A couple things to consider. See the dewalt gps units you can hide on larger equipment:

Any contractor renovating buildings built before 1978.
Homes
Schools
Offices
Government

Work must be performed by a certified contractor.

What Is A Pollutant – And Who Pollutes???

Technical definitions aside, from a practical standpoint, almost anything that has to be cleaned up – whether it is from a building, land, air or water – may be a pollutant.
• Clean dirt that is washed off of a jobsite and into a salmon stream may be a pollutant.
• Bags of concrete spilled into a creek in an auto accident, may be a pollutant.
• With inadequate ventilation, paint fumes may be a pollutant.
***New stand alone limited pollution policy with a low premium is available now!

First off, the insurance company itself may not have sufficient financial backing. Carriers should be “A rated” and domiciled in the United States. Be sure to avoid Risk Retention Groups and all carriers rated lower than “A.M. Best A rating,” especially if it is a California non-admitted carrier (which is usually the case). Your insurance broker can easily get you a financial report on the carrier.

Two very important things to check your policy for are: 1) a manifestation provision, and 2) a sunset clause. These two limitations restrict coverage on completed operation (jobs you have completed) for future claims of latent or patent defect.

STICK with a carrier that uses an ISO insurance form for the policy. ISO writes the actual policy that most carriers use and this form has a time tested track record in the court system. There are carriers that write their own insurance form and they change language to their favor. This typically benefits the carrier by restricting coverage for the contractor.

If you think that your broker is doing a good job by switching carriers every year or so, you are wrong. Most carriers put “prior or abandoned work exclusions” on their form and/or “ongoing or progressive losses exclusions.” These exclusions can spell disaster.

There are two major errors I see contractors making, especially general contractors. The first is NOT getting certificates with additional insured endorsements from sub-contractors, and the second is NOT using a sub-contractor agreement that includes indemnification and hold harmless wording. EVERY insurance policy has some sort of sub-contractor warranty requiring the insured to get these documents from subs. Failing to do so will really water down your policy, and could possibly even get a claim that could be covered, denied.

You must also review all the endorsements and exclusions in your policy. This is an easy way to learn what to avoid doing (work) in order to stay within your policy language. I commonly see and hear about contractors doing a job that their policy restricts them from doing, such as work on homeowner associations, apartment buildings or work outside their class of license.

Let’s face it. Liability is expensive. But wouldn’t you want to pay a little more for the better policy? If you are buying a policy from a broker that has not asked substantial questions about your operation and you just got a quick quote over the phone, the chances are good that you could be improperly insured. I make it a point to meet with each of my contractor clients.

Please collect your current policy and give me a call at 415.258-9912. We can review what type of work you do and make sure you get the best policy for your line of work.

A couple things to be aware of always, but especially this time of year are car breakins, credit theft and holiday lights or candles.

A few year ago someone took a store credit card out in a our names and did their Christmas shopping on us. We got a bill $11,000.00 from a Sears Credit Card. We never had a Sears credit card. The charges were removed but it was a real pain.

We now have identity shield coverage on our homeowners policy.

Valuables left in cars is just asking for trouble. You would not believe the number of calls we get year round, but especially around the holidays about cars getting broken into. Goods bought are one thing but when you wallet or purse is stolen it is another. I never leave my wallet in the car. They can have my cell phone, camera and that wad of napkins I keep in the door pocket, but a thief is not getting my drivers license and credit cards.

Christmas tree lights and holiday candles: Just use common sense. Don’t overload electrical outlets and be careful where you put candles.

Enjoy the Holidays!

Water that backs up on a roof deck, water that hits the ground first and runs into the home, surface water (floods), that drip that has caused dry rot, the floor under the toilet that has been deteriorating for years and water that has been lapping over the tub under the tile are excluded from your home policy (see your policy for full details).

I will be happy to review the water and other exclusions in your home owners policy.

contractor are a burden. What never ceases to amaze me is the number and variety claims we see in a year’s time. I thought I’d share some of these losses with you. I want you to see that regardless of the quality of your work and the fact that you’ve never had a claim, you should never skimp on insurance!

The Indemnification Claim: In this situation, a hardwood floor contractor worked for a general. His work was impeccable. The subcontractor was named in a cross complaint from the general contractor’s insurance policy. The home that was built had some water intrusion problems and the homeowner sued the general

contractor who sued the subcontractor. The subcontractor, having indemnified (or taken responsibility for) the general, turned the claim over to his insurance company. Many thousands of dollars later the claim was settled.

The Slip and Fall Claim: This was really bad. A new stairway was being built for a second floor addition. The contractors and their employees were using a makeshift ladder to access work on the second level. Over the weekend the homeowner used the makeshift ladder to inspect the progress and fell while descending the ladder. The homeowner was severely injured, and as result, every contractor on the job was sued.

The Subrogation Claim: I will not mention the brand of faucet, but three years

after the job was completed, a bushing in the kitchen faucet split and water ran under the sink, unnoticed, for hours. The homeowner made a claim on her home insurance policy and the damages (over 250K) were taken care of by the home insurance

carrier. This claim should have ended at this point, but the home insurance carrier saw that there was a permit pulled to remodel the kitchen three years prior. They turned their loss over to a law firm who subrogated the claim to both the general

contractor and the plumbing contractor who did the kitchen remodel.

I hope you never have a claim, but if you do, are you sure you have the best possible policy ?

A message from the desk of Mike Wise: