insurance

What does General Liability Insurance Cover?

General Liability is a form of contractor’s insurance that helps a company in settling liability claims made against it. A company with this plan will benefit from being covered in advertising injury, third party personal injury, and third party property destruction. The costs of these compensations can make a business suffer financially or risk its operations.The General Liability Insurance helps a contractor to meet their liability claim without necessarily shutting down their doors. Liability claims are in huge amount, and small and medium companies can struggle to raise the amounts.

A General Liability Insurance covers the following claims:

Advertising Injury

For a small or a medium company to survive in any industry, advertising is required if it has to race against big and popular companies. At times the company needs to involve advertising agencies who with or without their consent may include external materials in the advert.
General liability will help a company cover the cost of claims made against it. A company may not own the rights to the music playing in the advert, and the cover will settle the claims made by the artist. These claims are at times massive, and a company can suffer financially to settle the complaining parties.

Reputational Harms

Business is not easy to run, and at times companies are sued for things they say about other companies. Other industry may sue the company of ruining their business reputation in adverts or during live interviews.

General Liability Insurance is there to set companies free when making opinions as reputational claims are covered. For a business to push its product into an existing industry, it may have to show the weak side of other products which may lead to being sued. Paying of General Liability premiums will secure the company from having to pay huge fines from these reputational harm claims.

Third Party Property Damage

The coverage can help a business settle property damages with a client site. Accidents happen, and a client ends up with damaged property. A simple task as landscaping can cause huge damages when a tree falls on property in a client’s yard or at the neighboring premises.
General liability cover will help in settling the fines repair or replace the damaged properties. A small company can be unable to resolve the claims but paying for the premiums will save them from closure.

A company needs to understand what the General Liability Insurance covers to avoid disappointment during claims. The cover does not cater for damages within the company, employee injuries or claims of errors in services. With a good a good General Liability Insurance cover, company owner/management can have peace of mind when there are third-party claims. The cover settles the claims as well as other legal processes charges.

Contractor Bonds

What to Look for When Hiring a Contractor

Contractors across the country will do anything for you to hire them. There are those who’ll offer their services for a meager price while some promise discounts on materials and labor. You may not be in a position of recognize of it yet, but halfway through, you’ll realize you’re paying more for cheap materials and poor quality of work.

The great news is that one can evade these mistakes and save yourself the trouble and money from hiring an uninsured or unlicensed residential or commercial contractors. But with so many contractors out there, how can you select the best among the rest? It’s not so hard all you have to do is ask yourself the following questions:

Is the company or individual legitimate?

The foremost thing you need to find out is whether or not the construction company you’re planning to hire is legitimate. So how can you tell? If they are a local company, then you’ll have an idea which contracting companies lack licenses, a bond or insurance otherwise you can always ask around.

One of the steps you have to take is to check their website and contact info. Read their customer reviews and see if they have good ratings. Never transact business on the phone or through email. A reliable contracting company should have a physical office.

Is the contractor licensed, bonded and insured?

Most of the money you’ll be paying will go to the general contractor who’ll be doing the bulk of the work on your project. You want them to do a fabulous job and not waste your money with a poor job. So before hiring a construction, be sure they have all the required contractor’s license bonds and insurance. It will mean paying more for their services, but at least, you can sleep well at night knowing you’re in good hands. Here is how to find out if your contractor is insured.

Preferably, hire contractors who also have experience and excellent reputation. Being around in the business for a long time means they’ve already established a name for themselves. Be careful in hiring new companies though because they may lack the skill and experience needed for the job.

Is it within my budget?

One of the things you need to consider before hiring a contractor should be your budget. Can you afford their services? Do they offer packages to your budget? Price is a significant consideration, but you should also bear in mind that you’re investing here. What’s the use of hiring the cheapest contractor when materials and services are inadequate? In the end, you’ll only be wasting your money.

Most construction companies are more than willing to work with you and show you what you can do within your budget.

Contractor Bonds

Which Contractor Bond Do You Need

If you’re running a construction business then there are some legal requirements you have to meet in order to run your business. Just like any business you’re going to need insurance but unlike other businesses you will also need a contractor bond. There are a number of different types of contractor bonds and which contractor bond do you need? That will depend on the type of construction project you take on, whether you go after commercial or residential projects and if you ever want to bid on government projects in the future.

What is a contractor bond?

Before you run out to get a contractor bond let’s define what they are and why they are required. Bonds are licenses that are required by the state so that a general contractor will conduct business under the rules and regulations that pertain to your business and the specific bonds involved. Sounds confusing, right? They actually aren’t.

What is the Purpose of a Bond?

A contractor bond exists to protect the public from unscrupulous practices or unlawful behavior from a contractor. The bonds are there to guarantee the contractor will do his job at the price you agreed to in the contract. They will also protect the consumer should something happen. If anyone on the construction site or should any property be damaged then a bond payout may occur. Should a bond payout happen because of negligence on your part then the surety company will come after you for damages including the amount of the payout and any legal expenses that may occur. This is how bonds are different from insurance.

Picking the right bond

Provides assurance, especially in commercial construction that you will meet your obligations as they are outlined in the building contract
Protects your customers against any financial loss in the event that you don’t complete the project
Bonds are good for business, they encourage potential clients to work with you as you have demonstrated your seriousness about finishing the work for the price you quoted.
Suppliers will give you a better deal because they are comfortable with knowing that you have the ability to pay.
You can avoid disputes when it comes to contracts because the business owners are more comfortable with the terms.
The business owner hiring you knows that you have the financial resources to carry the costs that are associated with the construction industry.

Contractor Bonds aren’t without their disadvantages too. For instance, claims against the bond, even those found to be invalid will affect your costs of future bonds.

You need to make sure that your business is bonded and you need to pick the right bond for the project. Any project that requires bids will also outline which bonds will be required in order for you to even qualify to bid.