Business

Roofers Liability | Contractors Liability

It is a known fact that roofers’ jobs are usually risky and when you are involved in risks you need to have a kind of insurance backing because you never can tell when misfortune might occur. Due to the fact that the risk involved in a roofing job is so risky, roofers need to get the proper insurance in case something happens.

The first type of insurance roofers are supposed to have is workers compensation. This will allow workers to be compensated in the case of an accident. If your sub-contractors were involved in minor accidents like cuts on the finger or a burn on the hand, workers’ compensation coverage would cover their medical expenses and weekly wages.

The second type of insurance roofers need to get is roofers general liability insurance. This will cover all cases of bodily injury, property damage or personal injury that happens to somebody not involved in the contract while working on the job. This is also known as roofers’ liability and is very important for all roofers.

Roofers have more need for insurance than any other business that is why all roofers need to get roofers liability insurance coverage. When you want to get roofers liability for yourself as a roofer, make sure that subcontractors working under you also have public liability insurance because there is every possibility of damaging the building you are working on. Make sure you declare any heat source you want to use to your insurance company because insurers consider this.

Roofers Liability and Sub-Contractors

As a general contractor, it is most likely that you will work with sub-contractors who will help you out in the course of carrying out your contract. Sub-contractors could include builders, plumbers, electricians, carpenters and so on. Whenever somebody gives you his construction contract, that person would expect you to show a proof of public liability insurance certificate that is why you need to make sure that you and your other workers have a copy of this roofers’ liability certificate. This is very necessary because, in the event of an accident, your customer will likely lay a claim against you and your insurance company will be able to pass the blame onto the sub-contractors. If your sub-contractors each own public liability insurance, the insurance company will be able to cover the expenses, but if the reverse is the case, you will be the one held responsible for any loss incurred in the process of carrying out the project.

In most cases, the sub-contractors will only purchase roofers’ liability just to be sure that they would get the certificate, it is later that you will find out that the policy was invalid. Nowadays, people go online to buy cheaper premiums and you will find out that the information they put about themselves is not true. In the long run, this policy will not be able to pay for the claims laid by the other party because the information they tendered was false. In this case, the sub-contractors are liable for damage to properties, but if they are not able to pay for the compensation fee, the general contractor would be held responsible, and if your insurers (general contractors) buy the idea of paying off the claim that means there would be a contingency liability clause in your insurance policy.

When a general contractor includes his sub-contractors under his insurance policy, it is termed as “labour-only sub-contractors” while the sub-contractors that carry their own public liability insurance are termed as “bona-fide sub-contractors”. Every sub-contractor should make sure that he possesses an indemnity to principal extension.

What to Look for in Roofers Liability

Here are some things you need to look into as a general contractor; if you own a workshop of your own, you obviously need to purchase building insurance. When getting a workshop policy, take note of the cost of your equipment and whether you are using a rented workshop because if so, you own a certain degree of responsibility to your landlord. If you added any decorations or sign writing to your workshop when you moved in as a tenant, you need to add the tenant’s improvements extension to the policy. This is necessary because, in the event of an accident, the insurance company will take care of replacing any damaged property and not your landlord.

You also need to get public liability coverage for visitors that are coming to your workshop because you can never tell when you will damage their property or hurt them. If you own a car or motorcycle, you should also ensure it if you use it for work. Make sure you tell your insurers about the social domestic coverage so that in case you use your car or bike for home activities, it would not affect the policy.

If you are not the only one working in your workshop, you will need to get the employer’s liability because it is requested by the law. Getting a personal and sickness policy is also very necessary because if you fall ill or get in an accident, it will come in handy.

When getting a roofer’s liability, make sure you check the following points:

  • You need to first check if you have declared all your work.
  • You also need to check if you have advised all your workplaces.
  • Check if it covers the use of heat.
  • Also, check if it covers the use of sub-contractors.
  • Check if it includes contingency liability coverage.
  • Check if the roofer’s liability insurance covers the indemnity to the principal clause.

When you are sure that the policy includes all of these, you can then go ahead to get it. As a responsible businessman, you need to make sure that the insurance company is willing to offer all the relevant insurance policies before agreeing to purchase it from them.

In every state, there is a given law that you must acquire motor insurance for your car and if you have staff working with you, you should also get employer’s liability insurance. You can speak to a professional in the field of roofers liability if there are certain things that are not clear to you.

Hussnain Ali

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