The construction industry is facing soaring insurance bills as a result of its poor safety record and the rising cost of compensation claims following accidents.
According to Royal & Sunalliance, premiums need to double over the next two years or so, to keep up with rising premiums.
Premiums for employers' liability insurance and high-risk trades such as scaffolding and demolition are having to pay particularly high rates.
A spokesman for the Construction Confederation said: “We are worried about the volatile insurance market. Our members seem to be faced with increasing premiums and reducing choice because of consolidation in the insurance sector.”
This has been exacerbated by the collapse of Independent Insurance, which wrote a large amount of business for the construction industry.
Many companies with no claims history are finding it difficult to obtain insurance, industry observers said.
The construction industry is also facing price hikes for covering equipment, such as bulldozers.
Gangs of thieves who have been targeting building sites have been taking heavy equipment to order and exporting it to eastern Europe.
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