Contractor Insurance Proof
Contractor insurance and proving it is necessary. I think it is essential that any contractor that works in your home does carry the proper insurance. Insurance is a protection against something that could go wrong. 95% of the time nothing ever goes wrong when somebody’s working in your home. It’s just that small percentage when it does happen you need to be protected.
[ click on the middle of the photo below to play the video that Mark made for you on contractor insurance. Enjoy! ]
General Liability Insurance
So here’s a couple things to look for. Let’s make sure they carried two major types of insurance. First, general liability insurance covers things like the spilling of paint or breaking of a window.
Workman’s Compensation Insurance
Second, would be workman’s compensation insurance. We recommend this because if a company hires employees that work in your home, they need to be covered in case they get injured in your home.
Your Due Diligence
So don’t hesitate to ask or even assume that your contractor is fully insured. It is part of your due diligence when hiring someone to work in your home to ask for proof of this. How do you do this? Make sure you get a Certificate of Insurance with the following:
- Your name listed in the bottom section as the certificate holder.
- The Certificate of Insurance should have the address of where the work is being done at too.
- Also, make sure there is a current date at the top. This proves that you have a fresh copy prepared just for you, and not six months ago for another client.
- Next, check out that the dates of coverage for the general liability and workman’s compensation are current.
Are Copies of Certificates OK?
Do not accept a copy of this certificate of insurance from your contractor. If the company does not want to provide one just for your home and job site, we would recommend looking elsewhere. Something is fishy.
You Can Get a Certificate in 1-2 Days
It is important that you protect your home and it is also important that the company protect your home. Don’t be fooled. You can get a COI in 1-2 days. Most insurance companies will send over a certificate sometimes the same day of asking for it. Worst case, it can take up to 3 to 5 business days. Whether or not a contractor carries insurance can be a useful tool when choosing a contractor.
Hopefully, this has helped you work through the maze of contractor insurance and will help you when you are looking to hire a contractor.
If you liked this post, click here for my post on Contractor Conflicts. Also, click here for my post on whether you should DIY your Project or Hire a Contractor. Hopefully, these will be equally helpful to you.
Thanks again for joining us. Send in your Burning Questions and I will put them out
Don’t forget, if you need an estimate on your home’s projects, give me a call. My team and I have been serving the South Barrington, Barrington, North Barrington, Inverness, Lake Zurich, Schaumburg, Elgin, Long Grove, South Elgin, Palatine, Wayne, Deerfield, and all of Chicago area for 30+ years.
