As a stucco or EIFS professional, you have a big responsibility – to provide a beautiful and durable finish to a home or business exterior.
But as with any business, you face any number or risks on a daily basis. The risk that your completed project doesn’t hold up the way it should, or the risk that one of your employees is involved in an accident while driving a truck owned by your business.
We think that your time is best spent focusing on providing an outstanding experience for your customer, and not worrying about everything that could go wrong.
Which is why your insurance plan should be just as comprehensive and durable as the jobs that you complete for your customers.
So what happens if you don’t properly match exterior coatings and textures on a repair job? Or one of your employees doesn’t properly secure a scaffolding that comes tumbling down and causes property damage?
Could your business survive a catastrophic accident?
If you follow this guide to properly insuring stucco and EIFS contractors in Ohio, you should feel confident that in the face of a financial disaster, your insurance coverage will protect you and your business.
It doesn’t matter if you’re an independent contractor, or if you have numerous employees on your payroll. And it doesn’t matter what type of project you’re working on. The fact is, you need to protect your business before a loss happens that could force you to suspend or lose work.
Like any other business, stucco and EIFS contractors need a variety of insurance coverages to ensure their operation is protected. Additionally, rules and coverages can vary from state to state, so understanding Ohio Stucco and EIFS Contractor Insurance is essential.
Commercial General Liability Insurance
To start, every stucco & EIFS contractor needs a Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy. The coverage provided by this policy would protect your business when lawsuits or financial losses occur.
A typical CGL policy provides coverage for claims of bodily injury or other physical injury, personal injury (libel or slander), advertising injury and property damage as a result of your products, premises or operations.
For example, you’re working at your customer’s 2-story home with your scaffolding up in several areas. All is going well, and then a gust of wind comes out of nowhere bringing your scaffolding to the ground.
On its way down, it smashed through your customer’s intricate picture windows, and injured her toddler who was playing inside the house.
If you didn’t have Commercial General Liability Insurance at the time this occurred, you’d be paying for the damages, including the injuries suffered and likely the legal bills to follow, out of your own pocket.
But with a CGL policy, your insurance company could step in and handle everything on your behalf – no downtime to your business, no lost revenue, and nothing for you to pay out of your own pocket.
As a safeguard against liability, CGL enables you to continue your normal operations while dealing with real or fraudulent claims of negligence or wrongdoing. CGL policies also provide coverage for the cost to defend and settle claims.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial Auto Insurance is another important policy that all Ohio stucco and EIFS contractors must consider because you’re relying on vehicles to get you from one client to another. Doesn’t matter if you have one truck, or a fleet of 100, you still need Commercial Auto Insurance.
The trucks or trailers that you’re using to haul your equipment and materials should be insured. A Commercial Auto Policy can be used to insure vehicles for:
- Liability – this would protect the business owner in the event of an at-fault accident where the owner, or any employees, caused injuries to others while driving a company vehicle
- Physical damage to the vehicles owned by the business if they’re involved in an accident, stolen or vandalized
- Or both Liability and Physical Damage
For example, one of your employees could be driving a truck filled with tools and equipment from one job site to another and they’re involved in a severe collision with another driver.
Your employee is at fault, there is extensive damage to both vehicles, all tools and equipment are damaged and there will be medical expenses for both drivers.
Your Commercial Auto policy could cover the property damage, the medical expenses and any potential legal costs involved.
Contractor’s Equipment Insurance
Stucco & EIFS contractors usually have a fair amount of tools and equipment. This equipment could be located at your business or office, in one of your vehicles, or on the jobsite. Because these items move around, the best way to insure them is with an Inland Marine Insurance policy (also known as a Contractor’s Equipment policy or floater).
For example, you left that scaffolding at a different construction project, this time on a commercial building you’re working on. When you returned in the next day, it was gone.
If you thought you were covered because you had a Commercial Property policy, you’re probably going to be upset when you find out that policy only covers property while it’s located on your business location. The scaffolding that’s off your business premises wouldn’t be covered.
However, if you had covered the scaffolding on an Inland Marine policy, your insurance company would reimburse you the cost to replace your scaffolding.
Conclusion
Finding the best insurance policy for Stucco & EIFS Contractors in Ohio, and figuring out the types of coverage needed to protect your business, can be confusing, time consuming and difficult.
However, the right insurance protection is still critical to the success of your business. Without it, you’re one claim away from being out of business.
And remember, not all policies are created equal.
You probably wouldn’t go to your eye doctor instead of your dentist if you were having a toothache, right? Just because they’re both doctors doesn’t mean they have the same skillset.
Just the same, you need an Insurance Advisor that understands your industry, your risks of loss, and how best to protect you and your business.
We can help.
We know the industry, we understand your needs, and we work with multiple insurance companies so we can deliver the insurance solution that’s perfect for your business, and your budget.
When you have confidence in your business insurance, you have greater peace of mind knowing that you can keep working to generate revenue, even when disaster strikes.
To get started on your customized solution, contact one of our Licensed Advisors, or Request a Proposal and we’ll get to work right away.