Builders Risk: Acts of God

The purpose of this article is to provide (a) an overview of what is meant by an act of God, and (b) examples of how this phrase touches on construction contracts and builders risk coverage.

What Is an Act of God? The phrase "act of God" dates at least to the sixteenth-century case, Wolfe v. Shelley, 76 Eng. Rep. 199 (1581), which found that the death of a party to the contract made performance impossible due to an "Act of God."1

Black’s Law Dictionary’s definition is helpful in better understanding the meaning of an act of God. An overwhelming, unpreventable event caused exclusively by the forces of nature, such as an earthquake, flood, or tornado. — Black’s Law Dictionary, Eleventh Edition

International Risk Management Institute, Inc. (IRMI), also has the following definition in its glossary. An accident or event resulting from natural causes, without human intervention or agency, and one that could not have been prevented by reasonable foresight or care—for example, floods, lightning, earthquake, or storms. This is a peril terminology found in ocean and inland marine policies.— "Act of God," IRMI, accessed on January 8, 2022.

As respects construction projects, an act of God has important meanings in two areas: construction contracts and builders risk insurance.