If you oversee your own plumbing, electrical or heating, ventilation and air conditioning operation, you will need to carry an adequate amount of insurance. The basic business owner’s policy, or BOP, will offer general liability, property and loss-of-income coverage, and for many establishments, this will be sufficient. However, for the specialized tradesman, the occupation for which you have trained so extensively presents its own set of specific dangers that can easily result in harm to you, your clients, their properties or the people in your employ.
The extreme complexity of the HVAC, plumbing and electrical trades underlines the need for specialized insurance. For this reason, you will need to consider coverage that encompasses:
- Contractor liability. For the owner of any HVAC, plumbing or electrical business, a plethora of pitfalls can take place on the jobsite. Many of these potential complications are impossible to predict beforehand. Contractor’s liability insurance will extend the limits of your general liability coverage to include risks and dangers specific to your operation.
- Property damage. Although you do your best to prevent it, there are bound to be times when your HVAC, plumbing or electrical endeavor results in unavoidable damage to one or more of your customer’s personal possessions. Whether the accident has occurred on your business premises or at the worksite, the items’ repair or replacement will be your responsibility. Property damage coverage exists for just this purpose.
- Faulty products and completed operations. If the services you perform or the products you supply result in personal injury or damage to a client or his property, your company will be liable. This is precisely the type of risk for which coverage for products and completed operations offers specific protection.
- Personal and advertising injury. Potential clients have a habit of taking you at your word. If you advertise your business online or through the traditional media, false allegations on your part could lead to a lawsuit. The same is true if another company or individual believes that you have slandered or lied about them. Coverage for personal and advertising injury will offer protection against any claims of this type, not only covering your legal expenses but also paying judgments and settlements if the courts should find you and your company to be culpable.
- Damage to premises rented or leased to you. If you operate your HVAC, electrical or plumbing business out of a leased or rented property, any loss or harm that results from your tenancy will be your responsibility. This is as true of space you might rent inside a larger building as it is of a stand-alone workspace or shop. The addition of adding rental premises damage protection to your commercial general liability insurance will pay for repairing any damage that you or your workers might cause to the leased or rented property.
- Medical expense limits. This often-useful addition to your general liability insurance will serve as a safeguard against future and potentially more expensive injury claims. This is important because small accidents will frequently result in inconsequential injuries that require little in the way of medical treatment. With medical expense limit coverage, your company can pay for minor injuries with no need to admit responsibility.
- Workers’ compensation. Although not all states require you to carry it, this level of insurance will cover your employees against illness, physical harm and loss of income related to accidents occurring on the job.
- Commercial vehicle coverage. Some independent contractors believe that a personal auto policy will have their backs when using one of their own vehicles for business purposes. This is a common misconception. In most cases, personal auto insurance will either be entirely inapplicable or at best inadequate for the purpose.
Obtaining Adequate Plumbing, Electrical or HVAC Contractor’s Insurance
While a basic business owner’s policy might suit the needs of those who engage in low-risk occupations, this is rarely true for the plumber, electrician or HVAC contractor. The highly technical trade in which you specialize calls for the additional coverages listed above, and at All Kinds of Insurance, we can see to it that you obtain the letter-perfect policy that suits your specific needs. Don’t leave this vital business aspect up to chance. Call today and let All Kinds of Insurance help get your operation safely set on a properly protected course.