NFDC acts on cover crisis

Hopes were raised last week of government action to resolve an insurance crisis which threatens to leave a number of high-risk trades dangerously short of cover.

Leaders of the demolition industry met with Lord Pendry, parliamentary adviser to the National Federation of Demolition Contractors (NFDC), who promised to bring the situation to the government's attention.

NFDC life president David Keane told Lord Pendry that some members had seen their public and employers liability premiums rise by 200% to 300% this year and others were finding it difficult to get cover.

Mark Richardson, a director at insurance broker Shepard Herriot, confirmed that all business sectors were facing similar rises, but the high-risk nature of demolition, roofing, piling, scaffolding and civil engineering made them particularly unattractive to insurers.