News & Views

A general contractor hires a roofer to do what roofers do for several homes he is building. The GC hasn’t done business with this particular roofer (we’ll call him Joe’s Roofing, LLC) but has asked around locally and heard only good things about Joe’s. Our GC obtains certificates of insurance, signs an agreement with Joe’s and is named additional insured on all Joe’s policies. All is well. Then, shortly after Joe’s Roofing begins work on…

Let’s imagine you’ve obtained a construction loan for $1.5 million to build a custom home for a professional person. To make it interesting, imagine the professional is a personal injury attorney.  Now, let’s say you are lining up the subcontractors to build the home for the lawyer and meet them at a bar to discuss the project over a few beers.  After several hours and more than a few beers, everyone has a clear idea…

One of the most frequent requests we get from our builder members is to add a new insured location to their general liability insurance policy.  They provide the address and sometimes a description, but usually we have to ask how this place is being used in their construction business?  “I’m building a house on that lot,” is the most typical answer.  We then ask the builder if they realize they are automatically covered for all…

A few weeks ago, a builder called to get a general liability quote. I asked when his current policy expires. He replied, “oh, I let that policy go a few months ago when my last project was finished.” Are you no longer in business? I asked. “Sure,” he said, “I just don’t need insurance since I’m not building right now.” I was beginning to feel a little uncomfortable. Did you sell your last house then?…

You’re a general contractor, a GC.  Like it or not, you are responsible for everyone’s safety at your jobsites.  That means anyone who may be there for any reason.  Even trespassers who trip and fall over some debris left by your demo guy.  That’s right.  Even if you post  “NO TRESPASSING” signs, you have some degree of care to any member of the public who is at your jobsite for any reason and gets hurt. …

As insurance agents we hear it all the time; are certificates really that important? If my subs’ certificates aren’t current, am I on the hook for what their policies don’t cover? What about exclusions on my policy? Maybe a hypothetical claim will help provide some answers. Let’s say you contract with a roofer. He’s not the roofer you usually work with but, he has a good reputation and he gives you a certificate of insurance…

A quick Internet search revealed some alarming statistics. According to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC), 81% of construction companies are having difficulty filling both hourly and salaried trades positions.  A whopping 72% of these builders expect the labor shortage to continue to be the dominant challenge to our industry this year.  Lumber prices have been falling since June.  One Internet article likened it to a bubble that has finally popped.  But that is cold…

There’s an old saying that insurance doesn’t matter…until it does.  General liability, GL for short, is fundamental to the business world.  Most everyone knows that GL protects you from suits and claims brought against you by people injured on your jobsite, or home owners who allege damage caused by defects in the way a house was built.  Beyond this things get a little fuzzy, which leads to some creative myth making.  Here are the top…

Basically, a warranty covers workmanship issues while general liability covers damage to property and/or injury to people caused by such workmanship issues. A warranty and a general liability policy actually cancel one another out. This can lead to trouble. For instance: When your general liability insurer and your warranty company aren’t affiliated, you can find yourself in a litigious situation with both parties pointing their finger at each other. A good example is a home…

It’s been said that General Liability (GL) covers your liability for just about anything that the policy doesn’t exclude.*  When a statement like that is made there’s usually some wise guy who’ll ask something like, “Oh yeah?  How about racing lawn mowers?”  Kidding aside, few questions have caused more head scratching than when are things like bulldozers and other crawler tread vehicles, powerlifts, ATVs and yes, lawn mowers covered under a GL policy?  These examples…