How To Protect Your New Jersey Contracting Business

Contracting can be a very labor-intensive job which often poses risks to yourself or your employees and can result in property damage, lost, stolen, or broken tools, and vehicle accidents. As a good business owner, protecting your New Jersey contracting business is of utmost importance. 

Even the most careful of business owners can have an accident. Whether you work in the building/construction industry, as a landscape & lawn care provider, or in the carpentry, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, or HVAC trades, we can help you find the right type of contractors insurance to minimize the many risks and liabilities that can turn negatively affect your NJ contracting business.

A General Liability Insurance policy will cover contractors for the cost of lawsuits brought by third parties over property injury, bodily damage, or work mistakes by the business or one of its employees.

It can operate as a form of asset protection by shielding you from the out-of-pocket costs associated with a claim and as a buffer for unexpected expenses that might occur due to accidents. 

General Liability Insurance offers the peace of mind that your business will have the necessary funds to continue daily operations – even when faced with a costly claim.

You can be confident that you and your employees are protected should a claim be brought against the company or individuals employed by the company.

Who Can Benefit From Construction Insurance?

• General contractors: Oversee the whole construction project
• Heavy contractors: Construct streets, roads, and infrastructure
• Home improvement companies: One-person remodelers to larger renovation companies
• Specialized Contractors: Masons, carpenters, framers, plumbers, electricians

A Closer Look at General Liability Insurance for Contractors

Here are some of the claims that typically arise in connection with contractors,

Bodily Injury Claims

Regardless of how many safeguards are in place or how meticulous you keep your job site, accidents can, do, and will happen – especially when untrained visitors arrive onsite.

If a customer is hurt on your property, general liability insurance can help pay for immediate medical expenses or the cost of your legal defense if you are sued for covered claims and any settlement or judgment awarded for those claims.

Your policy can cover the cost of your customer’s immediate medical expenses, such as the ambulance ride and emergency room visit. If a customer refuses your assistance and opts to sue at a later date, your policy can help cover the cost of hiring a lawyer to negotiate and settle the case or take it to trial.

This policy does not cover your employees; however. For that, we recommend purchasing a Workers’ Compensation policy.

Property Damage

The policy can also cover expenses to repair or replace customer property that is damaged.

For instance – it’s the start of the workday and the newest guy on the crew is returning from a coffee run for the rest of the guys. As he rushes through the door, he trips and spills coffee all over the clients $10,000 Persian rug.

Depending on the limits of the policy, some or all of the expenses associated with cleaning or replacing that damaged rug can be covered.

Advertising Injury

If you’ve ever promoted your business on social media such as Facebook or Instagram or tried any kind of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) like Google Adwords, there’s potential risk in terms of copyright infringement or cyber liability if you’re collecting customer data to run ads.

While not included in a General Liability policy, we recommend adding on coverage for  Faulty Workmanship Claims.

Think of this as ‘Errors & Omissions’ insurance for contractors. This policy can cover a number of different claims ranging from negligent or incomplete work to going over project deadlines or being over an approved budget.

Craftsmanship aside, there could be any number of reasons why a project was completed late or over budget: building materials weren’t delivered on time, tools and equipment could break down at inopportune times, delays due to extended inclement weather, or plan revisions due to unexpected discoveries.

Open, transparent communication can usually resolve most issues but in the cases where it doesn’t, this policy can protect you.

Other Policies We Recommend for Contractors are:

• Commercial Auto
• Commercial Umbrella
• Workers Compensation Insurance – covers medical expenses, physical therapy, and some lost wages for employees
• Professional Liability Insurance (Errors & Omissions)
• Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI) can cover lawsuit expenses related to claims of harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination.

NEXT STEPS…

Don’t leave your business vulnerable to potential risk and loss. Request a quote for contractors insurance, and one of our licensed agents can help ensure your contracting or construction business has the protection it needs to land new contracts and thrive.