Hello. I am going to be looking for a painter to paint the trim of my house. What should I look for regarding insurance? My neighbor had someone fix her roof and he fell off his ladder and broke his arm. The company he worked for denied his work comp claim stating he is an independent contractor, so he sued my neighbor for medical and lost time. She went through hell before he stopped pursuing the claim and I want to be protected from this. Thanks
State laws may vary, but a business with employees (may vary in number in some states) must have workman's comp, thus the "independent contractor" status that some use. Liability insurance should be a must for any reputable contractor. The sad reality is that any sleazy contractor can find a way around most anything.
The potential liability (if any) of the homeowner is also what your homeowner's policy is for. If there's a problem, give it to them and they'll handle the scumbucket if it's a scam or attempt to extort.
As Edwin says, if dealing w/ a firm, ensure they have all state and/or local business licenses required and are up to date w/ workmans' comp payments and require proof of insurance and bond.
If it's an individual DBA somebody, essentially the same thing holds with some differences which are dependent on local laws. A check w/ local government on what they require is worthwhile and with BBB and/ or similar locally is good doublecheck, too. Won't necessarily hide the sleazeball who just hasn't been reported if no bad, but a string of reports is clear indication to stay away.
After that, references, references, references...
Require any contractor to provide you a copy of his current insurance policy (paid up to date.)
Depending on what part of the world you are in there is a very good possibility that you can purchase a temporary or short term rider for your homeowners policy to actually cover for such things like contractors working on your home. While I would still recommend an inquiry re: insurance coverage (both for liability for damage to your property and work comp) and demand they provide proof of same, as you see you could end up in a battle between you and their insurance carrier still. Purchasing the rider automatically puts the battle between the insurance companies.
"WendyC88" wrote on 02 Jun 2007 in group alt.home.repair:
I'd never be insulted by someone asking for proof of my insurance. That's why I have it.
What you want is a certificate of insurance SENT DIRECTLY TO YOU BY THE BROKER OR INSURANCE COMPANY, not the contractor. The certificate of insurance should name you and list your premises as an additional insuredlocation of he contractor for the duration of the job.
A copy of a policy, or a receipt that the policy was paid for, are each useless. Policy could have been cancelled by the contractor and premium refunded.
Anything provided to you by the contractor could be phonied up.
Real contractors have no problem with doing that, and real brokers or insuance companies have no problem with it either.
If the contractor won't do hat, run like hell.
Homeowners' policies already include liability...it would be most unusual to have to add a separate rider to cover the homeowners' ordinary liability for routine and usual types of home maintainance. Assuming the homeowner has insurance already, the battle is already between the insurance carriers--all the policy holder has to do is let them know there's a problem (if and when one arises, even, which is while not rare, less common than not)...
The problem here isn't the homeowner's problem -- it's the contractor's and it's the prudent homeowner who ensures any potential repair/maintenance work is done by licensed, bonded, insured contractors...
In an ideal world you would be correct but - many homeowners have been sued, some successfully, based on a contractor claiming that the homeowner was negligent in maintain their property or some other such nonsense. In some case your homeowner's liability may not cover such claims or may not be high enough coverage.
The point is not that some doofus can't/won't sue...anybody can sue anybody for anything and all the insurance riders in the world can't/ won't prevent them from filing the suit.
The point is that it is the insurance carrier who will be the one defending the suit/paying any judgement as long as the homeowner followed the terms of the policy -- which mainly means they didn't do something _really_ egregious in which case the rider won't help anyway because it's going to have the same kind of caveats in it as does the main policy.
If the homeowner is simply under-insured, that's a different question/ issue. I certainly agree all homeowners ought to be aware of and have ample coverage for foreseeable events, but that needs to be an "all the time" thing, not just something special.
The rider would be very unlikely to be anything in addition as far as coverage than a standard homeowners' policy unless the condition to be covered is _very_ unique -- and at the moment, for the types of things under discussion in this thread of ordinary routine maintenance, I can't come up with a scenario that would seem to warrant an additional rider other than the coverage limit issue, perhaps.
Again, imo the best insurance against having a problem is to ensure the contractor is reputable and is bonded, etc. Your insurance is then the fallback position...
Hire a licensed contractor. Have their insurance company send you a copy of their certificate. DO NOT accept one from the contractor, as they are easy to fake. That being said, the insurance will cover the worker. But, they can still sue your homeowner's policy for damages if they can prove that you caused an unsafe condition while they were on the project. Bottom line, they will sue if they smell money. End of story ......... they may not collect, but it will cost you a lot to defend yourself. Many insurance companies just settle to take the shortest solution. Good luck.
And people wonder why some prefer to use cheap day laborers for menial work.
Steve
That's what I carry insurance for -- and in my selection of carriers, one of the criteria is that they take the onus of the defense, not me...what they choose to do as to settlement or fight is their choice and none of my concern--that, in essence, is why I hired them by buying the policy. All I have to do is use "reasonable care" to not create a hazard _of my own making_ and it's their burden of proof.
IMO, $0.02, ymmv, etc., etc., ...
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