Our
Agents, Holding a Work Experience of over 25 years, Help You Select the
Best Contractor Insurance
No matter what the size of your business is, or what
its current value stands out to be, our agents help in picking out the most
efficient and cost effective
contractor insurance for you - assuring you a discount between 20-50% compared
to the market price. It can be difficult for companies to self-pick a contractor
insurance package which can cover all dimensions, namely contractor general
liability insurance, commercial auto, tools, equipment, and contractors’ workers’ compensation
insurance. Our experienced and dedicated agents help in picking out and creating
the most effective package, customized uniquely, according to the needs of
businesses.
We Offer Contractors General Liability Insurance Policies that are Competitively
Priced
Contractor insurance can be costly; however, its benefits completely overshadow
the costs. The costs are further minimized when professional agents, like us,
come in to play; helping businesses acquire customized contractor insurance
at discounted and economical prices.
Not Having Contractors Insurance can Bring Financial Ruin
One can never be too sure about the financial risks involved in a contracting
business. A reaping business can completely fall if it fails to acquire contractor
insurance. Due to its immense need, contractor insurance is highly necessary
to obtain for a contractor before starting business. It not only provides financial
securities, but also helps acquire better clients and contracts since many
companies wish to work with stable and secure businesses.
Call or Submit Information Online to Get Your Free Quote Today
The services offered are available at your disposable and the agents assure
a plan is designed shortly after a business tries to reach us. Feel free to
contact us for any questions or more information regarding our services.
Commercial General Liability Insurance
Commercial General Liability Insurance is a protection
against liability claims that businesses can enjoy, should there be any injury
of any kind: bodily injury,
property damage, and personal injury, and advertising injury (claims of slander
and false advertising not part of your professional services). Premises/operations
coverage: This protects businesses from property damage that may have occurred
on the business’ premises, even the rented ones, or by business’ operations.
Products/completed operations coverage: This type covers all the property damages
and bodily injuries that occur away from the business’ premises and is
due to the business’ operations or completed products.
Excess liability
Excess liability provides additional protection to businesses from liabilities
that exceed the dollar limit of any underlying policy, CGL in this case.
Umbrella insurance
Umbrella insurance is different from excess liability. Umbrella insurance is
also a liability policy that covers above the limits of coverage provided by
policies underneath such as commercial auto and commercial general liability.
Claims-Made Versus Occurrence Policies
Regardless of when the claims were first made, Occurrence policy protects businesses
against claims of property damage or injury regardless of when the losses are
reported.
On the other hand, Claims Made policy takes both, the time of damage and the
time the claim was made to the insurer in account. Both should occur during the
time when the policy is in force and only then do businesses enjoy protection
against liabilities. In case one or both of these considerations fail to comply,
a special coverage is purchased or arranged with the insurer. This special coverage
can take one of the two following forms:
1. Prior Acts Coverage: Includes all damages that occurred before the
policy period began but were reported as soon as the policy was in
force. A “retroactive
date” is set as a benchmark and all damages after this date are taken into
consideration. However, claims that were known when the policy period began are
excluded from this coverage.
2.
Run-off Coverage: Also called the extended reporting period. This special
coverage protects against damage claims made after both the policy period
and an extended period, of usually about 30-60 days provided by the insurance
company, has expired. Run-off Coverage usually charges premium and can be
extended up to 5 years or even more.
As a precaution, companies whose claims-made policies are about to expire,
may buy extended reporting period from the insurer.
Workers' Compensation Insurance
This
insurance coverage ensures full medical coverage of employees who get ill
or injured during their period of employment due
to the business’ operations.
Ranging from the smallest of injuries like wrist pain to God forbid extreme
accidents, the company is bound to provide monetary benefits to the employee
under this insurance.
To protect the rights of employees, reduce the need to litigation,
and to make the process easy for employees, most states like California
have made
it mandatory for companies to provide this insurance to its employees, even
if it’s just one part-time employee.
However, also of importance is the fact that workers compensation insurance
is not a health insurance. For disability income coverage caused by injuries
not work related, disability Insurance is the remedy.
Commercial Auto Insurance
This coverage policy covers damages that company
automobiles and commercial vehicles, used for the company’s operations
like carrying of any work related goods, equipment, or materials, face
during on-the-work operations.
The driver is also liable regardless of fault should there be any injuries
and damages.
The most common type of commercial auto insurance is liability coverage;
however, other types of insurances like collision, physical damage, comprehensive,
uninsured and underinsured motorist and medial payment may also be considered.
The cost of insurance may vary due to many factors for instance, type of
vehicle, parking locations, and safety devices like airbags and seatbelts
etc.
Builder’s Risk Insurance or Course of
Construction Insurance
This insurance
policy covers against damages that may occur during the construction of a
building. It ensures monetary insurance to builders for damages to the
building, equipment, fixtures and/or materials that may get damaged due to
a covered cause.
Buildings
under construction can face a number of mishaps like fire, damaged caused
by heavy winds, or even the falling
of
a site worker. Builder’s
insurance usually covers such mishaps; however, accidents caused by natural
calamities like earthquake, floods etc are not included. Also, the coverage
is only provided during the construction period and usually terminates when
the property is ready for usage or occupation.
What is 'Additional Insured' Endorsement?
Additional insured refers to a person or organization identified as an insured
under an insurance declaration, in addition to whomever the insurance policy
is named to. After the endorsement is signed, that entity will enjoy same
benefit similar to the named insured including the filing of claims, and
will be protected under the insurance policy.
What is Certificate of Insurance?
Certificate of Insurance (COI) is a document issued by an insurer to the
policy holder to certify that an insurance policy has been acquired. The
certificate shows specified information regarding the insurance, such as
the type of insurance coverage, the effective date of the policy and the
amount of the applicable liability. However, the certificate is not a substitute
to the actual policy document and it is a non-negotiable document that
cannot be assigned to a third party.
What are Loss Runs?
Loss runs are reports compiled and generated by the insurance company that
records a detailed history of the claims information of each policy holder.
Even if a policy holder has no filed claims, a loss run report should still
be generated to reflect no losses. Every insured has the right to receive
a copy of loss runs report from their insurance company and this is available
without any additional charges.
What is Waiver of Subrogation?
Waiver of Subrogation is a type of endorsement on an insurance policy wherein
the insurer waived its right to pursue any claim and take legal actions
against the responsible party for the loss suffered by an insured. For
instance, the landlord of an apartment signed an agreement with his tenant
stating that they would not be held liable for any damages occurred to
the rental unit. If any damages occur, the landlord will file claims to
his insurer for the damages incurred in his property. However, the Waiver
of Subrogation will prohibit the insurance company from coming after the
tenant for the damages incurred in the property.
What is Primary and Non-Contributory Wording Endorsement?
Primary and non-contributory wording endorsement is commonly used in general
liability insurance policy to stipulate the order on how the insurance company
will respond on multiple policies. The term primary on your insurance policy
means that the insurer will pay you first in the event of a claim, and the
non-contributory means that the insurer will not only pay you first but will
also pay the full amount of your claim.
Owner Controlled Insurance Program (OCIP)
OCIP is an insurance coverage provided by a property owner to contractors
and subcontractors during a renovation or construction project. This type
of insurance coverage is generally designed for big projects whose total
constructions costs exceed $5 million. It covers all the liability and possible
losses that may arise during the period of the project. As the project owner
is acquiring all the necessary insurance coverage for the project, contractors
and subcontractors do not include the cost of individual insurance in their
bids for the project.
In OCIP, all the necessary insurance coverage for the whole
project, including the construction, workers’ compensation, hazard,
materials, terrorist and other building-related insurance coverage are
acquired by the project
owner as part of a single insurance policy from a single insurance company.
OCIP also provides standardized insurance coverage with high liability limits
for all the contractors and subcontractors, and this can reduce the construction
costs by approximately one percent to two percent compared to traditional
insurance policies acquired by each contractors and subcontractors.
Most OCIPs are multi-year coverage with fixed duration, with the most typical
duration is between two and five years. This insurance coverage normally
applies to all the contractors and subcontractors working on the project
site, which includes the main constructions site, lay down yards, storage
areas and on-site fabrication.
Advantages of OCIPs for Owners
1. Cost. The acquisition of OCIPs can result to two to three percent bid
reduction. This can be achieved through premium credits for a volume purchase
of insurance coverage by project owner.
2. Scope of Coverage. Project owner has a guaranteed wide insurance coverage
for their OCIPs as compared to traditional non-OCIP policies, which an owner
sets minimum insurance requirements.
3. Improved Risk Management. With OCIP’s single
insurance policy, risk control management and claim handling are greatly
improved, and dispute
among contractors and subcontractors are easily resolved with the limits
of the insurance policy.
4. Policy Limits. In OCIPs, project owner can provide more than $800 million
in insurance coverage to contractors and subcontractors, in contrast to traditional
non-OCIP policy where it can only carry less than $1 million in CGL coverage.
Advantages of OCIPs for Contractors
1. Safety and Loss Control. The implementation of a wide risk control management
program can enhance existing safety programs of the participating contractors,
reducing injuries and other construction hazards to employees.
2. Claims Management. The large management program of project owner through
the OCIP can result to coordinated and easy claims handling procedures.
3. Dispute between Contractors. By covering all
of the project’s contractors,
disputes and subrogation issues between insurers and contractors are eliminated.
In traditional non-OCIP programs, contractors/subcontractors and project
owner are represented by different insurers and lawyers, and this potential
source of conflict is eliminated in the OCIP program.
4. Higher Limits. Smaller contractors and subcontractors are allowed to
participate in the projects that need higher liability limits.
5. Small or Minority Contractors. Project owners provide insurance coverage
to smaller or minor contractors who do not have the capability to secure
necessary insurance coverage for bigger projects.
Disadvantages of OCIPs for Owners
1. Administrative Burden. OCIPs increased administrative burden to the part
of the project owner, and if not managed competently, it could lead to
additional cost to the owner.
2. Market Risk. Premium cost for the OCIP can increase if the insurance
market hardens, which could potentially hurt the project owner.
3. Bid Preparation. Additional costs and preparations are needed in imposing
an OCIP programs, which is a time consuming and brings additional work to
the project owner.
Disadvantages of OCIPs for Contractors
1. Limited Insurance Coverage. OCIP is designed to provide insurance coverage
for work performed on the project. However, this coverage is normally subject
to various exclusions which could lessen the coverage to the contractor
compared to what they could get in traditional insurance policies.
2. Complicated Bidding. A complicated bidding process
is required to demonstrate that the insurance coverage has been removed
from the contractor’s
bid price.
3. Documentation Requirements. Projects with OCIP have more paper works
and report intensive, imposing additional administrative burdens to contractors
and subcontractors.
What is General Liability Insurance?
A type of insurance coverage that provides protection to the insured in case
he/she is sued for claims that arise within the coverage of the policy.
This type of insurance policy is common for businesses and companies, as
it provides protection when negligent acts resulted in bodily injury or
property damage on the business premises, or when someone is injured as
a result of using the distributed or manufactured product of the company.
What is Property Insurance?
It
provides protection to any types of property against the risk that most likely
arise,
including
fire, theft, vandalism, etc. This kind of insurance
coverage has various specialized forms such as home insurance, flood insurance,
fire insurance, boiler insurance or earthquake insurance. The property is
also insure in two main ways — the named perils and open perils.
• Named perils – this
type of policy that provides insurance coverage for damage-causing events
that are only specified in the policy
documents.
• Open perils – this
type of policy covers all forms of losses and damages caused to the insured
property.
What is Business owner’s policy
(BOP)?
BOP is an insurance policy that combines protection against
major property and liability risks in one package. It is commonly comprised
of property
insurance, liability insurance, auto insurance, crime insurance and business
interruption insurance. Business owner and the insurance company can make
arrangement on what to include in the insurance policies, depending on the
company’s needs.
What is Commercial Auto Insurance:
An insurance premium purchased to protect a company’s
vehicles such as cars, motorcycles, trucks and other road vehicles. Its primary
use is to provide
protection against physical damages and bodily injury resulting from accident
specially traffic collision, as well as against liability that could arise
after.
What is Worker’s Compensation
Insurance?
Worker’s compensation is a type of insurance that
provides medical benefits and wage replacement to employees who suffered
from injuries or accident during
the course of his/her job. This type of benefits is claimed by employees as
a matter of rights and the employer cannot resort to any legal actions made
by affected employee. Thus, the benefit is given to the employees in exchange
for waiving their legal rights to sue their employers for the incident.
What is Professional Liability Insurance?
Also known as Errors and Omissions Insurance, Professional Liability Insurance
is a type of insurance policy that gives protection to professionals such
as lawyers, accountant, property agents, etc. against negligence or other
claims imposed by their customers. Each professional who have expertise in
a specified field are required to obtain this type of insurance coverage
because general liability insurance policies do not offer insurance coverage
against claims arising out of professional or business practices like misrepresentation,
negligence or malpractice.
What is Directors and Officers Insurance?
Directors and Officers Insurance is risk-reduction insurance coverage for directors
and other senior officials of an organization. This type of insurance policy
protects senior executives of the company against their direct actions that
could affect the financial status and operation of the company. Insurance claims
under this policy includes reimburses, either in partial or in full, the costs
resulting from lawsuits faced by senior executives arising out of their poor
management decision, shareholder grievances, employee dismissals and among
others.
What is Data Breach Insurance
A data breach is a security incident wherein sensitive, confidential
and protected data stored in a computer system has been hacked, stolen, used
or viewed
by unauthorized person. Data breaches may involve personally identifiable
information (PII), personal health information (PHI), intellectual property
or company’s confidential information.
To protect the company against such risk, data breach policy is offered and
covers variety of losses including the cost of restoring or recovering lost
data; responding to a data breach like payment of credit monitoring and cost
of notifying customers; lawsuits filed by those customers whose data was disclosed;
interruption of business operations caused by data breach; and defending regulatory
measures like regulatory fines.
What is Homeowner’s Insurance?
Homeowner’s insurance is the most common type of insurance policy and
offers broad protection packages that typically covers the policyholders, his/her
spouse and children living in the same household. Its primary coverage includes
protection against damages to the home as well as the items inside the home
caused by fire, personal liability exposure and other similar perils. Although
common homeowner’s insurance does not cover some events such as floods,
earthquakes or other ‘act of God’, policy holder can acquire additional
supplementary policies that cover such eventualities.
What is Renter’s Insurance?
Renter’s insurance is similar to homeowner’s insurance but the
insurance coverage only applies to the tenant of the home. It provides insurance
coverage for the policy holder’s belongings and liability against theft,
fire, vandalism or other means of damage to the tenant's personal property
within the rented property. This kind of insurance coverage applies to any
individual renting or subletting a single-family home, duplex, condo, apartment,
townhouse or loft.
What is Life Insurance?
Life insurance is intended to protect a family against the financial hardship
that accompany the premature death of the policy holder. This kind of insurance
has two options:
• Term Insurance – provides
insurance coverage at a fixed rate of payment and limited period of time.
This means
that
if the period expires,
the coverage of the premiums you have paid is no longer valid. This option
is a pure death benefit and its primary purpose is to provide financial benefits
and assistance upon the death of the policy holder.
• Permanent Insurance – provides
insurance coverage to the policy holder as long as he/she pays for the
premium. It can never
be cancelled
and it is designed to pay out a benefit in all cases, thus this type of premium
is much expensive compared to term insurance.
Contractor
Insurance Beneficial Necessity
Contractor
insurance is an extremely important protection for many professionals who
make their living through contracted building and development work. Along
with general contractors, other professionals that rely on the protection
offered by contractors insurance include: Builders, developers, trade
and
artisan contractors who specialize in such processes as carpentry, plumbing,
masonry, electrical, concrete, roofing, HVAC and more. Many contractors
have been saved from business and financial ruin because of the protection
afforded
to them from some form of insurance.
The best avenue to find the most advantageous contractors insurance products
is insurance specialists who are experts in these types of products. The
good news for prospects is that most of the top providers of contractor
insurance products are accessible online. Online specialists provide an
extremely effective and efficient way to learn about the best insurance
products. Agencies that specialize in these contractors insurance products
also offer the most cost-effective solutions because of their ability to
put together customized solutions that offer the coverage clients need,
without the excess costs they do not need.
As one of the largest states in terms of building and new construction
development, California is a hot bed of building contractors. This means
that with all of the contractors working, there is a huge demand for contractor
insurance protection at an affordable cost. The good news for these contractors
is that there are opportunities to find honest and dependable specialized
insurance carriers that offer protection required in California.
The coverage a contractor needs is dependant on the type of work he or
she engages in as well as the risks associated and protection desired.
The general purpose of contractor insurance is to provide financial backing
for a contractor who is liable to a client who hires the contractor to
perform a certain job. The most purchased type of contractors insurance
is general liability insurance. As with other types of insurance, contractor
general liability offers the widest protection and is most useful to a
company or individual engaged any many facets of contract work. There are
maximum payouts on the insurance, generally $1 million to $2 million for
each type of protection. Contractors protected by a good plan are usually
secured against reasonable financial loss due to problems linked to the
contractors work. The most complete protection can be found from adding
some more specific types of coverage to the general liability protection.
The good news for contractors in California is that there are contractors
insurance specialists such as us who offer great California contractor
general liability insurance plans.
Worker’s compensation is a common contractor insurance purchased
by many contracting companies for their employees. Workers comp insurance
is a compulsory type of coverage. This protection helps the employer
cover the financial burden of an employee who is injured on a job. The
workers
compensation insurance generally offers income, medical and rehabilitation
benefits for injured employees involved in work related accidents. Some
plans also include a death benefit payable to survivors.
Inland marine insurance is another specialized type of contractor insurance.
This contractors insurance protects goods that are in transit over land.
Many contractors move materials and goods routinely and this allows them
to expect the high costs of those items. Tools, equipment and installation
floaters are all considered inland marine insurance and are considered
essential types of insurance for contractor.
Disability insurance is another common type of contractors insurance
used by contractors and many companies, for that matter. This provides
for the
income needs of people displaced from work for a period of time due to
injury. It is commonly referred to “Accident and Health Protection”.
Health and life insurance are other types of coverage purchased by contractors.
Another common type of protection for contractor is surety bonds. A surety
bond is a financial instrument not an insurance policy. A Surety Bond is
a financial instrument utilized to guarantee performance. A building developer
hires a general contractor and the contractor is unable to perform on his
obligation to complete a building on time or as agreed, developer may look
to sue contractor for not performing as promised. A performance bond provides
protection for this type of exposures. License and permit bonds are required
by the cities, municipalities or state. It guarantees compliance with the
local, state, or federal codes. Another reason for requiring a license
bond is to provide protection to the consumers. Along with contractor workers
comp insurance, California contractors are required to have contractor
license bonds.
It is quite obvious that companies and individuals that are involved in
building development need to protect themselves from huge financial liability.
Even small operations need adequate protection as a company need not be
large to be a target of a builder looking for retribution. Many companies
hire top contracting talent by promoting the excellent liability and contractor
protection they maintain. Contracting work is often challenging and sometimes
dangerous. It is important for workers to know they will be taken care
if injured in the line of duty.
Contractors that either want more complete protection are want protection
more customized to their limited needs might opt for other types of contractors
insurance.
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