On a construction site, health & safety compliance isn’t just “good practice” — it’s a legal duty and a commercial necessity. In the UK, the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015), and a long list of supporting regulations set out what you must do to protect workers, subcontractors, visitors, and the public.
Insurance doesn’t replace compliance. But it can protect your business when something goes wrong despite your controls — and it can also support your compliance approach by encouraging better risk management, documentation, and contractor oversight.
In this guide, we’ll break down:
The key UK health & safety duties in construction
The incidents insurers see most often (and why)
The construction insurance policies that respond
The documents and controls that help you stay compliant and insurable
Practical steps to reduce claims, reduce downtime, and protect your reputation
Health & safety compliance is the combination of:
Legal duties (what the law requires)
Competence and planning (how you organise work safely)
Site controls (what you do day-to-day)
Evidence (records that show you did it)
In practice, compliance means you can demonstrate that you:
Identified hazards and assessed risks
Put proportionate controls in place
Supervised and trained people properly
Maintained plant and equipment
Managed subcontractors and visitors
Reported and learned from incidents
From an insurance perspective, compliance reduces the likelihood of:
Injury claims (employees, labour-only, subcontractors, public)
Property damage (your works, neighbouring property)
Project delays and contractual disputes
Regulatory investigations and legal costs
You don’t need to be a solicitor to run a compliant site, but you do need to understand the basics.
This is the foundation. It places duties on employers and those in control of premises to protect employees and others affected by their work.
Insurance link: Breaches can lead to enforcement action, prosecutions, and civil claims. While fines and penalties are generally not insurable, legal defence costs and civil liability can be covered under the right policies.
CDM 2015 sets out roles and responsibilities across the project:
Client
Principal Designer
Principal Contractor
Contractors
Designers
Key themes are planning, competence, coordination, and ensuring the right information flows through the project.
Insurance link: Poor CDM management often shows up in claims as inadequate planning, unclear responsibilities, and weak subcontractor control — which can affect liability outcomes and policy terms.
Certain workplace incidents must be reported to the HSE.
Insurance link: If an incident becomes a claim, insurers will expect to see that reporting and record-keeping were handled correctly. Late reporting to insurers can also prejudice cover.
These supporting regulations cover common construction risks:
Work at Height Regulations (falls, scaffolds, ladders)
PPE at Work Regulations (correct selection and use)
COSHH (dust, silica, solvents, cement, fumes)
PUWER (safe use of work equipment)
LOLER (lifting operations and lifting equipment)
Insurance link: Many serious injury claims involve work at height, lifting operations, and plant/equipment failures. Demonstrating inspections, training, and supervision can be the difference between a defended claim and an expensive settlement.
Insurers and loss adjusters see patterns. The same types of incidents occur again and again.
Still one of the biggest causes of fatal and major injuries.
Typical root causes include:
Unsafe ladder use
Incomplete or altered scaffolding
Missing edge protection
Poor housekeeping leading to trips
Inadequate supervision
Construction traffic management is a major risk area.
Common issues:
No segregated pedestrian routes
Poor reversing controls
Inadequate banksman arrangements
Unauthorised plant use
Dropped tools, poorly stored materials, and lifting operations can cause serious injury.
Temporary works, excavations, and structural alterations require careful design and monitoring.
Silica dust, asbestos disturbance, solvents, and cement burns can create long-tail claims.
Hot works, temporary electrics, and poor storage of flammables can lead to major property losses.
Hitting cables, water mains, or gas services can cause injury, property damage, and major delays.
Construction insurance is rarely a single policy. It’s typically a package designed around your trade, turnover, contract types, and risk profile.
If you employ staff, EL is legally required in most cases.
What it covers: Claims from employees who are injured or become ill due to their work.
Health & safety link: Training records, RAMS, supervision notes, and equipment inspection logs are often critical evidence.
Protects you if a third party (member of the public, client, visitor, neighbouring property owner) suffers injury or property damage due to your work.
Health & safety link: Site security, signage, pedestrian management, and control of contractors all matter.
Covers damage to the works in progress (and sometimes materials on site) from insured events.
Health & safety link: Fire prevention, hot works controls, and site security can affect cover and claims outcomes.
If you design, specify, advise, or take responsibility for design elements, PI can be essential.
Health & safety link: Design risk management, change control, and documentation are key.
Covers owned or hired-in plant and tools against theft or damage.
Health & safety link: Maintenance and inspection regimes reduce failures and accidents.
For certain trades, pollution cover can be important (fuel spills, contamination incidents).
Health & safety link: COSHH controls and spill response plans support both compliance and insurability.
Some policies or add-ons can help with legal defence costs for certain prosecutions or investigations.
Important note: Fines and penalties are generally not covered, but defence costs may be.
When you apply for construction insurance — and when you make a claim — insurers will look for evidence that you manage risk properly.
RAMS should be:
Specific to the job (not generic templates)
Communicated to the team
Updated when conditions change
Examples include:
CSCS cards (where applicable)
Plant operator tickets
Working at height training
Asbestos awareness
First aid provision
Keep records for:
Ladders, scaffolds, harnesses
PAT testing and temporary electrics checks
PUWER inspections
LOLER thorough examinations
Insurers often ask:
Do you use bona fide subcontractors?
Do you check their insurance?
Do you vet competence?
Do you have written contracts?
Evidence might include:
Induction records
Toolbox talks
Site diaries
Near-miss reporting
Photographs of controls
A robust hot works permit system and fire watch procedures can materially reduce losses.
Not every insurer prices risk the same way, but good controls often lead to:
Better terms and fewer exclusions
Lower excesses n- Improved claims defensibility
Fewer incidents and less downtime
Practical improvements that often make a difference:
A named competent person responsible for H&S
Regular documented site inspections
Clear traffic management plans
Strong housekeeping standards
Formal subcontractor onboarding
A culture of reporting near misses
If your policy doesn’t reflect what you actually do, claims can become complicated.
This can affect Employers’ Liability and how insurers view your risk.
Some contracts push risk onto contractors through:
Indemnities
“Hold harmless” clauses
High liability limits
Requirements for specific endorsements
Notify insurers promptly — even if you think it’s “minor”. A small incident can become a large claim months later.
In a disputed claim, documentation is often your best defence.
Use this as a practical starting point:
Health & safety policy (where required) and clear responsibilities
Site-specific RAMS for each job
CDM role clarity (especially on notifiable projects)
Inductions and toolbox talks documented
Training and competence records up to date
Plant, tools, and lifting equipment inspection records
Work at height controls (scaffolds, edge protection, harnesses)
Traffic management plan and pedestrian segregation
COSHH assessments and dust control measures
Hot works permits and fire prevention controls
Incident and near-miss reporting process
RIDDOR reporting process (when applicable)
Subcontractor vetting and insurance checks
Regular site audits and corrective actions recorded
If you’re a UK contractor, you need insurance that matches your real-world risk — not a generic policy that leaves gaps.
At Insure24, we help construction businesses arrange cover that reflects:
Your trade and typical work types
Your use of subcontractors
Your contract values and project profiles
Your health & safety processes
We’ll ask the right questions, help you avoid common compliance and insurance pitfalls, and make sure your policy wording and limits are appropriate for your contracts.
If you’d like a quick review of your current construction insurance and health & safety setup, get in touch with Insure24.
Call 0330 127 2333
Or visit https://www.insure24.co.uk/ to request a quote
This article is for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Health & safety duties vary by project and role under CDM 2015.
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