A Build Can Be Lost in a Single Night — Until an Engineering Policy Has to Rebuild It

A construction project is one of the largest sums of money a business ever puts at risk in one place. The works rise floor by floor over months; the plant on site — cranes, excavators, generators — is worth a fortune on its own; and the whole undertaking is exposed to fire, flood, collapse, theft and accident every single day until handover. Yet the project, the erection works and the machinery are too often left to chance on the quiet assumption that nothing will go wrong before the job is done.

That assumption holds right up until the day it does not. An engineering policy — arranged through My Insure Bank — exists for exactly that day. It is not a formality and it is not money down the drain: it pays to rebuild the works and repair the plant, up to the contract value or the sum insured, after damage on site, an accident during erection, or a sudden breakdown. The protection is real. The problem is that the cover is so often never put in place.

“The cover a project treats as paperwork is the one that rebuilds the works after the worst day — up to the contract value, settled through My Insure Bank. Too many builds simply never carry it.”

What an engineering policy from My Insure Bank actually does

Engineering cover protects three things: the works, the erection and the machinery. Contractors All Risks (CAR) covers the project under construction against fire, flood, storm, collapse and theft on site, plus third-party liability. Erection All Risks (EAR) extends that to plant and machinery being installed, tested and commissioned. Machinery Breakdown covers the sudden, unforeseen mechanical or electrical failure of the plant itself. Bought through My Insure Bank, the policy pays to put right what was lost, up to the contract value or sum insured you set when the cover is arranged.

This is the figure that matters most, and it is why engineering cover is framed differently from motor. A third-party motor policy carries a regulated payout; an engineering policy is built around your contract value and sum insured. Set them to the true cost of completing the works and replacing the plant, and the policy is there to make the project whole. Set them too low to shave the premium, and you carry the shortfall yourself. Getting those figures right is part of what a broker is for.

The worst days an engineering policy is built for

These are not abstract risks. They are the everyday catastrophes that stall a project and swallow a contractor’s margin overnight:

• The storm that tears through a half-built tower — Contractors All Risks pays to rebuild the works in progress.
• The crane that buckles mid-lift, or the turbine that seizes on test — erection and machinery cover repair the plant and the installation.
• The excavator and materials stolen off-site over the weekend — plant cover replaces the machines taken and gets the site moving again.

Why “it won’t happen on this job” is the costliest bet

The deeper issue is the same one that leaves so much in Nigeria underinsured: a quiet belief that the premium is money wasted, and that disaster is something that happens on other people’s sites. But a project that finishes without a claim is not proof that the risk was never real — it is simply a bet that paid off until the job it did not. And unlike a small repair, a collapsed structure or a wrecked turbine is rarely something a contractor can absorb out of pocket.

An engineering policy turns that catastrophe into a claim. Through My Insure Bank, the cover that rebuilds the works and repairs the plant is there before the worst day, not improvised after it.

How to actually claim — through My Insure Bank

If your insured project suffers damage on site, an accident during erection or a machinery breakdown and you hold a valid engineering policy bought through My Insure Bank, the claim is handled for you rather than left to chance:

• Report the incident from your phone — note the date and what was damaged or taken, and send photos of the loss on site.
• Our claims team logs it with your insurer and tracks it through to a decision, so you are not chasing paperwork alone while the project stalls.
• Once assessed, the claim is settled up to your contract value or sum insured — paying to rebuild the works and repair or replace the plant, so the loss does not fall on you.

The takeaway is simple. A construction project is usually the largest sum a business puts at risk in one place. An engineering policy from My Insure Bank is what stands behind it on the worst day — cover that rebuilds and repairs, up to the contract value or sum insured, so a single bad night does not undo months of work.