Most businesses, of any type or size, do well to invest in general liability insurance, even those that also require professional liability insurance. But when it comes to construction businesses, it’s a necessity.
A specially designed general liability policy is often needed for construction businesses, due to their special risks/needs. Many aspects will be the same as “ordinary” general liability, but important details may differ – so always ask your insurer for a specifically “contractors general liability policy.”
Here are the three basic ways that general liability can protect your contracting company:
- Accidental injury of third parties. If a customer or other non-worker is injured on your job site and sues claiming you’re to blame, contractors insurance will cover the cost of paying for their medical expenses.
- Accidental property damage. If a third party claims your company’s negligence resulted in their property being damaged, contractors general liability will cover it.
- Certain faulty workmanship claims. If it’s alleged your company didn’t finish a job or didn’t deliver proper workmanship, some contractors insurance policies will cover many of these claims.
Unless you protect your business with a contractor-focused general liability policy, your bottom line could suffer – or you could be forced to sell off business assets or even be pushed out of business entirely by an overwhelmingly expensive lawsuit.
By covering the legal fees involved with a potential lawsuit, general liability insurance can keep contractors afloat where otherwise they might not be able to weather the storm.
Going Into More Detail On Contractors Insurance
Above, we briefly mentioned a few of the main coverage areas of professional contractors insurance, but here, we’ll look at 5 key coverage areas in more detail:
1. Bodily Injury
No matter how safety conscious and careful you are, it’s still possible that an accident could occur on your work site or at your office. General liability would cover the injured party’s medical expenses and court settlement. It will also cover “immediate medical expenses” like ER trips.
2. Property Damage
General liability does NOT cover damage to a client’s property that you are working on – UNLESS your policy is exceptional or has a rider. It DOES cover damage to property of customers or visitors that happened to be at your job site/office and was allegedly damaged due to some kind of negligence on the part of your company or its employees.
3. Completed Products
Contractors insurance normally includes coverage against property damage and personal injuries resulting from completed products and services that were inadvertently flawed in some way. There may be limits as to timing and maximum coverage on these kinds of claims.
4. Faulty Workmanship
This covers lawsuits alleging that you failed to complete a project, complete it on time, or complete it on budget. This isn’t in all general liability policies, but it’s good to have.
5. Advertising Claims
If you advertise, there’s always the chance of a lawsuit over libel, slander, copyright violations, or false advertising. Most contractors insurance policies will cover this as well.
Only by covering your contracting business against the many third-party lawsuits that could arise can you protect your company’s future. To learn more about general liability for contractors, or for a free quote, contact Flagler County Insurance Agency today!