Contractors Insurance

from Bailey Place Insurance

Your small construction business needs several of the same insurance coverages as any other business, as well as other types of insurance specific to your industry.

Property Insurance

You may need property insurance to cover the real property your company owns and the personal property used in the business, such as office furnishings and computers. Your biggest personal property loss exposures, however, may involve valuable machinery and equipment that moves around from job to job and is not covered by standard property insurance. Such movable property is insured by contracts insurers call "floaters."

An installation floater covers all kinds of machinery and equipment during transit, installation and testing at the purchaser's premises. Even building materials may be covered, but the more usual coverage is for equipment or machinery that only contractors install, such as heating or air conditioning.

A contractor's equipment floater insures any type of movable equipment not meant to move on public highways. This includes such things as cranes, cement mixers, engines or power drills.

A tools and equipment floater covers the insured property, wherever it is used, and may include such items as hand tools, power drills, hoisting machines and power pumps.

Liability Insurance

Since there is always a possibility that someone will file a lawsuit against you claiming to have been harmed by your work, you will almost certainly need liability insurance.

You may want to require your subcontractors to have Owners and Contractors Protective Liability Coverage (OCP). This coverage protects either a property owner or a general contractor from possible liability arising from the negligent acts of an independent contractor or subcontractor hired to perform work on behalf of the insured. The actual purchaser of the policy is the independent contractor or subcontractor, but the protection is for the benefit of the property owner or general contractor for whom the work is being done.

To find out more about this product and other business insurance products and services, contact us today.