Making sure that a company is well-protected at all times means engaging with some important steps. First, ensure that you’re doing everything as safely as possible including hiring all the right people to work for your company and implementing safety preventive measures. It is equally important to think about contingency plans and prepare when things don’t turn out the way you want. Here are the most effective ways tool hire here:
- TRANSFER THE RISK
This is the best way yet possible and that is to not let your business carry all the risks.
You can do this through contractual clauses and insurance. Let’s elaborate on that further. There are two main policies you will mostly need in a roofers insurance package that every contractor should at least have. General liability and workers’ compensation.
a. Insurance for General Liability
If you or one of your team accidentally causes damage to a customer’s home, you want to make it right for them or your business will be at stake. You want to make sure that you fix the mistake as quickly and efficiently as possible as it is never wise to let this one mistake ruin everything that you’ve worked hard for. This is when liability coverage is so important as it will cover any third-party claims instead of you paying out of your own pocket.
The same is true with incidents caused by your operations that result in physical injury to someone on the Jobsite, whether a client or a random passerby. You want to be sure that you are covered in case of a lawsuit from the customer or whoever is injured. It is always advised to obtain at least $1M coverage per occurrence with $2M aggregate and not any lower. Remember that this policy will cover several incidents from medical costs to lawsuits, and property damage just to save a business from a huge loss.
We all know that medical needs and physical injuries cost extremely expensive, therefore, the cost of this insurance policy outweigh the possible cost of not having it right when you need it.
How does an independent contractor acquire general liability coverage?
There are two ways to get general liability coverage for an independent contractor:
- You can obtain your own general liability policy. You can buy general liability insurance from a respectable insurance provider. To show a customer that you are covered, you should request a certificate of insurance from your provider. This method is usually more cost-effective for the clients.
- Your customers can add you to their general liability policy as an additional insured. This means their insurance covers you for the span of the job or longer. A business can add 1 or more contractors to its general liability policy depending on the clause as some providers have an unlimited Additional Insured clause.
b. Insurance Coverage for Your Employees
On the other side of things is potential injury to someone within your team. This can happen in the course of the job because of a mistake or it could happen as a result of negligence on the part of the homeowner. No matter what the cause, any big or even small business would always want to make sure that your team is able to get the help needed to get back to their pre-injury condition. If the injury is caused on the job, your insurance may be responsible, especially if the injury was a result of the problem from the company.
Even if the injury was the fault of the customer, your workers compensation insurance may be responsible for part of the expenses. This occurs if the customer doesn’t have enough insurance or doesn’t have insurance to cover injuries that occur on their property. At that point, the insurance that you have, which covers every member of your team while they’re working, will step in to take care of the injury and any resulting expenses. But only if you have the right type of insurance and the right level of coverage.
- EQUIP YOUR TEAM IN AND OUT
A way to mitigate risks in roofing and construction projects is to be prepared. Employees must wear their safety shoes, safety harness, headgear, etc.
- Provide Proper Training
It is the company’s main responsibility to ensure that all of its employees know how to use their tools and equipment properly. Employees must also undergo OSHA training and perform daily site safety review meetings at every job. All of these things and more can help to reduce the chances of injuries, accidents, or poor workmanship on site.
All these may initially incur some cost, but the key is making sure that you’re not sacrificing the long term for the short term. Getting the high standard of training your staff need and the right roofers insurance is extremely important, but it’s also something that you may not have thought about until it was too late. So, make sure you’re looking at the options and getting high-quality insurance that will keep you and your team safe.
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