DIRTY LITTLE SECRET #7: We’re Fully Insured!
If a “roofer” tells you he’s “fully insured,” do you know what he means by that? Most people will assume that means he has a bunch of insurance to protect himself and maybe protect you, too.
Here’s how the types of insurance carried by roofing contractors will protect you:
- General Liability insurance will protect you if something on or in your property gets damaged. If you have any kind of contractor or service provider on your property who doesn’t have general liability insurance, and he breaks or damages something while he’s there, you will most likely have to pay to repair the damage. Most honest contractors will probably offer to pay for the damage out-of-pocket, but they may not. If not, you’re stuck with the cost.
- Workmen’s comp insurance will protect you if someone gets injured on your property. If the people involved don’t have workmen’s comp insurance and there’s an injury and the injured person decides to call one of the personal injury lawyers that advertises every 15 minutes on day-time television, you could be in BIG trouble because you may be liable for the injury and the associated medical costs.
So What Does My Roofer Mean When He Says He’s “Fully Insured”?
Currently in El Paso County, if a contractor has no employees, he is not required to have workmen’s comp insurance, only general liability insurance. Many, if not most roofing contractors, will use subcontractors as the labor for the various tasks required to re-roof a house. But what about the salesmen and inspectors they use? Believe it or not, to get around the requirement to have workmen’s comp insurance, which is expensive, roofing contractors also make their sales team members sub-contractors, even though, in most cases, they meet the legal requirements to be classified as employees. This enables the roofing company to avoid having to buy expensive insurance and allows them to meet the insurance requirements of Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, and thereby they claim they are “fully” insured.
The best way for you to verify the insurance your contractor has is to ask him to provide you with a copy of his insurance certificate/s for both insurance types. But don’t set yourself up to receive fake certificates. You should ask him to have his insurance agent Email or mail you a copy of the certificate with you as the “named holder” on the certificate. This will prevent you from getting any fake insurance certificates.