The construction insurance market has loosened considerably, but according to Daniel Ball (pictured), vice president, broker and project risk advisor, construction and infrastructure group at NFP Canada, that softening hasn't come with a drop in underwriting standards.
"The market has softened, but it hasn't become careless," Ball said. "More capacity and competition are giving buyers leverage again, particularly on pricing, limits and program design."
What separates clients getting strong results from those who aren't, he said, isn't just the shift in market conditions themselves, but whether a client can actually demonstrate how risk will be managed once a project is underway.
"The difference now is that underwriters still want a reason to believe," Ball said. "The clients getting the best results are the ones who can show the market a real handle on how risk will be managed once the work starts."
That expectation has changed what a construction broker actually does day to day, Ball said, and how early in a project's life that work now begins. Where brokers were once brought in largely to place coverage after a project's structure was already set, he said the role now starts much earlier in the process.
"Five years ago, the broker was often brought in after the project plan was mostly formed," Ball said. "Today, the broker is expected to be in the room earlier, helping test risk allocation, shape insurance requirements, pressure-test market appetite and translate project complexity into something underwriters can actually support."
That shift, in his view, reflects a broader change in what brokers are actually being asked to deliver.
"The job has shifted from placing coverage to helping make the risk placeable," Ball said.
Technology has played a role in that evolution, Ball said, though largely at the front end of the process rather than in the final underwriting decision itself. Better project data, site monitoring, modelling, and loss control information all help brokers build a stronger case for why a given risk deserves capacity and favourable terms.
"Technology is changing the front end of placement," he said. "Better project data, site monitoring, modelling and loss control information help brokers build a clearer case for why a risk deserves capacity and better terms."
Where a project is complex, unusual, or carries high limits, Ball said, the underwriting decision still comes down to people rather than data alone.
"The final decision is still human," he said. "When a project is complex, unusual or high limit, underwriters are not just buying the data, they are buying confidence in the people interpreting it."
Clients themselves are also asking brokers for something different than they were previously, according to Ball. Rather than focusing purely on execution, he said clients increasingly want earlier insight into market direction and a clearer understanding of how insurance decisions tie into a project's broader economics.
"Clients are asking for more than placement execution," Ball said. "They want market intelligence earlier, clearer advice on where capacity is moving, and help in understanding how insurance decisions affect project economics."
That shift, he said, has changed the nature of the conversation itself, from a narrow question of feasibility to a broader one about strategy and timing.
"The conversation has shifted from 'can you get this placed?' to 'how do we make better risk decisions before we go to market?'" Ball said.
What hasn't changed, in his view, is the underlying purpose of construction insurance itself. What's changed is when that conversation needs to start, and how prepared a client needs to be by the time they actually reach the market.
"None of this changes what construction insurance is meant to do," Ball said. "It changes when the conversation needs to happen and how prepared a client needs to be before they get to market. The brokers adding the most value right now are the ones helping clients get that timing right."
