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Adding yourself to the contractors insurance

diyourselfer
16 years ago

I was told to have the roofer add my name and my wifes name as additionally insured on the roofers liability insurance. Does this sound right? What are the benefits or liabilities in doing this? Do you contractors get asked to do this?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

Comments (9)

  • igloochic
    16 years ago

    So if you axe the roofer you and your wife are covered? It's pretty goofy. You take out insurance to protect YOU and your contractor takes out insurance to protect him (and his family). He does not take out a policy naming you as a beneficiary to protect himself. I didn't name my contractor in my construction add on insurance (insuring the contents of the house with additions during the install...so if the house burns down when the stove and cabinets are delivered, but not installed, I'm covered). He wouldn't name me in his coverage (given that his wife and daughter should be covered prior to me). Someone didn't understand insurance. Heck if you get away with that, add a million coverage on him with you as the beneficiary and grease the roof....

  • diyourselfer
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    It is not adding as a beneficiary, it's adding our names as part of the policy holder to PREVENT us from being sued if someone falls off the roof.

  • igloochic
    16 years ago

    But you then become in a sense a partner of the roofer...is he doing any other jobs? We just had a plumber cause $45 million in damage here on a project. Anyone and everyone who is involved in the company in a legal fashion is now being sued because the insurance wasn't enough to cover the damage (and of course no plumber would have that much insurance anyhoo).

    Insurance does not prevent you from being sued. It covers costs in loss (or pays benefits to someone injured on your property etc). Your homeowners insurance should cover YOUR liabilities in this area, and a quick call to your agent will take care of adding any riders necessary during construction (we added one) but putting your name on the contractors insurance just isn't necessary, or very smart. He may think so, but if he dosen't pay his insurance bill and someone falls of someone elses roof...you can be sued because as a policy holder, you should have ensured that the insurance was kept in place. You're increasing your liability, not decreasing it.

    Your GC should have L&I on his employees, which will cover them if they slip off the roof. He also should have insurance for any major disasters that could happen to his workers. An insurance policy on your roof job isn't a replacement for this. It's part of his business costs.

    Call your agent and get yourself updated for all coverages necessary during construction, and then check to see that the GC has appropriate coverages (L&I on labor, bonding etc) and you'll be fine.

    My GC kind of giggled when I mentioned this idea to him today (I was just curious if any other contractors tried this). He said "Well if the client is dumb enough to sign the policy, heck go for it" (And I'm not trying to call you dumb, I'm just saying your GC might be a bit goofed on the legal aspects of this). Think about it...how do you get your name off the policy? Is this policy for your roof only or his work in general? You don't take out special policies for each client, you take out one big liability policy for your company and workers. And that's never the homeowners job, it's the GC's responsability, and your responsability is to ensure that the GC is up to date on his paperwork so you will be protected by your homeowners policy.

  • diyourselfer
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    After some research I have found out that it is STANDARD practice to have a certificate of insurance made out by the BROKER of the contractor with the homeowners name and address on it sent to the homeowner. This is also used by ALL cities and towns. I was told by my State Farm agent that ANY contractor or vendor who refuses to do this should NEVER be allowed on said property. If you want to learn more do a search and type in "additionally insured"

    And if you are using a contractor who never heard of this.......run.

  • igloochic
    16 years ago

    Our contractor is fabulous and we went through a very detailed insurance review with our agent, also State farm. We did verify his insurance, (which can also be done by asking for a certificate of insurance but is no guarantee if you read insurance laws in relation to this document) workers comp status and our needs for insurance. In our state, a certificate of insurance is NOT a standard practice on noncommercial jobs (with policies purchased specifically for them rather like a bonding procedure). We added insurance to our policy specifically to protect us during the construction processes for all of the contractors and sub's. Perhaps our state is different than all others but I doubt it.

    If it's common in your area, than that's great, go for it, but I would also suggest you amend your personal policy during the period of construction. Read insurance law and you'll see that what you're suggesting is no guarantee you'll be personally protected if your contactor has a worker slip on the roof. A general policy even with you added as an additional insured is not enough insurance to cover you in a serious accident case. It's like putting a bandaid on a leg that's been cut off. Perhaps that's why in our state they suggest you amend YOUR insurance to cover liabilities verses playing with the contractor's insurance.

    In large commercial jobs, the two parties involved (contractor and site owner) often take out insurance jointly. They then become subject to additional risks in some areas (as I mentioned above) but are protected better from the more common issues that arise. These policies are for multi million dollar contracts (we just signed one for a billion dollar project lasting over ten years). This is entirely different than having your roof replaced.

  • RedsDF
    11 years ago

    igloochic, you are 100% incorrect.

    always have your contractor name the owner additionally insured. STANDARD PRACTICE

  • Kerri Haydel
    7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    @diyourselfer You obviously don't know what you're talking about. The Additional Insured is not the same as Named Insured. You should request to be named as Additional Insured AND request a Waiver of Subrogation on the contractor's policy so that you are protected by any damages caused to a third party. The Waiver of Subrogation will prevent the contractor's insurance company from trying to collect any damages from you. They are "Subrogating" their right to collect damages. @igloochic you're obviously doing this right...don't listen to @diyourselfer

  • Ichabod Crane
    7 years ago

    I have never heard of this practice, I was a builder for decades (a while ago, yes), and I was covered the entire time by State Farm.

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