Their challenge: Expensive and complicated BRI policies through local brokers

One thing all new construction and renovation projects have in common is the need for builder’s risk insurance. Whether damage occurs from natural disasters, vandals destroy your job site or thieves steal unattended supplies, BRI protects the builder from incurring the costs.

Unfortunately, finding coverage can be complicated, frustrating and expensive ­– for both the builder and the client.

But thanks to Buildertrend’s insurance marketplace, two custom home builders were able to find affordable coverage without the typical challenges experienced when using a local broker.

Hyalite Custom Building and Zenun Custom Homes both agree that working with local providers means lots of back and forth, too many questions and a long wait to get a quote. So, when they received a prompt in Buildertrend notifying them of our new insurance offerings, they figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.

Company name

Hyalite Custom Building and Zenun Custom Homes

Industry

Custom Homes

Location

Bozeman, MT and Tampa, FL

Favorite feature

Builder’s risk insurance

Their solution: Using Buildertrend Insurance Services to simplify the BRI process

Historically, we’ve put the responsibility of getting BRI on the client, so they could use their preferred brokerage,” said Juan Nunez, owner of Zenun Custom Homes. “It made sense for our clients to choose who they trust. But recently, we saw that Buildertrend was now offering insurance directly in platform, and the pricing could be built into our construction costs to make budgeting easier.”

Buildertrend’s main goal was to take the pain out of finding coverage. Our agents do the shopping on behalf of the builder and provide instant turnaround times on providing quotes. We wanted the task of getting BRI to be as simple as possible for our customers.

“It was an easy process,” said Jesse Brown, president of Hyalite Custom Building, when asked about his experience. “After simply clicking a button, the program already auto-populated most things needed for the job. The quote process was quick as well and took a few hours at most.”

Zenun bathroom photo feature

Another huge selling point for Buildertrend users is the integration with our platform. When signing up for BRI, documentation automatically syncs to the relevant job in Buildertrend.

“Not only can you offer the whole package, but it’s already built into the system,” Juan added. “The process was so easy compared to other brokers where they ask too many questions. With Assurely, it was so quick and not inconvenient at all.”

Most importantly, all BRI policies cover weather damage, theft and vandalism.

“Coverage was the chief consideration for me,” Jesse explained about what he was looking for in his BRI policy. “Secondly, I was interested in cost savings, and third was ease of use and time savings. Assurely checked all the necessary boxes for this job.”

We tell our clients ‘We can get you this policy for much cheaper’ and our clients’ eyes just light up.

Juan Nunez

Owner of Zenun Custom Homes

Their success story: Passing on major cost savings to their clients

“Budget is always a concern for a project,” Jesse said. “Why pay more for the exact same policy?”

After receiving a BRI quote of around $15,000 for his project from a local broker, Jesse decided to also get a quote from Buildertrend Insurance Services in the hopes it would be more affordable. And luckily, he did.

Through his dedicated agent, Jesse was able to secure an exclusive rate only available to Buildertrend customers. The shopping was done for him, so he didn’t have to worry about wasting hours searching for the best rate.

Hyalite living room photo feature
Photographer: @wkphotography

Just a few hours after submitting his request, Jesse received a BRI quote of only $3,500 for the job. That’s a 400% savings on coverage he wasn’t expecting.

Juan also saw major savings compared to his local quote.

“BRI for us can typically range from 10-12 thousand dollars for the year. With Buildertrend Insurance Services, we’re saving $3,000-$3,500.”

These two builders both work on a cost-plus basis, so the savings go directly to their clients. But depending on how a builder structures their contracts, the cost savings could mean extra profit.

“We’re implementing BRI through Buildertrend on all our contracts now,” Juan continued. “We tell our clients ‘We can get you this policy for much cheaper’ and our clients’ eyes just light up. They’re still welcome to bid their own, of course. But we’ve now done three or four and so far, none of them have come back with a better bid.”

When asked if they would recommend securing BRI through Buildertrend to other builders, their answers were the same.

“Yes, without reservation,” Jesse said. “It made the conversation with our client much easier, and we were able to break ground faster on their project.”

If you have questions about Buildertrend Insurance Services, reach out to insurance@buildertrend.com and one of our insurance specialists can assist.

Or log in to your Buildertrend account to sign up for BRI and start saving today.

Coverage was the chief consideration for me. Secondly, I was interested in cost savings, and third was ease of use and time savings. It checked all the necessary boxes for this job.

Jesse Brown

President of Hyalite Custom Building

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