The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) has appointed Acrisure UK as the new provider of its latent defects insurance (LDI) scheme, replacing GBW, which previously held the arrangement. The scheme gives BIBA members structured access to specialist LDI and structural warranty solutions across residential and commercial developments in the UK.
Latent defects insurance covers structural faults that surface after a building's completion, including problems with foundations, walls, or load-bearing elements that may not emerge for years. LDI policies typically run for ten to twelve years from practical completion, and UK Finance lender requirements mean they are effectively mandatory for most new-build residential sales and many commercial developments.
Under the arrangement, BIBA members gain access to a panel of insurers and a dedicated account management team, with a single point of contact from initial enquiry through to project completion. Mike Hallam, BIBA's head of technical services, said the scheme was designed to address the specialist knowledge required to place this class of business effectively.
"LDI requires specialist knowledge and expertise, making access to the right market particularly important," Hallam said. "We believe this scheme will be a valuable resource for members supporting commercial and private customers alike with their building development needs."
Andrew Boyce, chief executive of Acrisure UK Retail, acknowledged the structural complexity brokers face in this area. "Structural warranties can be a complex area for brokers and developers, particularly as the requirements of different projects, lenders and insurers continue to evolve," he said. "Our aim through the BIBA scheme is to make it easier for brokers to access specialist expertise and a broad range of insurer capacity across residential and commercial developments."
Acrisure UK brings specific experience to the role. Building & Land Guarantees, now part of Acrisure UK, has operated as a specialist LDI broker for over two decades, working with clients and brokers across residential, commercial, mixed-use and social housing developments. The Acrisure UK construction team will handle the BIBA scheme from its bases in Leicestershire and London.
A harder market, a more complex placement
According to Gallagher, the structural warranty market has had a history of poor-quality, often unrated insurance companies providing capacity, and unlike many other insurance sectors experiencing softer conditions, it continues to operate in a hard market cycle driven largely by high contractor insolvency rates and a shortage of A-rated capacity. Some leading providers have withdrawn from the market in the last twelve to twenty-four months, and premiums have risen as a result.
Yet placing LDI has become more technically demanding. Lenders have grown more cautious about warranty quality and the credibility of the providers behind them, meaning a poorly structured policy can create problems at the mortgage or funding stage, rather than just at claims time. The ongoing effects of the Building Safety Act 2022 continue to shape the market, having fundamentally altered liability and accountability across the construction industry.
The Act also extended limitation periods for latent defect claims under the Defective Premises Act 1972, from six years to fifteen years for claims accruing after June 2022, and from six to thirty years for claims accruing before that date. That stretches the window of potential liability considerably, and raises the consequences of getting the coverage wrong at the outset.
