Need Contractors Insurance in Washington State

Hello, I am having trouble getting Liab. Insurace coverage. They've been saying no because I do Foundation repairs and retrofits. Does anyone have any suggestions? Is there a way I could get insured as a basic contractor and get special riders to do what they think of as high risk jobs as they come along. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thankyou. TonyG

Reply to
tonyg
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Uh, either you are asking for the wrong insurance, or they are saying no for some other reason... Were that the case, no contractor doing siimilar work would have insurance--and we knwo that's not true.

I realize that asking competition for help is a difficult thing, but find someone else in the state (away from your primary service area, perhaps?) and ask them what they have for insurance...

Also look for an insurance agent who specializes in commercial insurance, as it appears your agent is not adept with anthing other than homeowners/auto insurance.

Don't try to work around the reluctance, as you may find that when you need the insurance they will refuse to pay--claiming that you mislead them as to what insurance/work was being done.

But... Often times it is chaeaper to get more general coverage, and then get special riders/policies on a job by job basis. I know several who do that here, as they do the work that requires special coverage only once or twice a year--saving a bit that way (yea, they bill it into the contract...) but all feel that if they had more than a few of these jobs a year, that they'd be better off with full time coverage.

bottom line:

Find a new insurance agent who specializes in commercial coverages.

Reply to
PeterD

There must be a Builders' and/or Contractors' Association in WA -- if you're not a member, consider joining or at least contacting them. Such issues are part of why there are such.

The State insurance Commissioner's (or whatever the position is there) office is a good resource for finding out who are licensed carriers and what is required of them by law to provide.

The State equivalent of the SBA is a resource as well.

For specifics, look for somebody who underwrites for Zurich as one possibility. As the other respondent noted, you need to be dealing w/ an agency/rep who makes commercial their business, not a sideline.

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Reply to
dpb

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