Marsh has launched Strada, a project-specific construction all risks and third-party liability facility for UK road and highway contractors, and Machina, a plant and equipment facility, aimed at the extended and overlapping exposures that road schemes create when they overrun or open to traffic before handover.

Marsh, the insurance broking and risk advisory business of Marsh McLennan, places construction insurance for contractors through its Marsh Risk global contractors team.

Strada’s clauses address extensions, open-to-traffic phases and phased completions, include two months of free extension cover, and offer limits up to £1bn (€1.17bn) for construction all risks and £1m (€1.17m) for third-party liability, underwritten by a panel of global reinsurers.

Machina offers a single pre-agreed rating matrix for contractors’ plant and equipment across standalone and annual programmes, replacing pricing that can shift between placements without a clear basis; both facilities are available immediately.

Marsh Risk Head of Global Contractors Guy Fitzgibbon said road and highway projects remain among the most complex risks to insure because work periods are frequently extended and structures are often open to traffic before formal handover, creating prolonged exposures for contractors.

The launches follow the work programme: England’s third Road Investment Strategy commits £27bn (€31.6bn) to 2031, including £8.44bn (€9.9bn) for renewals and £3.85bn (€4.5bn) for enhancements, with more than 9,000km of motorway and major A-road lanes due for resurfacing.

Resurfacing and renewal programmes typically involve lane closures, phased handovers and sections reopening to traffic, which is the overlap Strada’s clauses are written to address.

GlobalData forecasts UK construction to grow 3.2% a year between 2027 and 2030, led by transport infrastructure, data centres and housing, while a softer insurance market with ample capacity means product design rather than price alone increasingly decides where contractors place business.

For the sector, a fixed rating matrix for plant and project-specific wordings for road works reduce friction at placement, and contractors that can price extensions and open-to-traffic phases up front are better placed to bid on highways programmes with confidence.

Source: Insurance Business / New Civil Engineer