This is an opinion piece by Ben Rickard, director of construction-focussed risk adviser and insurance broking firm Builtin. Ben and Builtin have been providing insurance and risk advice to thousands of building businesses for more than a decade. He has made...
The protection of retentions has been an issue in the construction industry for years, not just in New Zealand but globally. Amendments to the Construction Contracts Act a few years back put obligations on head contractors to protect those retentions by holding them...
A lot of insurance is tied to contracts, so it’s critical you understand what’s in your contract and comply with the requirements in there. Even if you use a standard contract, things might change and you need to be on top of this, or you might end up in hot water....
A COVID-19 related policy change earlier this year saw Kainga Ora begin to accept surety-backed bonds rather than just bank-backed ones. This has great benefits for contractors and accelerates a trend seen across the market towards bonds in lieu of retentions. If you...
There are always two sides to every story. It’s no different when it comes to payment schedules in a building contract. Customers (and their lenders) generally prefer to pay for work after it has been supplied. On the other hand, many builders would like to get...
While the precise impact of a recession on our construction sector is unknown it will no doubt affect many small businesses as less work is pushed through the pipeline. For savvy business owners there are options to help both reduce risk to their own profitability and...
