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Why Your General Contractor Must Have Insurance

Written by Posted On Saturday, 27 July 2019 13:34

So you’re finally going to build your dream house or that kitchen you’ve always wanted. Congratulations are in order then. After years of hard work, you will finally be able to build something that you can truly call your own.

For your project to go the way you envisioned it, you are going to need the help of a good general contractor. Once you start your search for one, you have to prepare the right questions to ask any potential contractor you’re going to interview for the job. One of the most crucial questions you need to ask all candidates should be: Are you insured?

Sure, there are a lot more questions regarding skills, experience, training, and licenses that you have to bring up during the interview, but asking candidates about insurance is absolutely necessary in a world where just about anyone can sue anybody for anything. Only by working with an insured contractor will you be able to have some peace of mind while construction is ongoing.

Let’s look at the reasons your general contractor must have insurance.

Avoiding liabilities and damages during construction

Contractors are usually liable whenever a third party suffers an injury or property damage in the course of their performance of their work. In such cases, the claims are generally made against them and not anyone else.

However, if you hire uninsured contractors, you will be likely sued in court by claimants because you will technically be the general contractor for the project, which means any injury, death, or property damage that takes place during your construction project will be on you.

To avoid these liabilities, you must hire general contractors with general liability insurance at the very least. Such an insurance policy should already cover any injury or property damage. It would also be great if contractors or their crew have workers’ compensation insurance that will cover the medical expenses and lost wages of workers who sustain an injury while working on your project. Workers’ compensation also provides death benefits to those left behind by workers who die on the job.

Lower costs in the long run

It’s understandable for people who embark on a construction project to consider hiring contractors who have no insurance. After all, uninsured contractors typically charge less than licensed and insured ones.

The thing is, all bets are off once somebody gets injured, or property gets damaged, and your contractor doesn’t have insurance. Expect to be named in a lawsuit that could ruin you financially. In your quest to cut corners, you will end up spending more than you have ever imagined if you hire an uninsured general contractor.

An indicator of legitimacy

If a contractor has the right insurance, then you can be sure that he or she is a legitimate operator in the construction industry. That’s because contractors, when applying for a license to offer services in a particular area, are required to have insurance before they can be granted one. Therefore, an insured contractor is a licensed contractor, and you will want nothing less than that to handle your construction project for you.

Don’t hire contractors without insurance

Never fall into the trap that uninsured contractors might offer you in the form of more affordable rates. You wouldn’t want to be working with someone who is not only unqualified to deliver the results you want, but also likely to drive you to financial ruin should an accident happen during the project.

There are many great licensed and properly insured general contractors out there. You can ask friends for references, or you can go online and do honest-to-goodness research.

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Rachel Porter

Rachel Porter is the Content Specialist for Custom Contractors Insurance, LLC, an Arizona roofing and contractors insurance company. When not writing, she enjoys reading and mountain biking with her friends.

https://affordablecontractorsinsurance.com/

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