New Admitted Insurer for General Contractors

New Admitted Insurer for General Contractors. New Construction or Remodels

"A" rated comapny

Admitted in California

No Manifestation or Sunset Clause

No Prior Work Exclusion (for qualified accounts)

Per Occurrence deductible

Better coverage and less cost than many non-admitted programs!

Call for a quote 209-815-2606.

How to buy California contractors liability insurance

Look up your contractors license number at www.cslb.ca.gov

Write down your license number, the year you were licensed and your license classification(s).

Draw up a list of ALL of your operations (i.e, plumbing, electrical, painting, remodeling, home building, etc) Be specific as to the type of work you do.

Determine what percentage of your work is residential, commercial, and industrial.

Determine what percentage of your work is new construction versus existing construction (including remodels and room additions)

Determine your estimate for gross sales, payroll, and subcosts for the upcoming year.

If you are a larger contractor with current insurance AND paying more than $7500 per year in liability premium, you will need to obtain loss runs from your prior agent.

Call an experienced insurance. broker specializing in California construction contractors insurance. Call 209-815-2606 Ask for John Glover and request a free, no obligation quote.

Beware of Forged Certificates of Liability Insurance

I have heard horror stories of contractors using forged general liability Insurance certificates as proof of insurance. How can you tell if it’s fake?

1) Most all reputable insurance agencies use the industry standard Acord 25 form. Look at the bottom left of the insurance certificate.
It should say Acord 25. If it doesn’t you should be concerned.

2) On the Acord 25, look at the policy effective date and also the policy expiration date. If the dates are hand written or the font looks different than the rest of the document, you may have a fake.

3) Look at the name of the insurance company on the top right. Go to www.ambest.com and look up the insurance company. Look for the box that says “Ratings and Analysis”, type in the name of the insurance company and click “Go”. Do they really exist?

4) If you're not sure if the certificate is real, call the agent listed in the upper left hand corner. They should be able to tell you if the certificate is good.

Why should you care? If you hire subs with forged certificates, you may be liable for losses they cause. Fake certificates can leave you seriously exposed to losses and lawsuits that can destroy your company and take away everything you’ve earned. If you are competing for business with forgers, they may be able to underbid jobs. Make sure your prospective clients are aware of the risk!

What is Commercial General Liability Insurance?

Commercial General Liability provides Liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage arising from accidents on premises, business operations in progress, products manufactured or sold, and completed operations. Bodily Injury includes sickness or disease and death in addition to accidental injuries (Bodily Injury coverage does not apply to the insured's employees. If a contractor has employees, he must carry Workers' Compensation insurance to protect them). Property Damage applies only to claims from damage to tangible property or loss of use of tangible property not damaged.

New for 2010 - Cheaper Liability Insurance for Contractors

Increasing competition is causing some insurers to offer cheaper policies for California contractors. Unfortunately, this has also led to changes in underwriting guidelines and exclusions on the policies. It is now more important than ever to carefully review the terms and conditions of coverage. If you are renewing your policy, ask your broker if there are any changes in coverage for the new year.

Testimonial - E. Been, PCH Electric

"We just want to let you know how helpful you were and how you answered every question and how we felt so comfortable with you and you did not seem like a sales man but a real person whom cares about there customer and we wanted to thank you for that. We feel like we were taken care of and givin the best Insurance for our company. Thank you, Ethan Been (owner) P.C.H. Electric" 11/20/2009

You've been sued, Now what?

You come home after a long day and you're just about to relax when your doorbell rings. A smiling man asks you your name and when you say "yes", he hands you some papers and says you're being sued. Now what?

That little job you did last year is coming back to haunt you. You remember the job and remember how happy the people were about your work. You are confused and maybe a bit angry about why this is happening.

My recommendation is that you get some quailified legal advice as soon as possible. Start digging up your files and find the contract for the job and any change orders. As soon as you can, write down what you remember about the job. If you are insured, notify your insurance broker after talking to your attorney.

Many contractors get caught up in lawsuits for work they did not do. This is one reason why carrying liability insurance can protect you from the high cost of defending yourself .

Why you need to carefully read your insurance quote

Yesterday I got a call from a current client asking me why my quote to renew his liability policy was $400 more than a quote he got from another broker for the same insurance company. I asked him to fax me the quote for review. While the insurance parent company was the same, the coverage was not comparable at all. The "cheaper" quote stripped out some important coverages (it did not cover any water damage, no overspray coverage, no contractual liability, and defense costs would be paid out of the limits of insurance instead of the insurance company coffers). The other broker made no attempt to explain the difference.

The point is you must carefully read any insurance proposal to see if it fits your needs. Cheaper policies almost always have something vital missing.

Is the name of the insurance company listed on your quote?

Believe it or not, some insurance brokers send out written quotes for liability or workers compensation insurance but will not list the name of the actual insurance company providing coverage. Why do they do this? Competition.

They do not want you to be able to compare your quote with the quote from another broker representing the same or similar insurance companies.

When you get an insurance quote, always insist that the quote contain the name of the actualinsurance company providing your coverage. This will allow you to research the carrier online and compare quotes from different brokers.

Why do I need liability insurance? I've never had a problem with my work.

I hear this all the time from contractors who have worked for years without insurance and never had a problem. I tell them that's great! It shows they are quality craftsmen with satisfied customers. Unfortunately, you can't please everyone all of the time. Many contractors find themselves the victim of unscrupulous clients who are looking for a reason to sue and "recoup" the cost of their home improvements. Some contractors merely find themselves caught up in a lawsuit simply because they were on the wrong jobsite with another contractor who had a problem. When an accident or injury occurs someone pays.