The Cover
Available to all parties involved in construction contracts as defined in the Construction Act or contractual adjudication.
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Cover is offered on a case-by-case basis to support a client where the action is lost, dismissed on a technicality, or when the result is below expectation.
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Covers the risk of being awarded less by the adjudicator or saving less through the adjudication process than the sum total of client’s own legal costs, adjudicator fees payable by them, and cost of premium (“indemnified costs”).
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Policy will pay shortfall between indemnified costs and amount of award / saving / benefit, if any, up to level of cover chosen.
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Claims paid on conclusion of the adjudication.
The Benefits
Surveyors Adjudication Insurance is designed to protect a policyholder when an event has occurred
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Covers own costs and expenses incurred in preparing and presenting the case and any Adjudicator’s costs are also included.
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Policyholders will never be worse off in terms of costs and expenses after the conclusion of an adjudication than at the outset of an adjudication.
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Holding a policy is the strongest negotiating point you can have. Fear of irrecoverable costs in adjudication drives many parties to accept derisory settlements.
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If the case is lost, policyholders have the peace of mind of knowing that the policy picks up their net financial losses.
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The Policy provides a unique and innovative method of fulfilling corporate governance and risk management responsibilities.
Criteria
Prospects of successfully pursuing or defending adjudication and achieving requisite result must be reasonable (65%+ prospects)
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Solicitor/Quantity Surveyor must certify that each declared case fits the acceptable case criteria
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The indemnified costs must be 40% or less than the amount being claimed when pursuing an adjudication, or, in the case of defending an adjudication, the indemnified costs must be 40% or less of the amount of award the client is looking to save being ordered to pay, for example:
If a client is claiming the sum of £75,000 in an adjudication, they can apply for cover for costs of up to 40% of that amount i.e. £30,000; or
If a client is defending a claim of £500,000 against them, and believes only £200,000 is payable, they can apply for cover for costs of up to 40% of the £300,000 balance i.e. £120,00