As one of the highest risk professions out there, roofers and roofing companies rely quite heavily on insurance. Not only is insuring your roofing business absolutely critical, but it’s also quite complex. Roofing contractors must find an insurance plan that includes everything from general liability insurance to property insurance to workman’s compensation. We’ll go over what standard coverage you’ll want to have for your roofing business.
What Can a Commercial Insurance Policy Cover?
There are several risks in any contracting job, but especially in roofing. Roofing is a unique situation where on top of the risk of falls and other workplace injuries, they are at risk of many other issues as well. Insurance can cover any incidents of the homeowners getting injured in some way as well as property damage.
With ladders and buckets being hoisted, and all kinds of debris falling, there’s always a chance for an accident. Even the best, most professional contractors can make mistakes and that’s why they have comprehensive insurance to protect themselves and their clients. So ultimately, a commercial insurance plan for contractors should at the very least include general liability insurance, personal injury coverage, and property insurance.
Standard Coverages for Your Business Owner’s Policy
Big corporate construction companies will often buy each of their policies separately because they just need more coverage and likely need to negotiate a lot more than smaller operations. Small business owners can bundle their essential coverages together for a better deal, but with a feeling of security, that’s right for their needs. Anyways, these three coverages are critical to ensuring your business can have the protection they need for anything.
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance applies to any business working in any sort of commercial realm. Whether in an office or out on job sites, there is still a business property that must be protected. In the world of contractors, this would be vehicles, specialty tools, and equipment, machinery, ladders, etc. Anything for commercial use can be protected from damage or theft under this plan.
General Liability
If you own a home, you are probably familiar with personal liability as part of your homeowner’s insurance. This type of coverage is especially important for businesses because it covers a wide range of things from liability issues to protection against lawsuits and third party injury. If a non-employee is injured on the job site in one way or another (say falling debris or some other accident) this policy would cover any claims and legal fees.
Bodily injury protection is very important but general liability will also protect your business’s reputation by covering any wrongful or hurtful claims against your business for services rendered, and any libel or slander claims as well. It’s the biggest way to protect your business’s professional standing and reputation, as well as avoid financial ruin due to any lawsuits or large claims.
Loss of Income
This coverage acts as reimbursement if a business must shut down for a certain period of time. This may be due to a lawsuit or weather, or in the case right now, a pandemic. It would cover both loss of income and any operating expenses necessary to the business. It can often be the difference between going out of business and surviving.
What About Workers Comp?
Workers compensation insurance is something most businesses have, but for office workers or less strenuous job sites, it may never even be used, but it’s still important to have. But, to reiterate, roofing contractors work a dangerous job and injuries happen so workers comp is necessary insurance to have. That high-risk factor will likely mean a higher premium to carry this coverage for your contracting business, which is why it may be purchased outside of the BOP. Roofing managers and owners can potentially negotiate a better price if they shop around.
Workers comp is comprehensive coverage that will pay any lost wages while a roofing contractor is out of work, plus any acquired medical expenses and even rehabilitation after the fact. Even more importantly, serious and fatal injuries will also fall under this coverage. Serious falls can sometimes end a contractor’s career and thus they need to be paid disability, which will go through your workers compensation.
Your worker’s comp can even cover death and funeral costs for families of those who have suffered a fatal injury. Lastly, if your employees or their families press charges and file any claims or lawsuits against you regarding an injury or death, this will assist in covering any legal fees and payouts.
Now, once you’ve got your coverage, the best thing you can do for yourself, your employees, and your business is preventing these accidents and incidents from happening! Mistakes and accidents happen, but following some crucial roofing safety best practices can save a lot of time, money, pain, and even lives when followed correctly. Stay safe!
