The Answer in 60 Seconds

Your SME contractor is bidding a Building and Construction Authority (BCA) or other public sector tender governed by PSSCOC for Construction Works 8th Edition (July 2020), which has been amended periodically (most recently on 21 June 2024). The insurance provisions - Clauses 27 and 28 - were not altered by that amendment. The PSSCOC Lite form was adopted from 1 May 2025 for public-sector construction works estimated above SGD 90,000 but not exceeding SGD 1 million, with a simplified set of conditions. Critical insurance placements: (1) Clause 28 - Contractors All Risks (CAR) and Erection All Risks (EAR) covering Works, in the joint names of the Employer and the Contractor (joint name policy); (2) Clause 27 - Public Liability with the Employer noted as an Additional Insured with a cross liability provision (the form uses "Principal" for Employer's Liability), plus WICA per Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 with Common Law extension; (3) Any existing-property cover and its limit, where the tender's Contract documents require it (the standard form sets no figure); (4) Professional fees at the percentage stated in the Appendix (the standard form sets no percentage), and debris removal where the Contract documents require it. The actual limits are not fixed by the standard form - they are set tender-by-tender in the Particular Conditions of Contract (PCC), so the PCC of each tender must be read for the exact public-liability limit, WICA Common Law limit, sub-limits and excesses. The premium is quoted against the specific project, not derived from a fixed percentage.

The Sourced Detail

PSSCOC compliance is a structured insurance placement exercise - each clause maps to a specific insurance product, each Particular Conditions of Contract (PCC) entry sets specific limits, and a copy of each policy must be deposited with the Superintending Officer before any work starts on Site, with the premium receipts no later than 14 days after (a certificate of insurance suffices only where the Contractor relies on a general policy under Clause 28.1(4)). Compliance failures result in default under Clause 27.3 (allowing Employer to deduct premium from monies due to Contractor and pay it to insurer directly).

Statutory and contractual framework

Primary contract.

  • PSSCOC for Construction Works 8th Edition (July 2020), applicable to public sector construction contracts
  • The form has been amended periodically; the most recent amendment, on 21 June 2024, amended Clause 4.5 (Security Deposit), Clause 30.2 (Subcontractors) and the Option Module D definitions (Clause D1.0), added Clause 4.8 (Confidentiality of Information Supplied to Contractor) and Clause 40 (Compliance with Workplace Safety and Health Requirements), and updated the Appendix - the insurance Clauses 27 and 28 were not changed
  • PSSCOC Lite, adopted from 1 May 2025, applies to public-sector construction works estimated above SGD 90,000 but not exceeding SGD 1 million

Specific insurance clauses.

  • Clause 26 - Indemnity (general indemnity by Contractor)
  • Clause 27 - Insurance for Personal Injury, Work Injury Compensation and Property Damage
    • Clause 27.1 The Policies (personal injury liability, the WICA approved policy, and property damage cover where the Contract requires it)
    • Clause 27.2 Damage to Property when Contractor Not Negligent
    • Clause 27.3 Default in Insuring (remedy where Contractor fails to insure)
  • Clause 28 - Insurance of the Works
    • Clause 28.1 Risks to be Insured (CAR/EAR scope)
    • Clause 28.2 Application of Insurance Moneys

Statutory underpinnings.

Industry resources.

Step-by-step compliance procedure

Step 1 - Tender review and PCC extraction (Day -14 to Day -7).

Read tender Particular Conditions of Contract (PCC) and extract:

  • Contract sum
  • Contract period
  • Defects liability period (typically 12 months)
  • Specific PL limit (varies by tender)
  • Specific WICA Common Law limit
  • Specific existing-property limit (where required)
  • Specific professional fees percentage (stated in the Appendix)
  • Specific debris removal requirement (where the Contract documents set one)
  • Specific principal name and address
  • Specific sub-contractor list (where known)

Step 2 - Broker briefing and quote (Day -10 to Day -3).

Brief broker comprehensively:

  • All PCC requirements
  • Existing CAR / WICA / PL placements (where any)
  • Specific co-insured list
  • Specific contract scope (hot works, lifting, demolition, hacking)
  • Specific WSH risk profile

Receive quote covering:

  • CAR / EAR Section 1 (Material Damage)
  • CAR / EAR Section 2 (Third-Party Liability - typically PL combined within CAR)
  • Standalone PL where required
  • WICA designated insurer
  • Specific endorsements (joint name, cross-liability, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory, severability of interests)

Step 3 - Policy placement and binding (Day -7 to Day -1).

Specific timeline considerations:

  • WICA via designated insurer per MOM list
  • Specific PL per insurer requirements
  • Specific schedule of insureds finalised

Step 4: policy copies to the Superintending Officer (before work starts on Site).

For each policy:

  • Specific named insured (Contractor as named insured)
  • Specific additional insureds (Employer as joint insured / additional insured)
  • Cover for sub-contractors' liability under the Clause 27.1 insurances (Clause 28 names only the Employer and the Contractor)
  • Specific endorsements present
  • Specific policy schedule attached

Deposit a copy of each policy with the Superintending Officer before any work starts on Site, and the premium receipts no later than 14 days after (Clauses 27.1(2), 27.2(2) and 28.1(2)).

Step 5 - Maintenance through contract period.

  • Specific renewal coordination
  • Specific endorsement updates (new sub-contractors, scope variations)
  • Specific claim notification protocols
  • Specific defects liability period extension

Specific insurance requirements per clause

Clause 27 - Insurance for Personal Injury, Work Injury Compensation and Property Damage

Public Liability cover.

  • Named insured: Contractor
  • Additional insured / Principal: Employer
  • Cover for sub-contractors' liability (Clause 27.1(1) requires the insurances to cover the liability of the Contractor or of any subcontractor)
  • Cross-liability clause
  • Limit: for the property damage insurance under Clause 27.1(1)(b), the limit "for any one accident" set out in the Appendix; otherwise as the Specifications or other Contract documents permit
  • Specific cover scope: bodily injury, property damage, defence costs

WICA cover.

  • Named insured: Contractor (and sub-contractors)
  • WICA designated insurer per MOM list
  • Compensation limits set by WICA 2019 (medical expenses, permanent incapacity, death)
  • Common Law extension at the limit the tender's Contract documents set
  • Specific overseas exposure consideration
Clause 28 - Insurance of the Works

Contractors All Risks (CAR) Section 1 - Material Damage.

  • Sum insured: not less than the Contract Sum plus the professional-fees percentage stated in the Appendix (Clause 28.1(1)); debris removal and existing property only where the Contract documents require them
  • Joint name policy: Employer and Contractor (Clause 28.1(1))
  • Cross-liability clause
  • Subrogation: at least one Singapore CAR wording directs the insurer's recovery rights only at parties other than those insured under the policy (Clause 28 itself says nothing on subrogation)
  • Cover period: from before any work starts until 14 days after the Date of Substantial Completion, and during the Defects Liability Period for loss or damage from a cause occurring before that period began
  • Specific perils: fire, flood, storm, earthquake, theft, malicious damage, accidental damage
  • Specific exclusions: design defects (typically excluded; PI cover separate)

CAR Section 2 - Third Party Liability.

  • Cover for third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from Works
  • Limit: set per PCC
  • Specific cover scope: liability arising during contract period
  • Specific endorsements: cross-liability

Existing Property Cover.

  • The limit, where required, is set in the tender's Contract documents
  • Specific extension to CAR
  • Specific application to Employer's existing structures

Professional Fees (percentage stated in the Appendix).

  • Specific extension to CAR for additional professional costs in event of loss
  • Specific architect / engineer / quantity surveyor fees

Debris Removal (where the Contract documents require it).

  • Specific extension for cost of debris clearance
  • Specific waste disposal compliance

Insurance limits are set per tender, not by the standard form

PSSCOC sets the insurance structure - Clauses 27 and 28 - but the limits, sub-limits and excesses are specified tender-by-tender in the Particular Conditions of Contract (PCC). There is no single fixed schedule; the PCC of the specific tender is the controlling document and must be read for the exact figures.

The figures commonly seen on public-sector construction tenders fall into recognisable shapes:

  • Public Liability: a limit the tender's Contract documents set or permit; for property damage, a limit "for any one accident" set out in the Appendix (Clause 27.1(1)(b))
  • WICA Common Law extension: a Common Law limit per occurrence, set in the PCC
  • CAR Section 1 (Material Damage): not less than the Contract Sum plus the professional-fees percentage stated in the Appendix, with debris removal where the Contract documents require it
  • CAR Section 2 (Third Party Liability): a per-occurrence limit set in the PCC

Always take the actual figures from the PCC of the tender being bid - they vary by procurer and by project, and lower-value tenders carry correspondingly lower limits.

Joint name and co-insured implications

A joint-names CAR policy can stop the insurer, after paying one co-insured, from pursuing another co-insured for the same loss, but the outcome is not automatic: the case law turns on the underlying contract, which parties it makes co-insured and the scope of cover it requires.

Under PSSCOC Clause 28.2, the Contractor must make good damage to the Works, and insurance moneys under the Works policy are paid first to the Employer and then released to the Contractor by instalments as the restoration proceeds.

How the cover is priced

Premiums for a PSSCOC insurance pack are quoted, not fixed, and depend on the project. The main drivers are:

  • CAR / EAR - rated chiefly on the contract value, adjusted for the nature of the works (building works, civil engineering, and higher-risk activities such as deep excavation, hot works or marine works each carry a different rating), the project duration, and the excess structure
  • Public Liability - rated on the limit required and the risk profile of the works; often quoted as part of, or alongside, the CAR placement
  • WICA - rated principally on wages and worker classification, with the Common Law extension adding to the premium

An SME should obtain a quote against the specific tender's PCC rather than budget from a rule of thumb.

Default in insuring - Clause 27.3 mechanism

If Contractor fails to take out specific insurance per Clause 27:

  • Employer may take out and maintain such insurance directly
  • Employer may pay premium and deduct from monies due to Contractor
  • Specific potential consequences for breach
  • Specific tender suspension or termination exposure

This is a substantial commercial risk: Employer has direct remedy without litigation.

PSSCOC Lite (1 May 2025)

For public sector contracts SGD 90,000-1,000,000:

  • Insurance Clauses 27 and 28 and the Appendix insurance entries carried over from the full PSSCOC with drafting changes only; BCA's list of omitted or simplified clauses does not include insurance
  • Specific application to lower-value works (e.g., minor renovations, small infrastructure)
  • Specific compliance still required

Common Mistakes / What Goes Wrong

  1. PCC review delayed. Specific insurance requirements identified close to bid deadline.

  2. Joint name structure incomplete. The Works policy not in the joint names of the Employer and the Contractor.

  3. Cross-liability clause missing. Specific co-insured cross-claim exposure.

  4. Existing property cover absent. Specific Employer's structure damage not insured.

  5. Professional fees / debris removal sub-limits absent. Specific CAR extensions not included.

  6. WICA Common Law limit insufficient. The limit the tender's Contract documents require is not met.

  7. PL limit insufficient. Specific tender minimum not matched.

  8. CAR cover period gap. Specific defects liability period not covered.

  9. Specific BCA Builder Licensing requirement. Specific licensing and grade requirements not addressed.

  10. Default under Clause 27.3. Specific Employer recovery from monies due.

What This Means for Your Business

For Singapore SMEs bidding public sector construction tenders:

  1. Standard PSSCOC compliance pack - pre-prepared cover summary for typical tender requirements.

  2. Joint name policy template - pre-discussed with broker and underwriter.

  3. Specific BCA workhead grade alignment - current grading, financial requirements, technical capacity.

  4. Specific sub-contractor management: sub-contractors' liability covered under the Clause 27 insurances as the tender requires, with policy copies ready to deposit.

  5. Specific endorsement library - cross-liability, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory pre-templated.

  6. Specific Employer relationship - typical principals' standard wording on file.

  7. Specific WICA designated insurer - MOM-listed insurer relationship.

  8. Specific monitoring - renewal coordination, scope variation tracking, defects liability extension.

  9. Specific claims protocols - joint insured claims framework.

  10. Specific PSSCOC training - internal commercial team competence on Clauses 27-28.

The cost of PSSCOC compliance failure is acute - a single non-compliant bid can be disqualified, and a default under Clause 27.3 can impair the commercial relationship with a public-sector procurer for years. The cost of pre-incident discipline is bounded - a quotable insurance pack, sized to the contract and obtained against the tender's PCC.

Questions to Ask Your Adviser

  1. For our typical PSSCOC tender bids, are joint name CAR / EAR / PL / WICA framework operationally established?
  2. For our common public sector procurers, are specific PCC requirements pre-mapped to insurance pack?
  3. For our sub-contractor relationships, do the Clause 27 insurances cover sub-contractors' liability as the tender requires, and can we produce the policy copies for deposit?
  4. For our endorsement library, are cross-liability, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory pre-templated?
  5. For our WICA designated insurer, is current relationship adequate for typical public sector Common Law limits?

Related Information

Published 7 May 2026. Source verified 7 May 2026.