As a handyman or small business contractor, you have a lot on your plate:
- You’re likely juggling a lot of work for customers in both residential and commercial settings
- You’re working on new construction projects as well as retrofit jobs
- You’re often working with older structures, plumbing and electrical services
- And, on top of all of that, you may be supervising employees and running a business
Failing to have right type of insurance and adequate coverage levels leaves your business vulnerable to unexpected events that are all-too-common when performing small construction jobs and related work:
The right insurancecoverage can bring peace of mind and protect you from a multitude of risks.
Real Risks Facing Handymen
Working on construction sites is dangerous business. Accidents happen all the time. In addition to personal injury concerns for yourself and your employees, there are risks to the health and property of subcontractors, customers and unrelated third parties.
Any of these risks could give rise to costly lawsuits.
Consider just a few hypothetical scenarios that could result in a claim against you:
- You install new railing handle on an outdoor deck. During a family barbeque, the railing handle gives way, and someone falls and is injured. The client sues you for damages.
- You damage electrical wiring while repairing a wall and you’re sued for the cost to hire an electrician to fix the damage.
- Your tools are left out at a job site overnight and a resident of the home injures themselves after tripping over those tools, leading to a lawsuit.
Contractor Risks Vary by State
Some states like Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, New Jersey,New York require licensed contractors to carry minimum liability insurance coverage.
Workers’ compensation and license bonds are also required in most cases.
Don’t take the risk of being faced with expensive penalties because you’re not covered by the right types, and levels, of insurance. Don’t risk losing your license and livelihood. Make sure you have the coverage you need to protect yourself and others.
What Types of Insurance do Handymen Need?
There are really no simple, or standard, answers to give unfortunately. The type of handyman insurance coverage you need will depend on a variety of factors.
At a high level, though, it will be important to purchase general liability coverage. This is a must for any handyman or small contractor. General liability coverage, as the name implies, provides broad coverage for most business risks that will face people in your line of business. There are optional add-ons, that you might also want to consider including bodily injury, property damage, products and completed ops, medical payments, personal and advertising injury, and damage to premises rented to you.
Finally, surety bonds are an important form of coverage and commonly used by handymen. They serve as a guarantee to your customers that your work will cost what you said it would, that you’ll complete your work on time and that you’ll pay any subcontractors who help you with the work.
How Much is Handyman’s Insurance?
There are many factors to take into consideration when determining the premium of insurance. Some of the variables include annual revenue, payroll, the state you are in and if you have specific insurance requirements.