Company insurance is intended to safeguard the financial assets of a business owner and is a necessary investment for a home inspector.
This article will discuss the primary insurance coverage for home inspectors, general liability insurance, as well as additional products that are appropriate for this industry.
Every firm, regardless of sector, has risks that should be insured. General liability insurance is the most frequent and comprehensive form of coverage that company owners purchase.
General liability insurance covers the following risks:
Physical harm
Damage to property
Medical expenses
Legal defence and decision
Personal and commercial harm
While general liability insurance is not legally needed for companies, operating without it is exceedingly dangerous. If your company is sued, you might face costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more). The only way to avoid this sort of catastrophe from destroying your organisation is to have an adequate general liability insurance coverage in place to assist pay for these losses.
Example 1: While inspecting some home siding, your ladder moves abruptly, falls into a window, and breaks a rain gutter and some siding off. In the case of a lawsuit, your general liability coverage would cover the repair expenses as well as your legal fees.
Example 2: A potential buyer trips over your camera extension cable while walking through a home. The customer threatens to sue after sustaining major injuries as a result of the fall. General liability insurance would cover the buyer’s medical costs, as well as your legal fees and any settlement damages.
Example 3: While inspecting a building’s heating system, your specialist equipment falls over, destroying the heating system, the hardwood floor, and some drywall. The property repair expenses would be covered by your general liability insurance.
Of course, this is not an entire list of risks covered by a general liability insurance policy, and certain situations may result in a specific peril not being covered. To minimise coverage gaps, it’s always better to speak with your agent about the terms of your policy.
In America, home inspectors pay between $400 and $700 per year for $1 million in general liability insurance.
The cost of your coverage will be determined by a number of variables. Among them are your:
Location
Deductible
Employees’ number
Per-occurrence restriction
The overall aggregate limit
You may be able to get general liability insurance at a lower cost if you buy it as part of a business owner’s policy (BOP) rather than as a separate policy. A business interruption policy (BOP) is a more complete option that covers numerous types of coverage, such as business interruption and property insurance.
While general liability insurance is the most crucial, there are various different types of coverage to be aware of. Other forms of insurance that every house inspectors should have are as follows:
If you overlook anything critical during an inspection, professional liability insurance will cover the costs of any negligence claims brought by a homeowner.
Workers’ compensation insurance is required in most states for both part-time and full-time employees. This coverage covers your workers if they are hurt at work or get sick as a result of a workplace accident. It covers not just an employee’s medical expenditures and lost pay if they need time off to recuperate, but also any disability compensation resulting from a work-related injury.
In addition to the insurance described above, your home inspector may need other forms of coverage based on specific areas of your operations. Some of them may not apply to you, so be sure to ask your agent whether policies are appropriate for your company.
While most claims are covered by your general liability insurance policy, certain incidents or lawsuits may be so severe that they threaten to deplete the limits of your main coverage. Commercial umbrella insurance protects you from having to pay for legal expenses and awarded damages that exceed the limits of your main policy out of pocket.
If you drive a personal vehicle from one worksite to another, your personal auto insurance will not cover damage to your car or truck in the case of a work-related accident. In the case of a work-related accident, commercial car insurance covers any automobiles used for business purposes.
Although investing in company insurance is simple (and necessary), it should not be your first line of defence. Yes, insurance will reimburse your company for cash losses incurred as a result of an occurrence, but it is much preferable to avoid losses altogether.
With this in mind, here are a few steps you can take to better secure your company:
Make use of legally binding contracts and other business agreements. (We provide free templates for several of the most often used legal forms.)
To safeguard your personal assets, form a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation. (To discover how to incorporate an LLC or company in your state, see our step-by-step tutorials.)
Keep your company licences up to date.
Streamline the internal procedures of your company. This will eliminate unneeded variables from routine activities and establish a secure, consistent environment in which to do business.
If your company is an LLC, you should check into LLC insurance.
