It should come as no shock that electrical contractors face serious risks in their line of work, and making the right decisions regarding insurance protection can have serious consequences.

Working with electricity can be dangerous, whether you’re an independent contractor, or you run your own business with employees reporting to you.

You may know the risks of working with electricity, but do you know the risks you face if you don’t have proper insurance coverage?

Like any other business, electricians 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 Electricians Insurance is essential.

Commercial General Liability Insurance

If you’re an electrician, or run your own electrical business, then a Commercial General Liability (CGL) insurance policy is a must, as it would protect 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 in a hospital to remove ductwork from their HVAC system. However, it was later determined that the ductwork was home to a dangerous fungus and all of your dismantling activities caused the fungus to spread into the hospital.

Patients became infected, some critically, and you were found liable for the spread of the fungus. As a result, you faced claims of bodily injury and property damage in excess of $1 million.

Do you have coverage for this type of claim?

If you have a CGL policy, are you confident it would respond and protect you given the circumstances in the above claim example?

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 electrician businesses, and even independent electrical 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 should be insured. A Commercial Auto Policy can be used to insure vehicles for:

  1. 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
  2. Physical damage to the vehicles owned by the business if they’re involved in an accident, stolen or vandalized
  3. Or both Liability and Physical Damage

For example, one of your employees could be driving a company truck with all of his tools and equipment and they’re involved in a severe collision with another driver.

Your employee is at fault, there is extensive damage to both vehicles, 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.

And if the tools and equipment were damaged or destroyed, there’s even insurance to reimburse you for this loss as well.

Contractor’s Equipment Insurance

In addition to the vehicles that you’re using to haul tools and equipment, you might also need to consider insuring the equipment.

The standard Commercial Property Insurance policy provides coverage for your equipment, but it’s only covered while it’s on your premises.

For an electrician business that routinely has most of its equipment away from its office premises, this creates a problem.

In order to protect these types of items that are regularly off your premises, you need an Inland Marine policy (also known as a Contractor’s Equipment policy or floater).

For example, if you were to leave all of your tools and equipment on customer property for the night and you returned in the morning to find they had been stolen, an Inland Marine policy would cover those costs even though it didn’t occur on your business premises.

A Commercial Property policy would not provide coverage.

Who needs electrician insurance?

  • Air Conditioning Contractors
  • Construction Companies
  • Electrical Contractors
  • Electric Repairmen
  • Heating Contractors
  • HVAC Technicians
  • Lighting Technicians
  • Lighting Consultants

Conclusion

Finding the best insurance policy for electrical 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.