If you're a homeowner or have a business, you most likely have to maintain your property or building and hire a contractor.
When looking for a contractor, we choose someone who can complete the task fast and perfectly. Hiring a contractor with insurance is a must, as this will save you from any problems that your contractor has done. But some clients tend to choose the project's overall cost and pick a contractor with no insurance, which can lead to faulty works and damages and pay more.
So before hiring a contractor, you should check if they have this insurance.
What Insurance should your contractor have?
1. Workers Compensation
Unfortunate problems like injuries and such are inevitable, that is why you should check if your hired contractor has workers' compensation insurance, or you would have to pay for the injured employee's medical bills and lost wages.
You, the homeowner, may also be sued if the contractor's insurance does not cover the subcontractors they hire. These contractors labor for less money since they do not pay workers' compensation premiums. If you engage such a contractor and an injury happens, you run the danger of incurring a hefty cost on your homeowners' insurance policy.
2. General Liability
Let's say you hired a contractor to paint your building and accidentally painted or sprayed paint onto your neighbors as well. In most instances, if your contractor is insured, they would be the one liable to cover the damage. But if your contractor is not guaranteed, you would be responsible for paying the damage they caused.
It's also a good idea to find out if their general liability policy includes goods and completed operations coverage, which covers damage and injury caused by the contractor after the project is over. You will shield from contractor damage claims and give the policy to collect from the contractors.
If, for example, the task your contractor did cause you and your family injury, the contractor's products and completed operations coverage will surely cover your medical bills. Furthermore, unless you acquired umbrella insurance, your homeowner liability limits are unlikely to be sufficient to cover the occurrence.
3. Auto Liability
Tools and materials are essential in contractors' work, so they require or use work trucks to carry them and bring them to their work. Auto liability insurance will claim this if an accident happens while loading or unloading the materials on your site. Some clients mainly overlook this, so it is better to check if your task is big enough to require an auto liability and add it to your requirements before ignoring this liability.
Risk of Hiring Uninsured Contractors
1. Contractor Injuries
Contractors who work cheaper than others choose not to pay workers' compensation and other liabilities insurance. But if the contractor reports a claim on your home's insurance policy, the overall cost to you may be significantly greater if a contractor is injured. At the same time, on the homeowner's property, the homeowner may be sued. Never engage a contractor who does not have workers' compensation and liability insurance because you take responsibility for any job errors and injuries that occur at your home.
2. Unnecessary high costs
Always know that a low bid is a danger in disguise to attract customers, and bids from uninsured contractors are typically lower than bids from insured contractors. If your contractor has a slight or severe injury due to a workplace mishap, you must cover all costs. In such circumstances, you risk losing your assets due to the lawsuit.
3. Inconveniences
For instance, you hired a contractor, assuming that they have insurance. In the middle of them working on the task, you asked them if they have proof of workers' compensation insurance, and since they can't show proof, your contractor will mostly leave the task undone. To avoid this, be sure first to ask your contractors whether they are insured and then request evidence when they come.
For problems like this, do your research, make sure to check that your contractors have proper insurance coverage and proof to show before starting to work on your house and property. It would be best if you asked this, especially when estimating the cost of the work.
Here at iTaskApp, we always make sure that our iTaskers are appropriately insured to prevent inconveniences and inevitable problems to our customers. We ensure a safe environment and an insured and skilled iTAsker for our customers. So go ahead and check out our services for your tasks.
