Contractors General Liability Insurance
Also Serving Aurora, Joliet and other areas in Illinois & Indiana
Free Insurance Quote for Contractor General Liability
Contractors: Protect Your Duty to Others with General Liability Insurance
As a contractor, you might build people’s homes, supply their construction materials or furnishings and help them with household repairs. You must do your work to their specifications or else risk consequences. If you cause harm during that process, you might cost your clients a lot of money.
To safeguard both your business and your clients, you need various types of commercial liability insurance. A general liability policy is a good starting point, but don’t hesitate to get extra coverage also. Let Buschbach Insurance be your partner in getting the right policy package.
What is general liability insurance for contractors?
You run a business to serve people’s needs. However, by providing them with products and services, you also expose them to potential harm. Someone might get hurt visiting your warehouse. You might make a mistake during construction, causing damage to a client’s property. Such damages or injuries might be your fault and your responsibility to pay for.
Businesses that carry general liability insurance often have help in challenging situations. It might help you pay for:
- A third party’s medical bills
- Certain third-party death benefits
- Lost income affected parties suffer
- Repairs or replacement of property belonging to others
- Legal settlements from lawsuits related to liability claims
- Lawyers’ fees and other costs
Coverage, therefore, can protect clients from suffering unduly because of your mistakes. But, it can also protect the business. You won’t have to worry about spending significant sums just to pay to clean up messes. That’s a lot more security when you need it most.
What kind of insurance should contractors have?
Liability insurance is one of the most important types of coverage a contractor needs. However, it’s not just one type of coverage. Most businesses need to insure a variety of liabilities using separate policies.
The place to start is with commercial general liability (CGL) coverage. These policies can usually include:
- Bodily injury liability coverage to pay for injuries you cause others. A client slip-and-fall in your lumber yard might have coverage under this policy.
- Property damage liability insurance will pay for the damage you cause to others’ property. For example, if you paint someone’s home, you might spill the paint on an antique chest. Coverage can help the client pay to repair or replace the item.
Keep in mind, a general liability policy might not automatically contain all necessary types of liability insurance. Therefore, you likely will need a few other types of coverage to shore up outstanding risks:
- Personal injury coverage will pay for non-bodily injuries to another person. For example, allegations of libel or slander by your business might have coverage under this policy.
- Advertising injury coverage pays in case your promotional materials inadvertently do harm to your business’s competitors or others in the community.
- Products-completed coverage comes into play if your completed work causes harm or damage to a client. For example, if a chandelier you installed falls and harms a client, coverage may help.
- Faulty workmanship coverage pays if a client alleges that you did not perform your duties according to timelines or budgetary agreements.
- Errors & omissions insurance (E&O protection) is professional liability coverage that covers your professional mistakes or advice that leads to financial harm to clients.
What Coverage Do Independent Contractors Need?
Contractors come in many different shapes and sizes. You might be a self-employed contractor in your own business. You might be a subcontractor, or even hire some of your own. In most cases, independent contractors and subcontractors need as much liability insurance as any general contractor.
Most clients, and potentially even local laws, will require all contractors on projects to have insurance. If you are an independent worker, you will likely need your own general liability coverage and other policies to represent your business interests. Furthermore, most subcontractors need their own liability protection, and do not have coverage under an employer’s coverage.
Why You Need Extra Liability Coverage
Depending on the work you do and the structure of your business, your preferred general liability insurance will vary. However, you should always carry multiple types of coverage with appropriate financial limits. Therefore, talk to one of the agents at Buschbach Insurance. We’ll help you choose one of the best general liability policies out there.
Let us help you get covered today. Call us at 708.423.2350 or by getting an online quote right now.
Additional Resources
|