Does Your Construction Business Need Liability Insurance?

Does Your Construction Business Need Liability Insurance?

by Boris Dzhingarov

There are so many potential unseen variables in this world, that no matter how careful you are and how well planned your risk mitigation strategies are, there is always the potential for a tiny mishap (or a gargantuan catastrophe) to occur on your building project that could throw you directly into financial turmoil unless you are adequately covered by the right liability insurance policy.

Without the right cover, your business and even your personal assets could be in real danger. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the reasons why you should make sure you are properly protected by liability insurance.

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Do You Really Need Liability Insurance?

In short, yes. We live in a world where you are never very far away from a potential claim against you, and it’s far better to be prepared with a policy that costs somewhere from $750 – $2000 per year and all the protection that it affords rather than risk the thousands or possibly even millions of dollars you might need to fight a tricky court battle.

What are the different Insurance Options?

Construction insurance is a broad term that actually refers to a collection of different insurance types that are all suitable for protecting a construction or building firm. You can find suitable construction insurance online.

General Liability Insurance

Sometimes referred to as Commercial General Liability Insurance (CGL), general liability insurance is designed to protect your business from the most common types of claims you’ll encounter such as personal injury claims, damage to a customer’s property, or even issues that people might have with your advertising claims. There can quite often be an excess here that you should calculate into your plan. The difference between the full liability claim amount (which might include the amount you get sued for, plus the potential associated legal costs) and the amount your insurer is covering you for will be yours to pay if the coverage isn’t enough, so make sure you find the right product for your business.

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance exists to cover you against any professional advice or consultancy you might offer in a professional capacity that is perceived by your client to have lead to them losing money. In the construction industry, it’s important that you have this type of insurance if you offer any kind of building consultancy and in some circumstances you may even be legally obliged to carry this type of insurance, so be sure to check with your broker to make sure you are adequately protected.

Product Liability Insurance

Some construction businesses might also sell the products they are installing as part of a project, such as wood burning stoves, heating systems, and electrical appliances. These items have the potential, due to a possible manufacturing error or some other defect, to cause injuries to your customers. This could easily lead to a claim against you as the supplier of the product. Product liability insurance is designed to mitigate the risk of any particular product leading to expensive claim issues for you.

To answer our original question; yes, you definitely need to make sure you have liability insurance and it’s also important that you understand the different types and options, so that you can choose the right product and are safely and effectively covered.

About the Author

Boris Dzhingarov graduated UNWE with major marketing. He is passionate about blogging. Boris is the founder of Monetary Library.

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