The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has appointed Acrisure UK as the new provider of its latent defects insurance scheme, replacing GBW. The announcement on 7 October 2026 is significant because it comes at a difficult point for structural warranty insurance, with placements becoming more technical, lender scrutiny increasing and available capacity remaining restricted.
For contractors, housebuilders and developers across Essex, Kent and London, the change is more than a market announcement. It is a useful reminder that latent defects insurance, often called structural warranty insurance, is now central to how many developments are funded, sold and protected after completion.
It is also important to understand what this cover does not do. A structural warranty is not a substitute for your own Construction Contractor Insurance, General Contractor Liability Insurance or professional indemnity arrangements. It protects a different interest and creates a different claims route.
1. Latent defects insurance protects the completed building, not the contractor
Latent defects are structural problems that are not visible or apparent when a project is completed. They can involve foundations, load-bearing walls, structural frames, roofs or other qualifying parts of the building. The underlying cause may be a design error, defective materials or poor workmanship, but the problem may only become obvious several years later.
A typical policy runs for 10 or 12 years from practical completion. It is generally arranged for the developer, building owner, funder or future owner, and policies are often assignable if the property is sold.
The cover is usually first-party insurance. That means the policyholder can make a claim against the insurer for qualifying physical damage without first proving negligence against the contractor or designer. This is one of the reasons it is valuable where a contractor has ceased trading, where responsibility is disputed or where several parties were involved in the project.
Acrisure’s latent defects insurance service describes the cover as protection against qualifying structural defects arising from problems in design, workmanship or materials. It also highlights the importance of protection for residential and commercial developments, refurbishments, conversions, owners and funders.
However, the policy wording remains critical. Not every defect is automatically covered, and most warranties contain exclusions, technical requirements, financial limits and conditions relating to the construction process.
2. The hard market is being driven by long-tail risk and restricted capacity
Structural warranty insurance has not softened in the same way as some other commercial insurance lines. The market remains hard, with higher premiums, tighter underwriting and fewer providers willing to take substantial long-term exposure.
The reasons are familiar to anyone working in construction. Contractor insolvencies have remained high, and insurers are concerned about the cost of defects emerging after the original contractor, subcontractor or consultant has disappeared. A-rated capacity is also limited, while some providers have withdrawn from the sector or reduced their participation during the last 12 to 24 months.
The Acrisure and BIBA scheme announcement notes that the structural warranty market continues to operate in a hard cycle, unlike several other areas of insurance that are beginning to experience softer conditions. It also reports that premiums have risen as a result of provider withdrawals and the shortage of A-rated capacity.
This is an important distinction for developers. A competitive quote is not necessarily a suitable quote if the provider is not acceptable to the lender, the policy is badly structured or the insurer’s financial strength is not appropriate for a 10 or 12-year obligation.
The current market rewards preparation. A clear specification, strong quality-control records, experienced contractors and early engagement with a specialist broker can all make a difference. Leaving the warranty until the project is already under construction can reduce the available options and lead to an uncomfortable premium or additional technical requirements.
3. Lender acceptance matters at funding stage, not only when a claim arises
It is easy to think of a structural warranty as something that becomes important when a defect appears. In practice, lender acceptance may matter much earlier.
For most new-build residential sales involving a mortgage, a lender will expect an acceptable 10-year structural warranty or equivalent protection. This is not simply a matter of preference. UK Finance lender requirements and individual lender policies mean that a warranty from an unsuitable or unrecognised provider can create problems with mortgage approval, completion or future sale.
Many commercial lenders, investors and institutional funders apply a similar approach even where the project is not covered by a standard residential mortgage. The requirement may appear in the development finance agreement, investment conditions, sale contract or funding due diligence.
The result is that a poorly structured policy can cause a funding problem before it causes a claims problem. The cover might appear to exist, but if the policy does not meet the lender’s requirements, has the wrong beneficiary, contains unacceptable limitations or is issued by a provider the lender will not accept, the development may not proceed as planned.
This is why the structural warranty should be discussed with the developer’s solicitor, funder, lender and technical team at the start. The question is not only, “Is there a policy?” It is, “Will this policy be accepted by the people who need to rely on it?”
For a developer in Chelmsford, Maidstone or London, this can affect the whole project timetable. It may influence funding drawdowns, practical completion, sales and refinancing. Specialist advice is therefore needed before construction starts, rather than after the building has reached the final stages.
4. The Building Safety Act has created a much longer liability tail
The standard structural warranty period is normally 10 or 12 years, but the potential liability period for defective dwellings can now extend much further.
The Building Safety Act 2022 extended the limitation period for claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972 from six years to 15 years for claims accruing after June 2022. For certain claims relating to work completed before that change, the period was extended retrospectively from six years to 30 years.
This does not mean that every structural warranty automatically provides 15 or 30 years of insurance. It does not. The warranty period and the statutory liability period are separate issues.
The practical concern for contractors, designers and insurers is that a project can create potential exposure long after the normal warranty has expired. A defect that emerges in year 13, 18 or even later may lead to a claim against parties in the original design and construction chain, depending on the facts and the applicable legal route.
That makes record keeping more important. Contractors should retain design decisions, approvals, inspection records, material information, variations, subcontractor details and completion documentation for an appropriate period. It is frustrating when a claim is investigated years later and nobody can establish who made a decision or what information was available at the time, but that is exactly the kind of uncertainty that increases legal and insurance costs.
The extended limitation periods also reinforce the need to review professional indemnity and liability arrangements carefully. A policy that looks adequate for the current contract may not respond in the way the business expects when a claim is notified years later.
5. A structural warranty does not replace the contractor’s own insurance
This is the point contractors should keep in front of them.
Latent defects insurance generally sits with the developer, building owner or another party with a financial interest in the completed building. It is intended to provide a route to repair qualifying damage without the owner first having to establish fault.
It does not normally defend the contractor when the contractor is accused of causing the defect. In fact, after paying a claim, the warranty insurer may investigate recovery against the original design and construction chain. The developer may also pursue the contractor directly, particularly where the defect is outside the warranty, excluded by the policy or falls within a separate contractual or statutory claim.
That is why the contractor’s wider insurance programme still matters:
- Public liability should be reviewed for the type of work being undertaken and the possible consequences of construction activity.
- Professional indemnity insurance is important where the contractor designs, specifies, certifies or provides advice.
- Contract works insurance protects the project during construction, but it is not generally designed to deal with every defect discovered after completion.
- Defective workmanship exclusions need to be understood, particularly where the alleged damage is limited to the cost of correcting the contractor’s own work.
- The basis of cover matters. Public liability is commonly written on an occurrence basis, while professional indemnity is usually claims-made, but the precise wording and retroactive provisions must be checked.
A contractor may therefore need both suitable General Contractor Liability Insurance and properly arranged professional indemnity cover. The right structure depends on the work, the contract, the design responsibility and the way the business operates.
What contractors and developers should do now
The appointment of Acrisure UK to BIBA’s scheme should improve access to specialist expertise for BIBA members, but it does not remove the wider market challenges. Structural warranties remain technical, capacity remains selective and lenders are paying close attention to the quality of the protection behind a project.
For a new development or major conversion in Essex, Kent or London, the sensible approach is to:
- Engage a specialist before construction starts, allowing time for technical audits and insurer approval.
- Confirm lender and funder requirements before selecting the warranty provider.
- Check the insurer’s financial strength, scheme structure and claims arrangements.
- Keep detailed records of design decisions, inspections, materials, variations and completion.
- Review public liability, professional indemnity and contract works insurance together.
- Ask specifically how defective workmanship, design responsibility and long-tail notifications are treated.
- Confirm whether the policy responds on a claims-made or occurrence basis where relevant to the risk.
The construction market is unlikely to return to easy structural warranty placements simply because capacity improves in other insurance lines. The combination of long policy periods, contractor insolvencies, limited A-rated capacity and extended legal liability means that this is still a specialist area.
If you are arranging Construction Contractor Insurance, Business Insurance Essex or Business Insurance London for a development or contracting business, speak to Moyak Insurance Services early. A properly coordinated programme should address both the building owner’s structural warranty requirements and the contractor’s own exposure when a defect is alleged years after completion.