Why California Contractors Should Carry Insurance

An insurance cover package for contractors is suitable for small, medium and large construction companies in California. Construction companies can go out of business due to unreasonable contractual obligations, defects, claims, and even legislation. To limit the amount of exposure to your contracting company be certain to have carry contractors general liability insurance.

Insurance packages cover claims on behalf of their clients. Every contractor should at least have a general liability insurance cover because they are obligated to pay for injuries and property damage. The costs of these claims can put construction companies on the verge of closure if they have no insurance coverage.

Construction companies with insurance cover enjoy several benefits including the following:

5 Benefits of Contractors Insurance in California

1. Self-Protection

A construction company needs to secure its assets to protect its investment. There are insurance covers meant to protect business assets in case of an accident. Construction tools and machines are expensive, and thus a policy can help repair or replace them.

Construction work puts constructors at risk of developing injuries. A constructor should have an insurance cover to cater for treatments in case of injuries. It can also cover compensation if a contractor’s career and way of life is interfered with due to permanent injuries.

2. Employee Protection

Employees are an asset to a company as they aid in business operations. A company that values its employees is one with an insurance policy to cater for their welfare. An employee would be comfortable and more productive knowing that there is a policy to pay their hospital bills in case of injury.

If an employee is injured while at work, it’s up to the employer to ensure they get proper treatment and hospital bills are paid. Construction work exposes employees to injuries, and the cost of treatment can significantly affect a company’s finances.

3. Saves Money and Time

Insurance policies are serviced through monthly or annual premiums many companies can easily pay. The cost of treatment or settling damage claims can be expensive, and thus many companies cannot manage payments without help. Insurance companies help settle the claims on behalf of their clients.

A company can save on time because insurance lawyers handle court cases if a company is sued. With reasonable premiums, a company does not have to attend court hearings. The insurance takes charge.

4. Show Professionalism

Companies with insurance coverage showcase their professionalism. Clients looking for construction services or allies looking for partners develop trust in a company’s professionalism. It shows that a company believes in itself and has clients’ worries at heart.

A professional company has clients’ compensation plan ready in case of an accident. A client does not need a company to waste its time in courts, battling for damage or injury compensation.

5. Improve on Trust

Clients look forward to contacting a company they can trust. A contractor’s insurance is enough to prove a company has nothing to hide and thus can be trusted. Construction work is risky and purely based on trust. Therefore, a client needs a trustworthy professional to honor settlements in case things go wrong.

Other constructors in need of sub-contracting smaller companies require partners with insurance cover. The contracting company needs to be sure its clients are in safe hands.

An insurance cover can benefit a company in so many ways. California contractors need to carry insurance cover that clients, partners, and employees can trust. An active insurance policy also gives owners and a company’s management peace of mind, knowing they have someone on their back in case of accidents.

Contractor Insurance Pitfalls

 

Insurance is one of the essential things we have to cover ourselves from life’s uncertainties. It falls into different categories. You only chose one that suits your needs. When you are about to start a construction site, make sure that your contractor has contractor insurance. Many pitfalls come with this insurance.

Consider the following tips to overcome contractor insurance pitfalls:

a) The Insurance Policies

Always review your Texas contractors insurance policy. The insurance policies should be in line with the nature of work you are providing your contractor. Insurance policies that do not agree with the kind of work you have should be sent back for revision. Check with a local insurance broker such as, http://pacificunitedins.com/texas-contractors-insurance/dallas-tx/ in your in the Dallas, TX region.

If the contractor is not willing to have it revised, consider hiring another contractor.

b) The validity of the Insurance

Consider checking your contactor’s insurance validity

If your project is going to take two years to go to completion, their insurance should cover them for the entire period.

Also, if their coverage expires before the project is complete, they should
renew it before proceeding with the project. Invalid insurance is a pitfall
that can make you liable to your contractor in case of risk.

c) The Insurance Value

The value of your contractor’s insurance should be reasonable enough to cater for any risks that might occur during construction. For example, if your site is worth $ 1,000,000, the insurance value should be able to cover at least 75% of the building. It will assure you that if the contractor makes some mistakes with your site, you will not incur a huge loss. Instead, you can get a valuable compensation.

d) The Efficiency of the Insurance

You can check how effective the contractor insurance is by checking the insurance company’s reputation.
Have a thorough background check on how the insurance company handles claims. Does it compensate the insured for loss? Is the insurance company registered with the relevant bodies? How long has it been operational? When you get the answers to these questions, then weigh if it is worth ensuring your site
.
Insurance covers that raise doubt should not be considered.

e) Compliance with the Law

Each contractor insurance is guided by each State’s insurance law. Different states may have different laws on insurance. Thus, you should consider looking whether it is complying with what your state need of them. Insurances that violates such laws shows lack of
seriousness and should not be considered. We all expect competent contractors to know the content of their insurance. If their coverages can be that
violating, then the owners might not be law abiders.

f) The Insurance Limits

As the site owner, you should understand the extent to which the contractor insurance cover. This knowledge will help you know what to do in case a risk that is not covered by the
insurance occurs. It will help you to avoid unnecessary conflicts with your
contractor. Insurance covers explain in detail what they cover the insured. They also clarify if they protect third parties against such risks.

It takes time to grow a business but a few moments to bring it down. You can choose to protect your business’s expansion by being keen on these tips of overcoming insurance pitfalls on your construction. Constructing can be tricky, but with the correct information, you can always have a successful journey.

Best Ways to Renovate your Master Bathroom

If you are planning to renovate your master bathroom, you have to make sure that the job is done perfectly. There are
different ways that you can do the renovation. You need to do it in a way that will make it look unique and trending.                                                                                                          It It is also important that you do the renovation in a way that will make it showcase your lifestyle or personality.

Here are some of the best ways to renovate your master bathroom.

Make Sure Your Contractor Has a Bond

One of the best ways to renovate your bathroom is to incorporate luxury into its
design, but before it can be luxurious you need to make sure your construction company carries a contractors bond.  Be certain to deal only with licensed and bonded contractors. This is a perfect way to bring in a more customized retreat to your
master bathroom. You can do this by installing more luxurious pieces such as
spas, trendy vanities, massaging tables, furniture, faucets among others.

Have a universal design

Another great way to renovate your master bathroom is to
have the universal design. This is a great way to ensure that your facility works
best for people with different characteristics regarding abilities, age, and
others. You can do this by installing larger
shower and doorways or creating more space around the different fixtures. Another
option is to have universal elements including grab bars that work well in most
master bathrooms.

Bath and shower

Master bathrooms have changed over the years.
In the past, giant tubs used to be very popular, but this is no longer the case
in the modern times. You can do the renovation by installing customized showers
such as shower tiles, steam showers, wall mounted showerheads, rain bars, and
the hand held ones. You can also decide to have a custom shower that has a
smaller bathtub that impacts on the layout of your entire master bathroom.

Install television and sound systems

Your master bathroom will look trending if you install flat
screens and sound systems. The best option is to install the in-mirror types in
which the television is only visible when switched on. With these systems, you
also make your facility an enjoyable and entertaining place to spend your time.
To make the music or the sound conducive, you can install softening materials
such as push towels. This goes a long way in making your master bathroom extra
luxurious.

To get the most satisfactory results, make sure you hire the most experienced master bathroom renovation expert in your area. They can provide customized renovation that will make your facility stand
out.

Bidding on Government Projects Requires the Right Bond

Bidding on Government Projects Requires the Right Bond

A contractor bond is a kind of financial security used in contract bid proposals, it is used as a way to guarantee that the bids are serious and that the contractors have enough financial stability to complete the project. They are required for public construction in America and it´s intended to keep bidders that are not committed or serious enough to carry on with a project. It´s usually accompanied by a performance bond and a payment bond. The first one will commit the contractor to perform the contract considering the proposed terms and conditions, with the agreed price and to have it ready at the stipulated time. The second one will protect the workers and suppliers against nonpayment. In most cases the three aspects go hand in hand, I mean, if you are presenting a contractor bond, it usually must have a performance and a payment bond as well for public construction projects.  Here is an example of a performance bond.

Why are Contractor Bonds a way to be protected by the law?

In order to avoid failures in the contracts awarded to private firms and considering that years ago most of these contracts actually ended up in failure, mostly because the contractor didn’t have enough resources to complete the project and just used to abandon it. The consequence was that the taxpayers ended up assuming the extra costs in order to finish the abandoned projects.Of course, this also implied that the workers and suppliers were not paid for their services and that was another cost that the taxpayers also had to assume.
What happened after this story was that in 1894 the Congress authorized the use of security bonds to secure construction contracts and since 1935 the payment bonds are required to be considered in the awarding of any contract in the public sector by protecting the owner, laborers, and suppliers against a failure of the contractors.

What are the characteristics of a Bid Bond and what should you be aware of?

  • Be aware of the job specifications and the specific requirements for the bond.
  • They have a flat fee of $100 per contract
  • They usually require a bid of performance and a bid of payment
  • You should be aware of any formats that should be included with the bond or you can use a standard application online that covers most of the questions required for the Bid Bond
  • You need to be aware of the credentials required to process your application
  • Check with your bond agent in order to submit the bid proposal in an accurate and complete way.
  • Complete thework, minding the specifications of the proposal.
  • Once you have completed the job, talk to your bond agent to free your bond line.
Make Sure Your Commercial Contractor is Fully Insured

Make Sure Your Commercial Contractor is Fully Insured

It is important that your contractor is insured, for your own protection. It helps to ensure that you are working with a professional who has a good reputation.

Contractor Insurance

There are two types of a contractor’s insurance, liability insurance and worker’s compensation. Liability insurance will cover certain situations such as damage that your contractor may have caused to your property. Although liability insurance does not usually pay for repairing or replacing work that they may have done that is substandard.

The second type of insurance is worker’s compensation that provides payment to workers who may be injured, lost wages or medical services, no matter who caused the injury. Workers compensation coverage will further provide benefits to the family of the contractor in the event of a death that was related to the contractor’s work.

This is why it is vital that you find out if your contractor is insured before they begin working on the project. The simplest way to do this is to ask the contractor that you are considering hiring to show you certificates of insurance. Once you have these certificates, make sure that you check that the policies are current.

Contractor Bonds

It is also important that your contractor have a bond, this will protect you if the contractor you have hired fails to complete the job that you hired them for, or if they fail to pay for permits, meet various financial obligations (this would include paying for supplies, covering damage that workers may have caused to your property, or paying subcontractors).

In order for a company to be bonded, they would have had to pay a premium to a surety company. You can check this by asking the contractor you’re considering for their bond number and certification, to ensure that they are properly bonded. If you find the bond isn’t complete or you feel that it might be subpar, you could contact their surety company directly, to check. Bonding requirements vary, depending on the state and municipality where you stay.

While you’re checking whether your desired contractor is insured and bonded, be sure to also check if your contractor’s specific trade requires a licence. Various states require particular licences for specific trades, such as plumbers, electricians, or HVAC. It is very important to check this as in some states, if a contractor is not licenced according to their trade, they may be unable to get insurance or bonding. This is also important to check as if a building inspector checks the work and finds that it is being done by contractors who are not properly licenced, they have the power to halt the work.