Why Hire an insured paint contractor?
“Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which an individual or entity receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company.”
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/insurance.asp
Investopedia. 2020. What Everyone Should Know About Insurance. [online] Available at: <https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/insurance.asp> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
For painting contractors, insurance serves the purpose of protecting him or her from the “losses” in case of an accident that causes physical or property damage. In addition to protecting the paint contractor, the policies also protect you as the homeowner.
Read this full story about Sarah, a homeowner who hired a painter who lied about having insurance.
2020. [online] Available at: <https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/investigations/get-mcginty/woman-says-contractor-ruined-furniture-lied-about-insurance-to-cover-the-damage/275-552279924> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
Unfortunately in situations like these, you as the homeowner could end up paying for the damage. It is important to always ask for proof of insurance before hiring a paint contractor. It does not cost the paint contractor any money to show you a certificate of insurance proving both General Liability and Workers Compensation coverage.
In some cases, “a homeowner can be sued if a contractor is hurt while on the homeowner’s property. This can happen if a contractor does not have workers compensation for themselves or any subcontractors they hire. I’ve seen this occur over and over. Unfortunately, these contractors generally work much cheaper because they choose to not pay workers compensation, general liability, or property insurance premiums.”
Privett, V., 2020. 3 Risks Of Hiring Contractors Without General Liability And Worker’s Comp – Beacon Insurance Advisers. [online] Beacon Insurance Advisers. Available at: <https://beaconprotects.com/3-risks-of-hiring-contractors-without-general-liability-and-workers-comp/> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
If you collect multiple bids for a paint job, and there are large discrepancies between the quoted prices, one thing to check for is proper insurance. We spend tens of thousands of dollars a year to carry large insurance policies to make sure we can protect the homeowners we work for. The premiums become part of our overhead and therefore get factored into our quoted prices.
At the end of the day, you tend to get what you pay for when it comes for home services. You may save a little money upfront by hiring an uninsured painter, but you could end up paying thousands of dollars for physical or proprietary damage should anything go wrong.
If you have questions or would like to see what a Certificate of Insurance should look like for a paint contractor, send us an email or give us a call.
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