3 Reasons Why Contractors Need Business Insurance

As a general contractor, you’re responsible for overseeing the construction site. You make sure the construction crew is on time, the equipment is in prime working condition and the materials have been delivered. As the general contractor on site, you are the leading construction professional; you’re the one in charge and making sure that the subcontractors are managing their teams and that the building, well, gets built!

So, what’s a general contractor without business insurance for contractors? Someone who isn’t 100 percent prepared for the job. As a seasoned contractor, you know that there’s a lot that can go wrong on a building site.

Having a business insurance doesn’t just protect you from liability, it protects your crew too. Without the hard work of your crew, you wouldn’t have a building site to work on.

Here are three reasons why general contractors need business insurance, just in case you needed a reminder!

A crew member could be killed on the job.

The United States Department of Labor reports that 1 in 5 worker deaths in 2015 (the current available data) was in construction. The four biggest causes of fatalities (what’s known as the Fatal Four) are the following:

Falls: The height of a fall isn’t what matters, it’s the way the individual lands. Whether a crew member falls from six feet, 20 feet or 50 feet, they are at risk of dying on impact.

Electrocution: This can be caused by using unsafe tools, improperly grounded wires and faulty equipment.

Struck by Object: This can include falling debris from the building or being hit by building equipment.

Caught in/Between: This pertains to when a construction worker is accidentally caught between machinery and crushed.

Business insurance (most notably worker’s comp.) will cover the financial ramifications that ensue upon the employee’s death. The policy will cover medical bills, lost wages and funerary costs, helping said construction worker’s surviving family to be able to stay on their feet.

A piece of equipment jams and breaks down.

In construction, you rely as heavily on your construction team as you do the construction equipment. If a piece of equipment breaks down, it can cost tens of thousands of dollars or more to get it repaired, or at worse, replaced. When a backhoe can cost as much as $150k, paying for its replacement out of pocket just doesn’t make good financial sense. Business insurance covers equipment break down and replacement costs. For only a small annual premium, you can be covered for hundreds of thousands (or millions) of dollars!

A client is hurt while visiting the job site.

Your client will want to visit the construction site to check in on the building progress. While walking through the job site, they could trip over a piece of rebar or bump their head against low scaffolding. When this happens, they may need to be taken to the hospital to make sure they aren’t seriously hurt. Business insurance will cover the medical cost of the visit and any residual costs of the injury.

To be a top-notch general contractor, you’ll need the right tools, business insurance being one of them. Find your business insurance policy today with CoverHound.