5 areas worth reviewing with your insurance agent: if your in construction or a contractor!

Here are 5 areas worth reviewing with your insurance agent: if you’re in construction or a contractor!

1. Products & Completed Operations – A claim can happen long after you’ve packed up and left the job site or sold the property. Make sure you understand how your policy responds to bodily injury or property damage arising from completed work. Occurrence coverage can provide an important advantage because coverage is generally tied to when the occurrence takes place. If coverage was in place when the covered occurrence happened, a claim may potentially be addressed under that policy even if you no longer carry coverage today, subject to the policy terms, conditions, exclusions, and applicable law.

Claims-made coverage works differently. A claims-made policy generally requires the claim to be made during the applicable policy period and may reach back to prior acts through a retroactive date. Maintaining continuous claims-made coverage is important because gaps or lapses can affect coverage.

2. Faulty Workmanship – General Liability generally isn’t a warranty for your work. The cost to redo defective work may not be covered, even when resulting damage to other property may be. Professional Liability/E&O coverage may be an important solution for certain professional service exposures.

3. Subcontractor Exposure – Using subcontractors can create additional liability exposures. Review your contracts, insurance requirements, Additional Insured status, and certificates of insurance before work begins. Also, make sure there are no exclusions relevant to the type of work being performed by your subcontractors.

4. Tools & Equipment – Your tools may not automatically be covered just because you have Property or General Liability insurance. Inland Marine coverage may be needed for equipment that travels from job site to job site.

5. Hired & Non-Owned Auto – Employees using personal vehicles or rented vehicles for company business can create an auto liability exposure that may not be addressed by your standard Commercial Auto coverage. Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability (HNOA) should be reviewed when employees or others use vehicles that your business does not own.

When was the last time you reviewed your coverage?

As your business grows, your insurance should grow with it. New employees, larger projects, different subcontractors, new equipment, additional vehicles, and expanded services can all change your exposures.

At CIB National Insurance & Consulting, we can help review your current insurance program, identify potential coverage gaps, and discuss coverage options available for your specific operations.