It’s not enough to have the skills and experience to carry out your job but to also protect your business. One of the best ways of protecting your business by having good insurance. Insurance not only protects your business against lawsuits, libels, and damages, but would also cover your employees, and the property of your clients whilst working for them. This is what makes insurance important. You will want to find the best roofing companies who deal with insurance.

Roofing is the most dangerous aspect of construction. Statistics have shown that about 50 people die every year, due to roofing-related accidents. Accidents can occur in any form, from fixing loose shingles to building foundations or sealing leaks, roofers have a lot to do while ensuring everything is done right. Regardless of your specialty, fixing, replacing or even cleaning roofs, it takes a lot of skill and courage to carry out your job successfully.

Why Should A Roofer Get An Insurance?

As earlier mentioned, you require more than just your skill and experience to be successful in the roofing business. All the money and wealth you’ve accumulated over the years can be lost in just a lawsuit. This is why roofers need insurance, to protect not only their business, but also themselves, and their employees. Roofing insurance is a must for every roofing contractor who wants to be safe. Accidents can happen at any time, no matter how careful you are. Even when you ensure you’re careful, you cannot guarantee the safety of your employees. Accidents can occur in any form, people can trip over a toolbox, or a worker can slip because of the slippery nature of the roof, the hardwood floor of the house can also be accidentally damaged and so on.

What Are The Types Of Insurance Roofing Contractors Can Benefit From?

There are various types of insurance that roofing contractors can benefit from. It’s always up to individuals to select one that is best for them. Below are some of the typical insurance plans:

1. General liability insurance: This is the most critical type of insurance to have. It’s the first line of protection for roofers. This is because it protects roofers from any claims of property damage or injuries to employees. It also covers the cost of treatment of injuries, regardless of who’s at fault or what caused it. In addition, any problems or mistakes on your part would be covered by your insurance company. It also goes as far as covering the damages caused by an independent contractor you hired. Lastly, it includes any form of a lawsuit, libel or false imprisonment.

Most home builders or homeowners do require that roofing contractor have least $1 000, 000 in general liability insurance before they can be considered for a job. Not having insurance disqualifies you from a lot of job opportunities. Some of the insurance companies do make getting insurance easy for roofers. Below are some of the offers insurance companies provide to roofers to make getting on the plan easy:

• They offer several payment plans that accommodate the budget of the roofer.
• They also offer options that keep the initial payments low, especially when it’s a new company.
• They may give roofers the opportunity to pay off the policy over the course of a year in installments, after a deposit.

          What Does The General Liability Insurance Cover?

As earlier mentioned, general liability insurance is the first line of protection for roofers. Below are some of the things it covers:

• Bodily injuries: Roofer can incur injuries at any time. However, they wouldn’t have to spend their money on treatment, as long as they have general liability insurance. This covers the roofing contractor and his employees.
• Completed operations liability: These are losses that might occur after you’ve completed your work for a client. This could happen in various ways. As an illustration, the roof you just completed for a client, starts leaking, a few weeks after your job. In this scenario, the homeowner might sue or demand a repair of the roof. Your general liability insurance would cover the cost of the repairs and anything you need to buy to get the job done.
• Personal injury: This involves damage to the reputation or rights of an individual due to copyright infringement, slander, libel, wrongful eviction and so on. This could cost the roof contractor tons of money if he doesn’t have insurance.
• Advertising injury: This occurs when a competitor experiences loss due to the advertisement of your company. This could in spoken or written form. In this type of situation, your insurance would have to pay on your behalf.
• Medical payments: This involves the expenses of an individual that is injured on your premises. This could be a client, customer or even a trespasser. Insurance can pay some certain amount of money, as goodwill to prevent the affected individual from filing lawsuits against your business.
• Independent contractors liability: Roofers sometimes hire independent contractors to do their job on their behalf. Any injury incurred by the contractor while doing your job for you would be covered by the general liability insurance.

1. Worker’s compensation: This is done to cover your workers, considering the dangerous nature of the job. Some states require that employers carry worker’s compensation. The worker’s compensation covers the injured worker’s medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and a part of the salary of the employee until he/she is able to work again. This type of insurance also protects you and your business from being sued by a worker who got injured while working for you.
2. Roofer’s bonds: This is the type of roofer’s insurance that most roofing companies choose. This roofer’s bond is signed between the roofer and his client. However, the terms of the agreement would have to be negotiated before it’s signed. The bond usually includes various conditions that are satisfactory to both parties, such as license bond, bid bond, payment bond, performance bond and so on.
3. Commercial auto, tools and equipment insurance: This type of insurance covers all the financial losses that are associated with any form of accident that may occur. It’s crucial for roofers to have this type of insurance, as it protects them, and their workers.

Overall, insurance is a must for every roofer. People who are not sure of what type of insurance to get should approach a reputable insurance company, and make inquiries on the type of insurance that would be most beneficial to them and their business.