Investor Insurance Policy to Protect Citizens Living in Proximity to Construction Sites – Value of Policy up to EUR 10 Million

All the investors are obliged to submit an insurance policy before obtaining the permit for the beginning of the works, so that people who live in proximity to construction sites would be protected, said the minister of construction, transport and infrastructure of Serbia, Goran Vesic, according to the website of the ministry.

– The value of the policy cannot be lower than 20% of the investment value from the construction permit, and not more than EUR 10 million, so that we would cover all potential damage that could occur at the construction site – he said.

Vesic said that constructive talks had been had about the conditions that the investors needed to meet in order to get a valid policy.

– One of the most important new features of the amendments to the Law on Planning and Construction, which came into effect on August 4, is the protection of citizens who live in the vicinity of construction sites. Before filing the notice of the commencement of works, all investors are obliged to provide the insurance policy which secures everybody who lives in the vicinity of the construction site in case damage is done to the buildings, so that it can be paid from the policy – Vesic said following the meeting with representatives of the Association of Insurers of Serbia.

He pointed out that, according to the law, the ministry had the obligation to adopt all the bylaws within 30 days and that one of the construction rulebooks defined what the policy looks like.

– This way, we have additionally protected the citizens. The law has been amended so that they would be better protected in these cases. We have had several cases in the past when damage was done in Belgrade where citizens had managed to win cases against investors in court, but didn’t manage to have their claims collected- Vesic said.

He pointed out that it was a whole new era for construction in Serbia.

The secretary-general of the Association of Insurers of Serbia, Dusko Jovanovic, said that now the future investor responsibility insurance policies were defined on time.

– Based on that, we will almost certainly be of far more help to the citizens who have any sort of contact with the future investors – he said and expressed hope that mistakes from the past period would not be repeated in the future.

– Insurance houses will take on the risk. Through re-insurance from abroad, they will cover the damage, potentially from the responsibility of the investors in construction projects – Jovanovic pointed out.

Ministarstvo građevinarstva, saobraćaja i infrastrukture Republike Srbije

Udruženje osiguravača Srbije Beograd

Ministry of Construction Transport and Infrastructure

Association of Insurers of Serbia

Goran Vesic

Dusko Jovanovic

investor insurance policy

protection of citizens living in vicinity of construction sites

Law on Planning and Construction