Why Insurance is Mandatory for a Handyman?
Handyman insurance is not mandatory by law in some states. However, if you work as a handyman, for your own safety, it IS mandatory to have insurance.
There are several types you can choose from. You may have been working as a handyman for many years. You have seen it all, electrical problems and leaky pipes to say the least. In all these years working or if you are just starting, you will need to have a variety of tools to deal with each job that comes your way – taking your tools from site to site with you! So, why do we believe handyman insurance is mandatory?
Because you are still human.
Mistakes:
No matter how good you are at your job everyone makes mistakes.
At minimum damage, a faulty electrical connection could burn an appliance or worse, set the house on fire. If the water or sewer pipe you have mended breaks or a leak ends up flooding part of the house ruining a multitude of things. The cost of independently repairing only 2 of these examples is enough to make you want to have a policy that would cover these situations.
Lawsuit:
If a client sues you, your insurance will take care of lawyers’ expenses even if you are found guilty. Wireless tools are ever-popular. But, if by chance you have an electrical wire on the floor and somebody trips and falls, your insurance can cover the medical expenses for you as well. It will help you avoid that lawsuit that would otherwise come your way afterwards. For all these cases a General Liability policy will cover you.
Tools:
Now, your very important, very expensive tools. Without them you cannot do your job. If you are taking them from site-to-site, are you leaving them unattended? When you are working on a site for more than one day at a time, are you going to take them all home with you?
If you have particularly valuable tools the best thing to do is to have them insured as well. The policy for this is Inland Marine policies. This will cover your tools and equipment, if they are stolen or if the tools are damaged while you are transporting them across sites.
There is another sort of insurance you may need. You have personal insurance for your car. however, if you are using the vehicle to drive yourself and your tools to the different work sites your personal insurance will not cover you in the case of an accident.
Vehicles:
Also if some of your employees occasionally drive your car as well, you can add them to your policy as well as family members, so in case of an accident the insurance will cover them when driving as well. This coverage is similar to your personal auto policy only with more options of coverage to choose from.
So far, you have the option of getting general liability insurance, to protect yourself and your clients, inland marine insurance to protect your tools and equipment, Commercial auto insurance as you will be using your car to drive to and from worksites on a daily basis. What about if you have employees? Then, you need Workers Compensation insurance.
Your Employees:
Your employees can be your most valuable asset, and if they get injured or hurt while working, workers compensation insurance will cover your employee’s medical expenses, prescriptions and will pay them part of their salary if they need time off work to recover from an injury, surgery or physical therapy. Until they are ready to return to work. Failing that and assuming you are the only employee, you still need protection. Since you’re the main source of income, you’ll need income protection insurance, this insurance will help you if you lose your job, you get sick or have an accident, it will provide a tax-free income until you can start working again.
What Next?
By now you are probably thinking all this insurance sounds expensive. The good thing is your broker will help you figure out the best insurance for you and can turn them into a package deal, bringing your insurance premium to a much better price for a lot more coverage. You will end up with a package deal that covers so many things and will give much more value to your investment. Call Contractors Liability now to discuss at 866-225-1950