Are You Sure Your Contractor Is Insured?

What is probably the most significant, but rarely asked question when hiring a contractor to do work in your home? Are you adequately and properly insured? Unfortunately, this oversight can be costly to a homeowner. The number of homeowners insurance claims associated with damage caused by contractors is moderately low. This is because most claims linked to contractor carelessness, including theft, are covered by the contractor’s insurance.

But, if the contractor is not properly insured or verified, responsibility for negligence claims may fall on the homeowner and their insurance. It’s perhaps essential that the contractors or contractor you hire to remodel your home must be insured. However, what exactly does that mean? Verified contractor Service has three basic types of insurance: vehicle, liability and workman’s compensation.

Everybody is familiar with the first type. It covers accidents to property or persons caused by or concerning the insured’s vehicle(s). Your contractor must has this type of insurance to safeguard you if he wounds you, someone else or property with a vehicle he possesses or uses while at your home doing the work you hired him for.

The second type protects you; if you, someone else or your property are destroyed as the result of the contractor’s work. This will cover things such as a piece of furniture that is damaged by the contractor while working in your home. It would cover a neighbor who trips and falls over a hose or cord and is injured. It would cover the medical costs if your son stepped on a sharp piece of rubbles left lying around the work site.

If any incident, occur the contractor may choose to pay the cost himself rather than make a claim against his insurance and risk a premium increase. The insurance needs to be adequate and current to cover any possible accidents. It’s also a good knowledge to be acquainted with your homeowner’s policy concerning these types of incidents, and you can always ask your agent if the certificate of insurance the contractor has delivered is adequate for your safety.

The third type of insurance is workman’s compensation. This kind of insurance is intended to cover any injury sustained by someone working on your home. In some states, the owner of the business is not required to carry workman’s compensation insurance on themselves. If they are injured on your job, they can prosecute you and your homeowner’s insurance provider.

You must see positive proof of all three of these insurances, particularly Workman’s Compensation, before approving someone to work on your home. This is essential for your protection as most homeowner’s insurance policies eliminate covering injury or damage claims caused by contractors whom you allow to be on your property. The reason is that you’re responsible for hiring a reputable contractor who has insurance to cover negligence or accidents. If you hire an underinsured or uninsured contractor, and something happens, you can be personally liable, and your own homeowner’s policy may not likely, be there to protect you.

When it come to contractors in the San Jose area, we definitely recommend looking into San Jose Contractors