial agency in downtown Houston. Send us your project details and we will get you terms quickly.
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