A record number of California apartment buildings have had their insurance non-renewed this year. Some big-name carriers are non-renewing every apartment building in the state. Though ultimately this turmoil is driven by the large number of recent wildfire claims in CA, apartment buildings in the heart of urban centers such as San Francisco and Los Angeles are being non-renewed all the same. Owners of apartment buildings can sometimes feel overwhelmed by this upheaval, especially if they’ve enjoyed stable insurance for the past few decades. If your apartment building has been non-renewed, what you need is a good insurance broker to help you replace that policy. We can help!
At Mighty Oak, our brokers understand how to navigate the nuances of a complex market, and the challenges of owning and managing multiunit apartment buildings. We understand that you face unique risks with tenants living in your building. Our apartment policies include property coverage for the building as well as landlord liability coverage. Our goal is to match the coverages that are on your current (non-renewing) policy, help you protect your investment, and satisfy your lender. And for the individual renters who need insurance for their personal belongings, we work with insurance agents who specialize in personal insurance as well.
If your current insurer has non-renewed your apartment building’s insurance policy, we will work to replace it with a policy comparable to what you previously had. If your price has risen considerably, we will work to find you a lower-priced quote. Along the way, we are happy to offer advice and guidance for steps you can take to lower your future insurance costs and widen your insurance options. We can even help if your non-renewal is due to a history of claims. We work with insurers of all kinds, including those who specialize in “distressed” properties, meaning properties that have had a series of claims, and even currently-damaged buildings and buildings under repair. We have options to insure apartment buildings of any size, and can even find you a quote if you (the owner) occupy one of the units.
Our brokers specialize in apartment building insurance in California, Florida, Texas, Nevada, and we are licensed in other states as well. We have been especially successful with non-renewed apartment buildings in urban areas, and apartment buildings facing a steep insurance price increase.
It can be tricky to find the right insurance for an earthquake retrofit contractor, but we can help!
A general contractor recently called to ask if we can help with his insurance. He is a licensed earthquake retrofit contractor who has been working in construction for decades. He was struggling to find insurance that would actually cover his core operations: earthquake retrofit and foundation repair. When he met us, he had just purchased a policy that officially offered him no coverage for his main services.
Here was the message he had just received from his current broker:
Per our discussion, the policy that you purchased with us doesn’t cover foundation repair or earthquake retrofitting of any type. Unfortunately we must cancel your policy immediately. We will be unable to provide a replacement policy for you. We are sorry for the inconvenience.
At that moment the contractor had many retrofit jobs running simultaneously across the Bay Area, so this insurance problem had to be corrected immediately.
How did he find himself in this situation? The reason is because many brokers who work with contractors use instant-quoting portals that generate quick and cheap insurance quotes. These quotes are handy because of the speed and price, but they are usually riddled with exclusions. For a contractor who performs standard remodel work, these sorts of quotes might be the perfect fit. But for an earthquake retrofitter, the exclusions render these cheap quotes worthless.
Here’s an example of such an exclusion:
Even though that exclusion for seismic retrofitting work seems pretty obvious, it’s still easy to miss it if the broker doesn’t read the quote carefully. Sometimes the exclusions are even more subtle, like this exclusion, which is often buried on page 80-something of the policy:
The contractor who called us had purchased a cheap policy that his broker had found for him instantly, via a portal that did not ask too many questions. The broker did not review the exclusions before starting the insurance, and carelessly sold a low-priced policy that contained an exclusion for all kinds of retrofitting work. A few weeks later, when the contractor was reviewing his new policy, he discovered the exclusion and called his broker. Only then did the broker realize that the insurance he had sold was worthless. The contractor realized, to his dismay, that he had been operating essentially uninsured for the past three weeks.
We were able to fix this problem for the earthquake retrofitter because we are experts at construction insurance of all kinds. We always read through the policy language before we put a new policy into force, and we know which exclusions to look for. We also know which insurers specialize in specific areas of construction which are often excluded on standard policies, such as earthquake retrofitting, bridge work, utility work, new construction, and remodel work performed for large HOAs. We made sure that the retrofitter got a liability policy that insured his actual operations and did not include any worrisome exclusions, so he could continue with his jobs uninterrupted.
If you are an earthquake retrofit contractor, or any kind of contractor who has struggled to find proper insurance, please reach out. We can help with general liability, workers comp, commercial auto, bonds, and any other kind of construction-related insurance.
Most importantly, we will make sure the job is done right the first time.
The California insurance market is in a state of turmoil. A handful of big-name carriers are refusing to issue any new quotes in the state, while others are non-renewing existing clients. For small Homeowners Associations (HOAs), this can be a stressful time to seek insurance. Many HOAs (even those in urban areas) have been non-renewed by their long-time carriers, and must go out on the market for new insurance at a time when options seem limited and prices are rising. We can help! We specialize in HOA insurance in California, and can help non-renewed HOAs get new policies!
At Mighty Oak, our brokers understand how to navigate the nuances of a complex market, and the realities of shared homeownership. We understand that HOAs are unique, and as brokers we know how to properly insure them. Our master HOA policies include property coverage for the building as well as liability coverage for the HOA itself. We can also often add coverages like equipment breakdown, directors and officers coverage, sewer back-up, and crime insurance. Our goal is to match the coverages that are on the HOA’s current (non-renewing) policy. And for the individual condo owners who need insurance for their personal belongings, we work with insurance agents who specialize in personal insurance as well.
If your current insurer has non-renewed your HOA’s insurance policy, we will work to replace it with a policy comparable to what you previously had. If your price has risen considerably, we will work to find you a lower-priced quote. We can help even if your non-renewal is due to a history of claims. We work with insurers of all kinds, including those who specialize in “distressed” properties, meaning properties that have had a series of claims, and even currently-damaged buildings and buildings under repair.
Our brokers specialize in HOA insurance in California, Florida, Texas, Nevada, (and we are licensed in other states as well). We have been especially successful with HOAs in urban areas who have been non-renewed or whose prices have risen dramatically.
As recreational and medical cannabis has grown to enjoy more legal status at the local and state level in the last decade or so, the industry has grown from a relatively small, largely underground status into a multi-billion dollar economic engine. From dispensaries to indoor grows, new businesses are cropping up all over the place.
More and more entrepreneurs and individuals are entering the Cannabis industry in various services and sectors, from industrial scale cannabis farming to wholesale brokering to retail and refinement. Inevitably, insurance questions arise as businesses are formed and business relationships take shape.
Up until very recently, the insurance industry lagged significantly behind the explosive growth of the cannabis industry. While many carriers still refuse to do anything cannabis related, we have cultivated a crop of insurers that specialize in Cannabis risks of all types, sizes and market share. We have developed our expertise in this field through meticulous research and experience with different types of businesses – expertise that you deserve as you work to bring your business online, or grow it to the next level.
Here are some of the industry sectors that we specialize in:
Medical Dispensaries
Recreational or Combined Med/Rec Dispensaries
Cannabis Tour Businesses
Cannabis Industry Consultants
Edible Manufacturing
Oil Concentration Manufacturing
Harvesting Contractors
Indoor Grow Insurance
Outdoor Grow Operations
Potency and Purity Laboratories
Give us a call so we can get you what you need to get rolling.
The Challenge of Properly Insuring a Landscape Architect
As a landscape architect, you have unique insurance needs. On one end, you create designs and conceptual drawings that will later guide a general contractor through a build-out. It is crucial to start with insurance that protects you in the event of a design-related lawsuit, whether the design is actually flawed or whether the lawsuit is frivolous.
This design insurance is not enough however, because you also regularly enter clients’ homes, and (depending on the scope of your operation) perhaps do some gardening, or even run a full design/build operation. These features of your business require insurance that protects you in the event of property damage or accidental client injury. The necessity for these two different types of insurance (the design side and the property damage/injury side) is what makes landscape architect insurance so complicated, and reveals why it is so crucial to work with an experienced broker.
One additional detail to consider, which makes these types of policies even more interesting: What is the relationship you have with the general contractors, tradespeople, and gardeners who build and install your designs? Does the general contractor hire you directly, or are you hired by the homeowner? Do the gardeners who install the plants work for you as sub-contractors, or are they hired by the homeowner? Or do you install the plants yourself?
These questions are critical, because they help determine which coverages need to be included and which are unnecessary. For example, if you hire on a sub-contractor to install the plants, we would need to make sure that work done “on your behalf” is not excluded from the policy. If, however, you never hire any sub-contractors, and you leave the hiring of tradespeople to the general contractor and the homeowner, then we can leave extra coverages for sub-contractors out of your policy, which will likely make it cheaper.
The real point is this: tailor your insurance contract to match your actual operation, so that you get all the coverages that you need, and none of the ones you don’t. Bottom line: you want any legitimate claim you file to be paid by the carrier. The best way to achieve that outcome is to craft a policy that takes all facets of your business into account.
Building a Complete Policy
In order to fully protect a landscape architect, the insurance policy will likely need to contain all of the following:
Errors and Omissions Insurance
This is essentially lawsuit insurance. If you are ever roped into a lawsuit, whether it’s frivolous or valid, in most cases E&O insurance will pay for court attendance costs, lawyers fees, as well as damages you are ordered to pay. This insurance is designed to covers costs that arise from honest mistakes and litigious clients.
Example A: You complete a design for a homeowner in Los Angeles, who then hires a general contractor to build the garden according to your design. However, during construction the G.C. accidentally breaks a water pipe and floods the house. The homeowner sues both the G.C. and you, claiming that your design was partially to blame for the accident. Though your design was fine and you were not to blame for the accident, you still must hire an attorney, travel to L.A., and appear in court to clear your name. Your errors and omissions insurance covers the legal fees and travel/hotel costs for the duration of the lawsuit, even though the lawsuit was frivolous.
Example B: An error in one of your designs is not detected until the garden’s construction has already begun, causing delays and thousands of dollars in extra construction costs. Your client is forced to pay these costs to the G.C. in order to complete the job, so the client later sues you for the extra costs, claiming it was your mistake that caused the mishap. Your E&O insurance pays for your legal fees, court costs, and the settlement you reach with the disgruntled client.
General Liability Insurance
While E&O covers your “professional” work (designs, drawings, etc), a general liability policy pays in the event that you physically injure someone or damage property. This is worksite insurance, and more often than not a general contractor will require you to carry general liability insurance before you are even allowed on a job site. The larger the project, the more common this requirement will be.
Example A: You are visiting a job site where a large backyard is under construction, and while walking with the homeowner you both slip down a muddy hill and fall 8 feet into a trench. The client breaks her leg, and claims that you are liable for the injury. Your general liability policy pays for the legal fees and whatever damages or settlement you reach with the injured client.
Example B: If you run any sort of design/build operation, or even offer gardening services, a general liability policy is crucial for any random accident that could lead to bodily injury or property damage. A child grabs your gardening shears, a tool accidentally breaks a window, a misplaced dig severs a pipe, etc etc. A standard G.L. policy would cover any of these claims up to a $1 million! Without that policy, you pay out of pocket. So for any business owner who finds him/herself in a clients home, a G.L. policy is critical.
Anything else?
If you have employees, you need workers comp. If you have a work vehicle, you need commercial auto. If you hire subcontractors, you need a broker who will show you how to check their insurance, so you know that if they make a mistake it won’t cost you your business. If you are a sub-contractor yourself, you need a broker who can make sure your policy satisfies the typical insurance requirements most general contractors ask for (additional insured endorsement, waiver of subrogation, etc). Whatever your operation looks like, there is a policy out there that will cover you fully.
The first step is always a conversation with an experienced broker. If you need insurance and want to make sure you get a policy that is tailored to fit your operation perfectly, please reach out. If you have any questions we haven’t answered yet, we are happy to chat.
If you are an established landscape architect and you’d like to learn more about what your current policy language actually means, reach out for a free review of your insurance contract. Even if you aren’t our client, we wantto help you understand your current coverage, and make sure that you are getting what you really need out of your insurance policy.
An owner of a business that offers coworking space asked us recently to quote his insurance because he was planning to open a second location.
What we uncovered through working with him was an alarming reality that applies to coworking businesses across the country: their insurance might be based on a falsehood, and therefore worthless.
His business had been operational for about a year when we met him. His previous agent had written him a
Business Owner Policy (BOP)
with a well known standard insurance carrier.
This policy provided ample coverage for his business at $2m of liability coverage per occurrence and more than $550,000 of property insurance for a premium of approximately $2,000 per year. This seemed like an incredible deal.
He was planning to open a second location nearby, so it felt like an opportune time to shop his insurance out and get competing quotes for him.
Liberty Mutual – Declined due to class of business
Allied/Nationwide – Declined due to class of business
USLI – Declined due to class of business
Guard – Declined due to class of business
Each of these carriers informed us that they have a strict rule not to underwrite coworking spaces at all. This perplexed us. The client’s admitted carrier, seemed willing to provide insurance for our client, while all other admitted carriers declined. But since his carrier was apparently willing, we resolved to simply update his existing policy.
Initially the carrier was willing to add the second location and meet the insurance requirements for his new location.
However, when we called to push the changes through, his carrier informed us that additional underwriter review had been triggered.
After only a few minutes of review the underwriter explained that we had a problem: the original agent had submitted an application that had listed their services as Answering Service – nothing more. While answering services are one of the services that this business offers, they also offer many more including coworking space rentals, PO box rentals, desks by the hour and virtual assistant services.
It was for this reason that his carrier determined to cancel his policy for both locations – effective only a few weeks before he was set to open his new location!
While we searched for a replacement for him, he searched on his own and asked his coworking business colleagues for help. Throughout this process we both learned that most coworking space businesses are insured with similar standard carriers, including those previously listed.
This led to an alarming discovery. If what these carriers told us is true – that they do not insure coworking rental businesses – then it would appear that anyone who owns a coworking business AND has a policy with these carriers may not be properly insured.
Inexpensive insurance may seem attractive on the surface. But if your insurance company refuses to pay a claim in a critical moment, that insurance is a worthless contract. Your business might as well be uninsured when it comes to coworking space.
In the event of a bad claim, especially one that touches the coworking aspect of the business, coverage may be denied or significantly reduced if the insurance company does not have a clear picture of what your business actually does.
In our example, our client’s previous agent told the carrier that the client was only an answering service, NOT a coworking space. Therefore the carrier misunderstood the nature of the business they were insuring, and unknowingly offered insurance to this business against their own underwriting rules.
The real lesson of this is something that other coworking business owners ought to hear.
If you have a policy with one of these carriers…
Hartford
Travelers
CNA
Liberty Mutual
Allied/Nationwide
USLI
Guard
…you need to make sure they understand the nature of your business. We strongly recommend calling your insurance company directly to verify this fact.
In the end, we were able to satisfy our client’s insurance requirements and get him a policy with a different carrier that was comfortable insuring coworking spaces (and we made sure the carrier was aware of all the facets of his operation). If it turns out that your insurance company thinks you are an answering service (or some other incorrect class of business) instead of a coworking space, drop us a line. We can help you get the insurance you need to actually cover your operation – coworking spaces included.
We have the knowledge of the market to know which insurance companies actually want to insure coworking spaces. These companies often require more follow-up, detail, and interaction with the client than most insurance agents are willing to provide. We are willing to put in the time necessary to make sure our clients’ insurance gets done correctly.
One of the best ways to protect your business is to make sure your sub-contractors and 1099 employees are properly insured.
It is crucial that your vendors, 1099s, and subcontractors be properly insured. If they ever accidentally cause damage to a person or property, fail to live up to a client contract, or suffer an injury on the job, their insurance situation could have a serious impact on your business. Ensuring that they carry
General Liability
,
Workers Comp
,
Commercial Auto
, and any other type of insurance you deem necessary, is the best way to protect your business.
After all, if your uninsured sub-contractor makes a costly error or injures someone, you will likely pick up the tab. For example, ABC General Contractor brings in a subcontracted electrician to install some wiring in a remodeled house. This electrician accidentally backs his truck into the house, causing thousands of dollars of property damage. The homeowner sues ABC General Contractor, who discovers too late that the electrician did not carry Commercial Auto coverage. The general contractor will likely foot the bill, and try in vain for years to get repayment from the electrician. Had the G.C. enforced strict insurance requirements on his subcontractors, the insurance company would have likely paid the claim.
Don’t take on the financial risk of having to pay for others’ mistakes! Make sure your subcontractors and 1099s are fully insured. Otherwise they transfer all the risks of running their operation onto your books.
An even more common example: a sub-contracted painter is brought on-board by a general contractor and paid in cash (no written contract, no insurance requirements). The painter’s assistant falls off a ladder and breaks his legs, resulting in $65,000 in medical bills. Since there was no written contract and no Workers Comp insurance in place, the painter’s assistant decides to sue the general contractor for repayment of his medical bills (the G.C. is more likely to have the money to pay than the painter). The general contractor is forced by the court to pay the bills, and fined an additional $100,000 for operating without Workers Comp! Even though the painter’s assistant was not really the G.C.’s employee, the G.C. ended up paying the entire mount, all because the G.C hired an uninsured subcontractor. If the G.C. had required his subcontracted painter to carry Workers Comp, the insurance company would have paid the bills for that employee, and a lwsuit could have been avoided. Instead the G.C. hired the painter “off the books”, and it cost him dearly.
Every subcontractor with even one employee must carry Workers Comp. Any sub with a truck must carry Commercial Auto. And every sub need a General Liability policy. A general contractor who requires his subs to carry these policies can sleep soundly knowing that someone else’s mistake won’t cost the G.C. his whole business.
Our goal is to make sure your business is properly protected, without disrupting business operations in any way. If you have a sub-contractor who doesn’t carry insurance, or you just want to check to see if he/she does, reach out to Mighty Oak. We can help you make sure your subs are properly insured.
A mixed use apartment building in Chinatown, San Francisco
What is a “mixed use” property?
A building is “mixed-use” if it has businesses on the street level and apartments up above. Really, a mixed use building is any building that serves multiple functions. It might be part office and part retail, or part government building and part cafe, or part residential and part commercial. Walk around any major city – such as San Francisco – and you’ll see these types of buildings everywhere, especially mixed use apartments. Here at Mighty Oak, we specialize in mixed use property insurance.
Another mixed use apartment building in Chinatown, San Francisco
The Challenge of Insuring Such a Building
Mixed use apartments, which generally feature apartments on top and businesses on the street level, are ubiquitous in San Francisco. They also happen to be a real pickle to insure properly. Every occupant of this building needs a different kind of insurance: the business owner needs to insure his business, the residential tenant needs to insure his belongings, and the building owner needs to insure the entire property.
In the event of a disaster like a fire, it is crucial that all three of those areas (business, tenant’s belongings, and the building itself) have policies that will pay out! Often times the business owners, tenants, and landlords aren’t entirely clear on which types of insurance they actually need, or what it means to be “properly covered”. For example, if a building owner insures his building, it is important for the business owner tenant to understand that his business property is likely NOT covered at all.
Often these buildings contain many different tenants and businesses that each have their own unique insurance needs. It is absolutely essential to work with a competent insurance broker who can provide insurance options for the business owners, the tenants, and the landlord. Ideally this broker could also educate the whole crew on which occupants are responsible for which insurance pieces.
This iconic corner in North Beach, San Francisco is full of mixed use apartment buildings.
How to Properly Insure a Mixed Use Building
First, we should consider the building itself. Each building needs to have its own Landlords Policy, which will cover the actual building. As the name of the policy implies, this piece is the landlord’s obligation to purchase (and it is the landlord who gains the protection). If the building is damaged or destroyed, this policy will pay back the owner of the property for repairs. Sometimes when an older building is damaged, the city steps in and demands that the property be brought up to code (such as a mandatory earthquake retrofit). This insurance policy can help cover that cost as well. It will even cover lost income, since the owner may lose some rent payments if tenants have to evacuate during repairs.
This policy is crucial for the owner in other ways. For example, if a visitor slips in the stairwell and decides to sue the property owner, this policy will pay the legal bills and damages. If a tenant decides he’s been wrongfully evicted and chooses to sue, this policy may cover the landlord’s legal fees. In other words, the building is the landlord’s business, so it should be insured in almost all the same ways a business would be insured: protect the property itself, protect the owner’s income, and protect the owner from lawsuits.
A typical mixed use property, with apartments upstairs and a bar downstairs. The owner must insure this entire property, since he owns the whole building.
Now that the building itself is covered, the rest of the building’s inhabitants (both residential tenants and business owners) need their own separate insurance. Take the example below: we see that the red units are residential units and the blue units are retail commercial units.
Each occupied unit needs its own insurance coverage. But wait – haven’t we already insured the building? Why should each tenant have to insure their own unit? Actually the tenants do not need to insure any part of the building itself, but rather their own belongings inside their unit. The Landlord’s Policy will not cover any of the tenant’s belongings, and in the event of a fire, the tenant will not be reimbursed for lost items unless he carries his own separate
Renter’s Policy
.
A Renter’s Policy is also known as “contents coverage”, or insurance coverage that does not cover the structure itself, but instead the contents of each unit. Every residential tenant can cover his own belongings without having to pay for coverage for the building that he does not own. These policies are designed to protect the tenant in case something like a burst pipe destroys their belongings. A good Renter’s Policy can even cover a tenant’s liability, say if the tenant accidentally starts a fire that destroys the neighboring tenant’s belongings. The combo of a Landlord’s Policy and Renter’s Policy ensures that the building itself and all the stuff inside it are protected from accident or disaster.
What about the businesses on the ground floor? They are also tenants, but they don’t live in their unit. These commercial tenants need policies that cover their:
Business Property – Covers their equipment, tools, and other contents of the commercial unit, in case they need to be replaced after an accident or disaster.
General Liability– Covers the business owner in case a customer gets injured or someone else’s property is damaged during the normal course of business. If someone slips inside the business and decides to sue the business owner, this policy will pay his legal bills.
– If an employee is injured on the job, this policy will pay the medical bills. This type of insurance is legally required for any business that has at least one employee.
Just like the residential tenants, these business owners do not need to cover any part of the building itself, but only their own businesses inside their unit
This is why a mixed use property is the perfect intersection of personal insurance and commercial insurance, all in one property. A good broker can work with the entire building to cover the owner and every tenant in a way that protects everyone without forcing anyone to pay for insurance they don’t need.
A professional handyman has to be pretty adaptable! Installing a set of cabinets, repairing some drywall, painting a mailbox, realigning a garage door, pouring some concrete, sanding a porch, assembling furniture, removing a door frame, building a shelving unit, remodeling a living room, unclogging a drain, hauling some junk… it’s all part of the job. The more skills a handyman can master, the more jobs he can say yes to.
A handyman’s business insurance needs to be just as adaptable. The more jobs a handyman can take on, the more varied the risks that come with those jobs, and the handyman’s policies MUST cover all those risks in order to be effective (otherwise what’s the point of insurance?). Therefore it is crucially important that the handyman work closely with a business insurance broker to craft an insurance policy that is tailored to the handyman’s actual needs. Being “properly covered” doesn’t mean just piling on more and more insurance (with higher commissions for the broker); it means creating a set of policies that fit a client’s business risks exactly.
“Do I really need insurance?”
The first question many handymen (and other business owners) ask is, “Do I really need insurance?” A good way to answer that question is to think about the risks a handyman takes on just by doing his job, AKA the every day accidents that could result in the handyman having to shell out lots and lots (and lots) of money. A newly installed air conditioning unit could fall and injure a child. A handyman’s assistant could slip off a ladder and break his leg. The handyman could get T-boned while driving his truck to a job site. A client could trip over a peeled-up carpet and decide to sue. A whole set of new tools could be stolen from the truck. And many many more.
These sorts of accidents can happen to anybody, even the most skilled operators. They are the risks of doing business. What insurance does is transfer that risk off of the handyman’s balance sheet and onto the balance sheet of an insurance company. One single lawsuit or car accident can put even a well-established handyman out of business. One theft can set a handyman back for months. By purchasing policies designed to cover these mishaps, the handyman can sleep at night with the knowledge that no matter what goes wrong, he won’t have to pay for the damage. That is, as long as the risk is covered in the policy.
This is why it’s so crucial to work with an insurance broker who isn’t just trying to close a deal quickly for a fast buck, but instead wants to learn every facet of the handyman’s business before agreeing to write the insurance policies. The cost and scope of the insurance will depend on what kind of work the handyman does, whether he has employees, who his clients are, and how large his operation is. If the handyman does more dangerous work, the cost will be higher, but so will the coverage. All of this should be discussed before the broker even attempts to get quotes.
One added perk of insurance: Many clients require certificates of insurance before work can begin. These clients may include apartment complexes, bank-owned properties, clients asking for electrical or plumbing work, and clients who simply want to ensure that if an accident does occur on their property, the handyman will have the resources to pay for the repairs. For these clients, a handyman without insurance is simply unhireable. Therefore proper insurance coverage could lead to more (and better paying) jobs.
Remember: Even if you are very careful and diligent at job sites, accidents can still happen. Insurance protects you and your business from outcomes that are out of your control.
“What types of insurance do I need?”
The types of insurance a handyman might typically need include:
General Liability
– Protects him from paying repair costs in the event that the handyman accidentally harms a customer’s home, appliances, or other property. If the customer himself is injured in an accident, this insurance can cover small medical bills regardless of who was at fault, and large medical bills if the handyman is found to be liable. Should the accident lead to a pricey lawsuit, this policy could cover all the defense costs. A General Liability policy can even pay out if there is a dispute over the handyman’s finished work – this is known as “Completed Products Coverage”. Since so much of his work is performed within a customer’s home, a professional handyman must have protection from lawsuits of all varieties. A G.L. policy provides just that, so a handyman can do his job without worrying that one mistake will cost him his business.
Coverage of tools and equipment (also known as Inland Marine
) – If his tools or equipment are stolen, damaged, or lost, this policy will cover the loss. Imagine the cost to replace an entire set of tools if they are destroyed by fire or some other accident. Inland Marine will not only pay to replace the set, but it may also cover lost income if the accident forced the handyman to suspend his operations for a time. And to top it all off, Inland Marine coverage follows the handyman wherever he takes his equipment (unlike a Commercial Property
policy, which covers only equipment and property that stays in one place). Since most handymen do a lot of traveling with their tools, every piece of a handyman’s equipment should be insured with an Inland Marine policy.
Workers Comp
– If the handyman has employees, this insurance is legally required. It covers medical bills, lost wages, and even death benefits if employees are injured or killed on the job. The more dangerous the work, the more expensive this policy is likely to be. But don’t take that to mean it’s a policy that can be skipped. Aside from the legal requirement, Workers Comp is an absolutely crucial policy for a handyman to carry, just for the sake of his business. Given the strenuous, physical nature of the work, the threat of accidental injury is always present. Workers Comp will not only cover the medical bills for the employees (and the owner if he wants to be included), but it also protects the owner from lawsuits.
Commercial Auto
– Since being a professional handyman involves the daily operation of a work vehicle, having a strong Commercial Auto policy in place is vital. Whether driving to a job site, picking up supplies, backing into a customer’s driveway, or popping out for coffee, every moment spent on the road exposes a handyman to risk. Without a Commercial Auto policy in place, the handyman is on the hook for any harm that comes to people or property as a result of his vehicle (whether the business owner or his employees are driving). If a handyman’s truck backs into some scaffolding, gets T-boned at an intersection, rear-ends a car in traffic, or strikes a pedestrian, this crucial coverage can pay for the damages. It can cover medical bills, replacement of damages property, legal fees, and even repairs to the handyman’s own vehicle should he be hit by an uninsured driver.
The Shield
These policies combine to form a shield that protects a handyman from just about any catastrophe that could strike his business: injured workers, a car accident, a fire at the shop, theft of tools, damage to a customer’s property, a natural disaster, and even lawsuits from dissatisfied customers. This is what we call a “well-tailored” policy, rather than “one size fits all”. It doesn’t just tack on a bunch of insurance a handyman doesn’t actually need; instead it is designed specifically for a handyman, and covers exactly the risks he might face.
To compile such a perfectly tailored policy, it’s usually best to work with a business insurance broker, because brokers can search the whole market for the best deal. Brokers have access to insurance carriers that specialize in handymen and tradesmen of all kinds.
Want to find the right insurance for your business? Drop us a line! You can speak to broker, ask a question, or even suggest a future blog post.
For business owners, general contractors, hotels, manufacturers, restaurants, cleaning services, and any other type of business that interacts every day with clients, General Liability is one of the most crucial types of business insurance.
If a person is injured as a result of your business operations, this insurance can help cover the medical bills, legal fees, and settlements. If property is damaged and your business is legally liable, a General Liability Policy can pay for the repairs and replacement property. Just about every type of business needs a liability policy for the basic protection it provides.
Accidents can happen any time – it’s a part of life – and often these accidents lead to lawsuits. A ladder damages a window, a customer slips on a wet floor, an undercooked burger leads to food poisoning, a toolbox falls from the roof onto a car; in these and other mishaps, a General Liability Policy will act as lawsuit protection. If anyone or anything is harmed from your products, property, services, or operations, this policy might mean the difference between keeping your business open and shuttering it forever.
Property Insurance
Commercial Property Insurance protects a business owner’s valuable assets from fire, theft, explosions, extreme weather, burst pipes, vandalism, and more. This type of insurance can be tailored to fit any type of business, since it can cover buildings, computers, tools, equipment, important documents, inventory, furniture, and even the signs, fences, and landscaping just outside your building.
For business owners who rent a space, this policy will cover only their belongings without covering the building itself (which is the landlord’s job). It can be tailored to protect a few small items (like a computer and some furniture) or large, expensive equipment. For building owners, this policy can cover the building and contents, and even lost rental income.
Nobody can predict when a disaster will strike, but as a business owner you can prepare for it. With a Commercial Property Policy in place, your valuable property (and your livelihood) are protected, even if the unexpected happens.
Landlords Insurance Policy
If you own a building and rent it out, that building is your business. So it should be insured like a business. Whether it’s a commercial building or an apartment building, and whether you rent out just one unit or 100, that precious asset needs to be protected (and you do too).
A well-crafted Landlords Policy will first and foremost cover the property itself. If any part of the building (including the siding, roof, foundation, glass, awnings, garage, railings, etc.) is damaged, this policy should pay the owner to cover the repairs. This policy can also cover loss or theft of the landlord’s items, including janitorial supplies, paint/touch-up supplies, art, and decorations in the lobby. If the building is damaged and the tenants have to move out for a time, this policy can even cover the landlord’s lost income while tenants aren’t paying rent.
Aside from the property, this policy also provides liability coverage for the landlord. This means if someone trips and falls on the stairs and decides to sue the building owner, this policy can cover legal fees, damages, settlements, and medical bills. If a tenant sues for wrongful eviction or invasion of privacy, this policy might help the landlord cover those legal bills as well.
This policy treats a landlord’s property like the business that it is. It protects the actual building, the rental income, and the landlord’s livelihood in the event of a lawsuit. It’s an insurance policy that is tailored to a landlord’s specific needs.
Business Owner Policy (BOP)
A BOP is a handy insurance package that combines General Liability insurance with property insurance, plus a bunch of extra coverages and frills thrown in. These frills include things like business interruption coverage, coverage for outdoor signs, employee theft coverage, coverage for valuable paper and records, data loss coverage, and even small things like lock replacement coverage. These BOPs are typically only offered to small businesses that do not have a ton of liability/property risk, such as CPA firms, retail businesses, restaurants, offices. BOPs also tend to be more affordable than stand-alone General Liability and Property policies, allowing new business owners to get off the ground with minimal insurance costs. Larger businesses with more risk, such as construction companies, farms, coworking spaces, roofers, and manufacturing companies would likely not qualify for these little packages.
Admitted vs Non-Admitted Insurance
"Admitted" insurance policies are those sold by companies that have been licensed by the state where the insured's business operates. These admitted carriers are subject to regulations by that state, which means they tend to be more conservative in their underwriting. In the real world, this means that admitted carriers tend to offer insurance only to businesses that have a lower likelihood of filing large claims. These low risk businesses might include offices, clothing stores, small restaurants, tech start-ups, and other similar businesses. Admitted carriers are also backed up by the state's insurance guaranty fund, which means if that carrier goes bankrupt the fund will step in and pay out claims. Overall, admitted insurance is considered to be ideal due to the state support, low cost, and extra coverage that tend to come along with admitted policies. However, businesses with more risk of filing large claims are usually unable to acquire admitted policies due to the strict underwriting guidelines.
Larger business, or those with higher risk of filing large claims (such as construction companies, roofers, manufacturing operations, farms, and damaged properties or properties with a history of claims) tend to get immediately declined by admitted carriers. Therefore they have to get their insurance from "non-admitted" carriers. This simply means that the carrier is not licensed by the state. They may be licensed in another state, or even another country (such as Lloyd's of London). Since they are licensed elsewhere, they do not need to comply with the strict state insurance regulations. Therefore these carriers are free to take on higher-risk businesses. These carriers are also not supported by the state insurance guaranty fund. If a non-admitted carrier goes bankrupt there will be no bailout. While this seems risky on the surface, there are other ways to check the financial reliability of a carrier, such as the AM Best score, which rates carriers from A++ to F. Many non-admitted carriers are rated A- (Excellent) and higher, which means they have are considered financially stable. For businesses with more risk or claims, non-admitted carriers are often their only option for acquiring business insurance. There is a vibrant market for non-admitted (also known as "surplus lines") insurance, and lots of options available for business owners.
General Liability Insurance
For retail businesses, general contractors, hotels, manufacturers, restaurants, cleaning services, and any other type of business that interacts every day with clients, General Liability is one of the most crucial types of business insurance. If a person is injured as a result of your business operations, this insurance can help cover the medical bills and legal fees. If property is damaged and your business is legally liable, a General Liability (G.L) policy can pay for the repairs and replacement property. Just about every type of business needs a G.L. for the basic protection it provides. Accidents can happen any time - it's a part of life - and often these accidents lead to lawsuits. A ladder damages a window, a customer slips on a wet floor, an undercooked burger leads to food poisoning, a toolbox falls from the roof onto a car; in these and other mishaps, a G.L. policy will act as lawsuit protection, covering defense costs and even damages. If anyone or anything is harmed from your products, property, services, or operations, a G.L. might mean the difference between keeping your business open and shuttering it forever.
If one or more of your employees gets hurt on the job, Workers Compensation Insurance (Workers Comp) can cover the medical bills, and even cover lost wages. As an employer you are required by law to have Workers Comp, even if you only have one employee. This type of insurance is based on a "social contract" between business owners and employees. Employees are entitled to prompt and effective medical treatment for work-related injuries (paid for by a business owner-funded insurance policy), and in return business owners are protected from lawsuits related to those injuries (if there is a Workers Comp policy in place, injured employees generally cannot sue their employer for damages). Without a Workers Comp policy in place, a business owner is legally on the hook for every work-related injury his employees suffer, plus whatever damages might be awarded in the lawsuit that follows. In the case of even a moderately bad accident, this can quickly bankrupt a business and leave the injured employees without income or the money to pay their medical bills. This is why in California failing to have Workers Comp is considered a criminal offense (Section 3700.5 of the California Labor Code), punishable with fines up to $100,000. On the plus side, once you have it in place, you, your employees, and your business are all protected from sky-rocketing medical bills and endless lawsuits. If there is a claim, the insurance company will step in and cover the costs, so the employer can focus on running the business. Workers Comp can even provide death benefits in the event an employee is killed on the job.
If you or your employees drive a vehicle as part of the job, Commercial Auto Insurance is a must-have coverage. In the event that one of your business vehicles is involved in an accident, Commercial Auto can protect you and your business from sky-rocketing legal fees and medical bills. If your work vehicles are damaged by theft, weather conditions, or vandalism, Commercial Auto might pay for the repairs so you don't have to. If an employee injures himself or someone else while driving a work vehicle, Commercial Auto can cover the medical bills so the business owner doesn't have to. Remember: if you or an employee is regularly driving a vehicle for work, it's very likely your Personal Auto policy does NOT cover you properly. And if an employee gets in an accident on the job, even while running out for bagels, you the business owner can be held liable. Commercial Auto can help cover the cost of property damage and injury, so your business doesn't go bankrupt paying damages.
If you are a renter, you are not responsible for insuring the property in which you live (that's the landlord's job). You DO however need to insure your belongings. Your landlord's policy will not cover any of the stuff inside your apartment or rented home, so a Renter's Policy is there to fill in the gap! In the event of extreme weather, burst pipes, theft, fire, vandalism, and other disasters, your Renter's Policy will pay to replace your damaged belongings. These policies can be crafted to cover exactly what you own, including clothing, furniture, jewelry, musical equipment, appliances, and more. Just make sure you work with a good broker to create a detailed inventory of your belongings, so you get a policy that meets your individual needs (your broker can also help you organize receipts and photos of your belongings, so it will be easy to demonstrate to the insurance company what you lost after a disaster). A Renter's Policy can even pay for injuries and property damage that you accidentally cause, in case someone is injured in your apartment, or if you leave your bathtub running and flood the apartment below yours. Some policies can even cover living expenses, in case a disaster forces you and your family out of your home for a certain period of time. Renter's Policies are generally pretty affordable, especially when bundled with car insurance, so it's usually not a huge hassle to protect your belongings.
If you or your employees frequently transport business property to multiple locations, Inland Marine is an important coverage to consider. Though it has the word "marine" in it, don't let the name fool you; this coverage is designed to protect anything of value you carry over land. That means tools, equipment, and materials that move around with you. While commercial property coverage can cover anything that stays in one location, this insurance is portable. Handymen, equipment installers, plumbers, photographers, IT professionals, and construction workers (and anyone else that carries tools/equipment) should all consider Inland Marine when crafting an insurance package. It can also cover shipped items, medical & scientific equipment, fine art on exhibit, client property left in your care, and even buildings under construction.
Commercial Property Insurance protects a business owner's valuable assets from fire, theft, explosions, extreme weather, burst pipes, vandalism, and more. This type of insurance can be tailored to fit any type of business, since it can cover buildings, computers, tools, equipment, important documents, inventory, furniture, and even the signs, fences, and landscaping just outside your building. If a business owner only has a small amount of equipment, often times this property can be covered at no additional cost (if tacked onto a Business Owner's Policy). If a business owner has a lot of expensive equipment (such a $100k piece of machinery), a policy can be crafted to cover that exact piece of equipment, and much more.
These policies are great for business owners who own or rent their space. For renters, it will cover only their belongings without covering the building itself (which is the landlord's job), so the business owner won't have to pay for insurance he doesn't need. If a business owner works from home, this policy can cover their business equipment there too, since most homeowner's policies do not automatically cover business equipment. And for the building owner, a well-constructed Commercial Property policy is a must-have. The policy needs to be set up so that even in the event of a devastating fire (or other disaster), the building owner will be made whole in the end. Make sure you work with a good broker who can create a policy to fit your exact needs.
Nobody can predict when a disaster will strike, but as a business owner you can prepare for it. With a well-tailored Commercial Property policy in place, your valuable property (and your livelihood) are protected, even if the unexpected happens.
