Heffernan Insurance Brokers vs StartupInsurance.ai Builders Risk Insurance

Heffernan's construction insurance brokers arrange builders risk insurance for contractors, developers and other construction-industry clients. As a broker, Heffernan places the coverage with insurance carriers rather than underwriting it itself. ⁴Company-reported. Construction page description of the builders risk offering. Does not establish a specific carrier relationship.

StartupInsurance.ai does not underwrite builders risk coverage itself. ContractorNerd Insurance Services, LLC, the licensed property and casualty agency behind the brand, is licensed in all 50 states and arranges placement; its terms describe the company as an insurance agency/producer that does not underwrite insurance. ^8,9,7Company-reported. ContractorNerd's terms and conditions and insurance-licenses page; describes the brokerage's general role, not builders-risk-specific placement terms.

The construction page does not name the insurer that would issue a builders risk policy arranged through Heffernan; the FAQ refers only to gathering quotes from 'various carriers.' ⁴Not publicly disclosed. Checked the construction page on 2026-09-23. The issuing insurer would appear on the quote and declarations.

The homepage's carrier panel names six insurers at the program level (The Hartford, Chubb, Coalition, Tokio Marine HCC, Travelers and CNA) but does not state which one, if any, underwrites a given company's builders risk policy. ⁷Not publicly disclosed. Carrier panel is program-wide rather than broken out by line; the insurer for a builders risk placement is not disclosed on the pages reviewed and varies by placement.

Heffernan says its construction insurance brokers serve general contractors, subcontractors, specialty and trade contractors, developers and design/build firms across sectors including alternative energy, concrete construction management and engineering, and lists a network of more than 1,000 contractor and developer clients nationwide. ⁴Company-reported. Construction page sector list and client-count claim; client count is company-reported and not independently verified.

The section frames these seven lines around founders "building robots, hardware, energy or defense tech," saying StartupInsurance.ai treats them as "our daily lines, not our exceptions" — positioning builders risk as a line it places regularly for hardware-adjacent startups with a construction or build-out project, rather than as a rare add-on. ⁷Company-reported. Same homepage section; describes the target customer segment StartupInsurance.ai says it serves for this catalogue of lines, not formal underwriting eligibility criteria.

Heffernan describes builders risk insurance as coverage that protects a construction project against physical damage during the build, such as fire, theft and weather-related events, and says it customizes the coverage to the specific project. ⁴Company-reported. Construction page product description; specific insuring agreements, exclusions and endorsements are not detailed on the page.

StartupInsurance.ai lists Builders Risk among seven lines in the homepage's "Physical risk, because AI outgrew software" section — Products Liability, Inland Marine, Tools and Equipment, Commercial Auto, Builders Risk, Surety and Property — offered alongside the core startup program of GL, cyber, D&O and related lines. ⁷Company-reported. Homepage "Physical risk, because AI outgrew software" section as read on 2026-09-23; the reviewed page names the line but does not describe project types, coverage period, or specific policy terms.

The construction page's builders risk FAQ gives only a generic industry cost range, roughly 1% to 4% of the construction budget, as educational content. It does not publish a Heffernan-specific limit, retention or premium for a builders risk policy. ⁴Not publicly disclosed. Checked the construction page's Builders Risk FAQ section on 2026-09-23. This is general market information, not a Heffernan-issued quote.

The reviewed pages do not publish sample builders risk project-value limits, covered perils, or policy-period terms. ^7,6Not found in reviewed sources. Homepage and quote-intake screen as read on 2026-09-23; limits would only surface on an actual quote.

Heffernan lists a dedicated Wrap Up Solutions team alongside its construction practice leader as contacts for builders risk and related project-specific insurance programs. ⁴Company-reported. Construction page practice-leader contact block.

Not described in the reviewed sources.

Heffernan's construction page directs buyers to contact its construction insurance specialists directly, and its builders risk FAQ describes providing project details such as budget, timeline and construction type so Heffernan can gather quotes from multiple carriers. ⁴Company-reported. Construction page contact route and FAQ process description.

The physical-risk section's call to action reads "Ask about your insurance requirements →" rather than the "Get Quotes" button used elsewhere on the homepage, indicating builders risk is discussed with a specialist rather than quoted through a self-serve form. ⁷Company-reported. Homepage "Physical risk, because AI outgrew software" section as read on 2026-09-23; the page does not describe what that conversation covers.

The public quote-application's coverage-selection screen offers seven checkboxes (D&O, Cyber, Tech E&O, EPL, Fiduciary, Crime and GL); Builders Risk is not one of them, so it is not part of that self-serve intake flow. ⁶Not found in reviewed sources. Initial coverage-selection screen of the quote application as read on 2026-09-23; a later screen or specialist conversation could still address this line.