Insurance for Roofing Contractors

Roofing insurance costs depend on the insurance carrier’s view of your services and the location of operations. Most carriers ask for loss runs and experience, whether you have employees, and copies of any safety policies in place to calculate a premium. Generally, it is hard to find General Liability coverage for less than $2,000/year for roofing work. Request a roofing insurance quote today by completing our online quote form.

Companies categorized under this industry work mainly on roof related jobs such as roof treatment, spraying, coating, painting, and skylight installation. Homeowners and businesses look to roofing contractors to provide quality work and keep their building free of unwanted water. Without your services, many would be unable to repair or replace a damaged roof. As a roofing contractor, you work long hours year-round and demand for roofing services increases after severe storms and long winters. Roofing contractors insurance is vital to your business’s financial well-being. All it takes is one slip or minor oversight, and you can end up dealing with a lawsuit instead of creating an income.

Roofers face numerous risks every day. Take a look at some of the most costly:

• Fall off the Roof: You work at great heights every day, and one misstep can send you or one of your employees falling to the ground. If you are injured and cannot complete the contract, the loss of income or costs to hire a subcontractor can be severe. If an employee injures themselves, you will need to pay for their medical expenses.
• Project Error: Attention to detail is crucial to the safety of your customer and business success. If you forget to install flashing or don’t fit it properly and a leak causes electrical damage, rotting wood or other havoc, the customer can hold you responsible for the damages. If it is a business, they can also press charges for loss of business income if they can’t remain open.
• Injury: If a nonemployee visits your job site and trips over shingles on the groundbreaking their ankle, your business is liable for the damages including medical expenses, lost income, and pain and anguish claims.
• Falling Objects: It is common to slide the old shingles off the roof to the ground. If your aim is off or something else drops instead, you can break a window or damage a vehicle leaving you with a big bill to pay.

Although your General Liability insurance offers broad protection for your business, it won't be able to cover every incident. For example, a contractor fails to place insurance on a building, and it's destroyed by a fire before its completion. The owner seeks payment from the contractor for the value of the building, claiming breach of contract for failing to secure insurance. Contractual Liability insurance covers the roofer from payment in this example.

As a residential roofing contractor, it is likely that you own some pieces of unique contracting equipment to help you get your jobs done. Even if you don’t own them, you may rent or lease from an equipment leasing company. Borrowing equipment from a friend or family member is another situation you may find yourself in, especially if your own equipment is not working for whatever reason. Regardless of why the equipment is in your possession, you are responsible for it. If you own equipment and something happens to it, you would want to replace it. If you rent or lease, the equipment company will require that you replace it. Your friends and family would likely expect the same.

Inland Marine Insurance for roofing contractors is critical so your business can keep on running. The whole reason you started your roofing contracting business is to turn a profit, right? The best way to do this is to have the proper insurance program in place for when unforeseen incidents occur and interrupt your normal business operations. Being able to replace necessary equipment quickly can be a make or break point for your business. Inland Marine insurance can replace your equipment in a more efficient way than if you had no coverage at all.

When it comes to owning a business, having employees can really help boost the income for commercial roofing contractors in California. While having employees is a great way to grow your business, there are some additional risks associated with them. As a contractor in California, you should carry Workers Comp insurance for your employees. Not only is it most likely required, but your employees will also feel more secure knowing that if they get hurt or ill on the job, they will still be able to pay their bills. Workers Compensation insurance will pay for their lost wages and medical expenses from a work-related incident.

Commercial roofing contractors in California should also purchase a Workman’s Comp insurance policy because it protects them from lawsuits alleging negligence. If an employee is hurt on the job and claims that you were negligent which caused the incident to occur, you will more than likely have to go to court. Workers Compensation insurance has Employers’ Liability built-in which will pay for any judgments or settlements, as well as defense costs. With the cost of court fees and attorney’s fees in California these days, Workers Compensation is worth having for your commercial roofing business alone.

Retail shops are not the only business that needs to have Commercial Property insurance. As a residential roofing contractor, do you have a building that you use as an office? Or a storage unit where you keep materials? If you do, then you need Commercial Property insurance to provide protection for the building and the items inside in case of fire, theft, and other perils. Without Commercial Property insurance, you could be left with nowhere to conduct business should something devastating, like a fire, happens to your business. Even if you rent a building from a landlord, often they will require you to insure the building, per their leasing requirements.

Additionally, if you have any signage that advertises your business or you store important documents relating to your business in your building, these items can be covered under the policy as well. When it comes to the stuff inside, this means your business personal property and can be anything from furniture to computers to paper to printers. An easy way to determine what is business personal property and not the building is to imagine turning the building upside down, and anything that falls out would fall under that. Commercial Property insurance is essential to any roofing contractor that depends on any kind of business property to do business.