An Overview of General Liability Insurance

Over the years, contractors have to deal with demanding and highly risky projects. As a contractor, while you are offering your services on a customer’s property, a substantial liability insurance scheme must be in place to safeguard your assets as well as manage your liabilities. A general liability insurance should be able to cover your company against accidents, property damages, or any injuries sustained while executing a project.

Also, before you can win several projects out there, most especially when it comes to government contracts, evidence of your liability insurance may be requested for as a component of the qualification process. In fact, sometimes, subcontractors can be asked to show proof of liability insurance coverage before they can come on board when it comes to construction tasks.

What are the Benefits of General Liability Insurance for Contractors?

The most significant advantage of running a general liability insurance scheme is to protect your business against lawsuits or damages incurred while executing construction projects. However, by having a construction liability insurance policy in place, you will stand to gain the following benefits:

  1. Costs and damages will be covered by the liability insurance once a judgment is passed.
  2. It offers value and a sense of security to you, your employees, and project owners.
  3. General liability insurance can cover court expenses, attorney fees, witness fees, among others.
  4. It offers protection to your business against injury.
  5. It protects your company as a whole and against individual claims.

What Does General Liability Insurance Cover for Contractors?

The general liability insurance policy covers the following situations:

  • Damage claims: Your company will be protected by the insurance company in a case where the property of a client is damaged, or your company is accountable for an inability to use a property.
  • Copyright claims: By using a design or product which looks similar to your competitors, you might be sued based on copyright infringement. In such a circumstance, the insurance company will come to your aid.
  • Injury claims: Liability insurance scheme covers medical expenses for any injury incurred while working. Also, they will cover the cost of a funeral or court-awarded compensations. However, it differs from a worker’s comp kind of coverage.
  • Product claims: If your brand installed equipment during construction but led to some damages, your liability insurance coverage will address the situation.

General Liability Insurance Cost for Contractors

The risk involved with your business goes a long way in determining the cost of liability insurance. For instance, if you run a business of lower risk, coverage under the Business Owner’s policy might be more advisable compared to liability insurance. But, if you work as a commercial contractor such as a roofing contractor or an expert in specific trades, then you should consider the biggest insurance cover as you will be involved with a high risk of damages.

While several indemnity corporations demand a modest down payment as well as monthly fees for a premium over six to 12 months, most small business owners can be charged between $400 to $600 for annual premiums. However, essentially, the cost of liability insurance has a direct relationship with the amount of money which the contractor works on. Advisably, you should have insurance coverage that is two or three times worth more than the cost of construction projects.

Grillo is licensed to write in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia.

We are a Long Island based commercial and personal insurance company.

If you would like to learn more or for any further assistance, kindly get in touch with us!