How data centre latent defects cover works
Five steps from your first enquiry to a final certificate at completion - what underwriters need from you, how the technical audit runs alongside the build and when cover starts.
- Instant response
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your proposal
- UK FCA Regulated Broker
- No broker fee to pay
- Specialist commercial underwriters
The process
Five steps to latent defects cover
Tell us about the project
The site, the type of facility, the build cost, and whether work has started. The short form takes a minute.
We approach underwriters
We take the project to specialist underwriters with an appetite for data centres and technical buildings, and tell you what they need.
Your quote
A written quotation naming the insurer, with the premium and fees shown separately, plus our terms of business and a statement of your demands and needs.
Technical audit
Once you accept and the insurer has everything it needs, the project is registered. The insurer's technical auditor reviews the design and inspects the work at key stages.
Certificate issued
At completion, once the auditor is satisfied, a final certificate is issued and cover normally runs for the policy period - usually 10 or 12 years - from there.
What we need from you
Information underwriters usually ask for
The more of this you can send at the start, the quicker an underwriter can give firm terms. We will tell you if anything is missing.
- The developer's and contractor's names
- Site address and a description of the facility
- Number of buildings or halls, and their sizes
- The total build (rebuild) cost
- Planning permission
- Architect's plans and elevations
- Structural calculations, including floor and roof plant loads
- The ground investigation report
- For an extension or conversion, a structural condition survey
- Helpful: building control reports, especially if work has started
- Helpful: company accounts
- Helpful: the contractor's track record on similar buildings
The technical audit
What happens during the build
The insurer appoints a technical auditor to review the design and inspect the work. The exact stages depend on the insurer and the project, but on a data centre they typically include:
- a review of the design and specification, ideally before work starts
- foundations, ground works and the ground floor slab, before they are covered
- the frame, including the supports for roof-mounted plant
- the roof, cladding and weatherproof envelope, including penetrations
- a completion inspection before the final certificate
If the auditor raises a point, it is dealt with during the build and closed off before completion. Keeping records and photographs of work that will be covered up makes this much easier.
Before cover is arranged
We give you our terms of business and a written statement of your demands and needs before any cover is bought, so you know what you are getting and from whom. We also check the insurer is acceptable to your funders.
Certificates
Each building normally gets its own certificate at completion, and on a phased campus each building or phase is usually certificated as it completes, where this is agreed with the insurer. Keep the certificates with the building's records.
After completion
Cover runs for the policy period and can usually pass to later owners and tenants. If a claim is ever needed, it goes to the insurer named on the policy, not to us.
How it works - common questions
How long does it take to arrange data centre latent defects insurance?
We can usually tell you quickly which underwriters are interested once we have the basics. Firm terms follow the underwriter's review of the design, which is faster when drawings, calculations and the ground investigation are ready. Large and complex facilities take longer.
Do I pay anything before I accept a quote?
No. Quotations are free and there is no obligation. There is no broker fee to pay. We are paid by commission from the warranty provider, which is included in the premium. Premium and fees only become payable once you accept the terms and the project is registered.
Who carries out the inspections?
The insurer appoints its own technical auditor. The auditor inspects for the insurer's purposes and is separate from building control, your design team and any clerk of works. The audit is not a quality check for you and does not guarantee the building is free of defects.
What if we have already started on site?
Tell us straight away. Some insurers will consider a project already under way, but they will want evidence of the work done and the price is usually higher. Our sister brand Retrospective Warranties specialises in late cases.
Start with step one
Tell us about your facility in under a minute and we will take it from there.
- Takes under a minute
- Instant reply by email with your reference
- Insurer quotes usually within one working day of your completed proposal
- Sites anywhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Free and no obligation
Already filled in a proposal form? Email it to us or send it on WhatsApp with any drawings you have and we will take it from there.
