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| Author: | marcus |
| Subject: | insurance??? |
| Posted At: | 2004-08-23 21:23:36 |
Hello,
What kind of installation insurance should I be looking for from the installer of my windows? Are there general coverage guidelines for construction, or do I have to worry about fine print in coverage from individual companies? I will be asking the installer about their coverage, but I want to know something before I take their words at face value. I live in New Haven County, CT if that makes a difference. Would the local City Hall be helpful in this respect?
Thanks in advance,
marcus
| Author: | FenEx |
| In Reply To: | insurance??? (posted by marcus) |
| Subject: | RE: insurance??? |
| Posted At: | 2004-08-23 23:24:43 |
City Hall may or may not be helpful here. First of all, just about every homeowner policy has an exclusion for contractors working in the home... you ain't covered, so they need to be. Your concern is valid. Next, contractor's liabilty is indeed impressive when they flash a million dollar policy in front of you... but it does not fully protect you if one of their employees get injured on your premises. "All" the contractor's employees must be covered by Workman's Compensation Insurance by law in most states but the owner of the company does not. If he is an owner of a company and is doing work on your home personally... you may have liabilty issues depending on his/her carrier.
Next concern should be the fact that 8 of 10 contractors nationwide use subs and put company T-Shirts on them. If the sub produces a certificate of insurance and subsequenty missed a premium payment... again, you risk liabilty. Most contractors using subs purchase an umbrella policy to protect themselves in this event, but it doesn't necessarliy cover you.
I recommend finding out if they use subs or employees first. Then, getting a certificate of insurance in your name from their carrier for your project and time of the work. If you are still concerned, you can purchase an insurance rider for construction from the insurance company that holds your homeowner policy. Good Luck
FenEx
| Author: | NYer |
| In Reply To: | RE: insurance??? (posted by FenEx) |
| Subject: | RE: insurance??? |
| Posted At: | 2004-08-24 04:23:19 |
One of the windows companies that came to my home presented me with a copy of their Certificate of Liablity Insurance which is held by the NYC dept. of consumer affairs, and which also included the insurer's name and expiration date. -- I liked the fact that I didn't have to ask for proof of insurance, but I really have no idea how this compares versus other companies.
For Commercial General Liability they have the following limits:
$1,000,000 - each occurrence
$ 50,000 - Damage to rented premises
$ 5,000 - Medical Expense (any one person)
$1,000,000 - Personal & adv. injury
$2,000,000 - general aggregate
$1,000,000 - Products - comp/op aggregate
| Author: | Art |
| In Reply To: | RE: insurance??? (posted by NYer) |
| Subject: | RE: insurance??? |
| Posted At: | 2004-08-24 04:30:24 |
Nyer -
While it may vary a bit from state-to-state, the 3 insurances homeowners should ask for proof-of-insurance on are:
Workman's Comp
Property Damage
Public Liability
In most instances (and I'm not sure of all states) these are the ones' that could be trouble for the homeowner if the contractor doesn't have them. You could also check with your insurance agent to determine if any, all of the above or other is required to keep you safe and out of court.
| Author: | Guy |
| In Reply To: | insurance??? (posted by marcus) |
| Subject: | RE: insurance??? |
| Posted At: | 2004-08-24 05:46:32 |
First of all you don't need to worry about Workers Comp insurance. That will never come back at you. Only the employer. Next thing is what FenX was talking about. Anyone can say they have insurance. Your main concerns will be Personal Injury (Liability) So if they drop a hammer off the top floor and smack you in the mellon your covered. (Wear a hard hat at all times). Usually anywhere from 300K - 1M. You want a rider on a vehicle. So when they forget to put it in park and runs through your garage door your covered. Around 500K - 2M. General Liability covers most the other issues. I think the also call it a General Aggregate Policy. Usually a minimum of 1M. I carry all of these plus a 5M umbrella covering the entire package. No wonder Insurance Moguls own all the Pro Sports Teams. Just get the number of the insurance agent and call him/her. Make sure your covered for any mishaps. Not that big a deal. 99% of the time noting comes close to happening. FenX is right though on checking all local codes and requirements.
Guy
| Author: | Art |
| In Reply To: | RE: insurance??? (posted by Guy) |
| Subject: | RE: insurance??? |
| Posted At: | 2004-08-24 06:00:56 |
Guy -
I'm not an insurance expert by any means but I think there may be an error here - or perhaps I'm in error but it's something that Sears stressed BIG TIME in our training and sales meetings.
According to what we were told, Workmen's Comp can be a BIG issue. It seems that if the employer or contractor doesn't carry it that comp could wind up going through the homeowners insurance. I can see that most definitely happening in the case of some guy working out of the back of his station wagon or pickup truck. I guess the logic is that the homeowner is the employer of last resort so to speak. Probably especially true when subs are used also.
| Author: | Guy |
| In Reply To: | RE: insurance??? (posted by Art) |
| Subject: | RE: insurance??? |
| Posted At: | 2004-08-24 06:18:48 |
I speak on MN terms first hand. WC is a stick in my back side all the time. Sears tells you this because if they get caught it's coming out of their pocket. The customer has hired Sears to replace their wiindows. We know they have WC insurance. Stupid thought of them not to. In order for them to carry a General Contractor's License in any state they are mandated to show proof of WC. If they drop it they loose their License. So no matter how you see it the customer is safe when dealing with a contractor or legitimate business. Now here's the scoop on the sub. If for some stupid reason the sub does a job and has no coverage. We'll use Sears for this example. The sub has put Sears in jeopardy. There are no police on this other than your own Insurance Co. Every year the Insurance company audits the books. They see all contracts with subs and verify all insurance coverage for each sub. They will even go as far as checking if Subs use subs. If any sub has had a laps of insurance or is found to not have any. In laymans terms: The fan turns BROWN. All monies paid the sub are then totalled and WC is based off union scale for a Carpenter. Thats about $25.00 an hour. This is then billed to Sears who now eats the bill and gets a kick in their premium. It is then turned over to the state and they kick some but. The homeowner is always safe and never has any worries about WC. It's only for Employer - Employee relations. Sub falls under the Employee Rule. I know first hand because my insurance co. tried to play the game with me. I had to pay my attorney big money to slap them for being stupid. So I do know this one first hand. I lost a lot of sleep when they sent me a 15K bill.
Guy