Roofing Contractors especially in New York have a hard time when it comes to securing general liability insurance.
Whether your business is small or large proper coverage is critical. The last thing you want to do is purchase the wrong roofing insurance.
In this article we will go over the following: The cost of roofing insurance, why cheap isn’t best, why you need it, and how much protection you should have.
How much is general liability insurance for roofing contractors in New York?
A Cheap policy typically costs around $2,500 to $3,500 for an owner operator.
However cheap is not usually recommended.
The good coverage is typically rated on your gross receipts and starts at $40 per $1,000 up to $75.00 per $1,000 depending on where you do the majority of your work.
This provides a standard limit of $1,000,000 per occurence and $2,000,000 aggregate, Deductibles are usually $1,000 up to $5,000
What is the difference between cheap and good roofing insurance?
Cheap insurance causes major problems in New York because of an ancient law commonly called the scaffold law. If you are an owner operator with no sub-contractors or employees you might be able to get away with purchasing cheap insurance.
However it is still not recommended as a cheap policy will restrict what jobs you are able to take. Many property owners and other contractors will refuse to work with you if you have a cheap roofing policy with an scaffold law / action over exclusion.
A good policy will provide action over / scaffold law coverage which will not only protect your business but also the clients who hire you.
Why do you need roofing insurance?
The two main things Roofing insurance protects you and your business from are damage you may cause to a customers property and injuries you or your workers may cause to other people.
For example: if while performing a roofing job you or one of your crew accidentally put the ladder through a customers window.
Alternatively: if while you are working and a customer trips over your ladder and hurts them self your roofing insurance would protect you.
How much protection is enough for roofing contractors?
With lawsuits in New York settling at numbers that make you cringe. We recommend clients purchase at least a $1,000,000 policy. If the budget allows for it we highly encourage additional coverage commonly called Umbrella or Excess Liability.
If you or a worker accidentally drops a hammer from a roof and seriously injures someone, is $1,000,000 going to be enough to pay lawyer fees and settle the case? Probably not.
Excess or Umbrella coverage is typically sold in $1,000,000 increments for roofing contractors.
Pricing is also usually based on gross receipts, and costs around $30.00 per $1,000 for a $3,000,000
If you need to protect your roofing business and would like to get started click the button below.
