Building Warranty Insurance

Take your business to the next level with the Stamford 10 Year Building Warranty Insurance.

In an uncertain World, there is an increased focus on the resilience of property developments. Prospective purchasers want to be sure that the final product will be fit for purpose and will be a safe, secure investment.

By arranging New Zealand’s only insurance-backed warranty, you will reassure everyone that your projects will meet the highest standards of performance and that any problems which arise after completion will be resolved quickly and professionally.

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Benefits of Our Building Warranty Insurance

Cover is available for any type of construction project anywhere in New Zealand. This includes

Individual houses, townhouses, apartments
Renovation projects
Commercial buildings and mixed-use projects.

A crucial advantage of our building warranty insurance is that it is a first-response policy for the property owner. This means that there is no need to establish who is at fault in the event of a claim. Proving who is at fault can be very costly and time-consuming and benefits nobody. With our insurance in place, it is not necessary to prove negligence. Instead, when a defect arises, the claim is managed by insurance claims professionals until a satisfactory outcome is achieved.

The other benefits of our building warranty insurance products include:

Boosts pre-sales
Protects the owner against defects arising after completion
No need to establish who is at fault or to prove negligence to make a claim
Eliminates the legal costs and delays associated with litigation
Repairs can be completed swiftly
Makes the property more valuable on sale/ resale or as an investment
Improves the security for the mortgage provider
Flexible Premium payment options to match project cash flow
Options to share the costs across all the stakeholders
Fully transferrable multiple times to subsequent owners for 10 years
NZ’s only insurance backed warranty

Our Warranty, also known as Latent Defects Insurance, is a policy that protects property owners for 10 years against defects arising after completion. It covers all defects for two years from the date of Practical Completion and Major Structural Defects, including failure of the waterproof envelope, for a further eight years.

Major defects can be caused by a combination of one or more key factors:

Defective design or specification
Failure of products and materials
Defective workmanship

No other warranty or guarantee in New Zealand provides such wide cover.

Homebuyers are increasingly concerned that the Building Act does not provide the protection they need. The legislation does impose liability on the various parties in a construction project, including architects, builders, and developers. However, the Building Act does not solve the problem of identifying who is responsible and it does not pay for repairs. There is now widespread awareness that the Building Act doesn’t provide the practical support that is required to rectify problems that occur.

Arranging a Building Warranty Insurance with Stamford will give your clients additional
peace of mind and confidence that they are fully protected. This will help accelerate presales.

The builder or developer on a construction project works with our team of experts to arrange Building Warranty Insurance cover at the start of construction, paying the required insurance premium. Then, when the project reaches Practical Completion and gets CCC, Stamford Insurance issues the 10-year policy to the owner or Body Corporate.

A crucial point to remember is that it is important to apply for Building Warranty Insurance early so that cover is in place BEFORE construction starts. If you don’t, premium loadings may be imposed.

Our policies are underwritten 100% by one of the world’s leading reinsurers. They have been offering this type of insurance cover worldwide for over 50 years. They have an A+ rating from Standard and Poor’s and their assets exceed NZ$100 billion.

The first step is to become registered with Stamford Insurance as a Builder or Developer. You can do this by downloading and completing the Registration Form. For builders, we carry out a Technical Assessment to ensure you have the necessary skills and experience for the projects you are carrying out. A one-off fee of $1850 applies. Once registered, you can apply for cover on any of your projects going forward.

Registration form

We can cover projects of any size and complexity, including:

● Low-rise single and multi-unit housing
● High-rise apartments
● Commercial and mixed-use projects

Project Notification Form

● Gives purchasers confidence in you and your project
● Adds value and will encourage buyers to commit, helping to accelerate sales, including pre-sales
● Enhances your reputation
● Gives buyers peace of mind that any major problem will be covered by the policy

● The cost of the policy can be factored into your pricing

During the first two years of the policy, the policyholder should first contact the builder or developer to get any defects rectified. Stamford Insurance will step in if the claim is not resolved promptly.

During years 3 to 10, the Structural Insurance period, the policyholder should contact Stamford Insurance directly to notify us of a possible claim. We will provide you with some preliminary advice and notify your insurers who will take over the handling of the claim. Independent loss adjusters will then be appointed to investigate the problem and organise repairs.

Our Projects

KAURI GREEN

NUGENT RISE

VERDANT LANE

Offices & Prestige Car Showroom

RICHMOND

LIBRARY LANE ALBANY AUCKLAND

LAKE VIEW TAKAPUNA AUCKLAND

LIGHTHOUSE APARTMENTS

TEAL APARTMENTS

MIDDLEMORE

ORCHARD LANE

LONG BAY

EDMONTON

WESTGATE EdgeWest

SELO

EAST TAMAKI Ormiston Rise

Trust Us to Protect Your Biggest Investment!

At Stamford Insurance, we specialise in providing insurance and risk management solutions to stakeholders in the construction and civil engineering industries. This includes builders and developers of residential and commercial properties. To discuss your insurance requirements, including for Building Warranty Insurance, please get in touch.