Siding Contractor Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, siding contractor insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other kinds of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your siding contractor enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your siding contractor business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the consequences of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup businesses to highlight what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where we can, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your siding contractor business?

What this means, for any siding contractor business owner, is that if some company claims that your business caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your siding contractor business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where edicts can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have sort.

When you are running your siding contractor operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does siding contractor insurance protect you from?

For your siding contractor business, the most important kinds of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any siding contractor business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your siding contractor businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any siding contractor business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your siding contractor business covers you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your siding contractor business from the claims themselves and also to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it should help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts require proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your siding contractor business would be with a boundary of $1 million for a single event and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your siding contractor insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your siding contractor business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your siding contractor business for them, you can quickly be involved in a court case.

Even if the lawsuit against you is ruled in your favor, the cost of defense can be substantial, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Almost all small siding contractor business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of siding contractor insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your siding contractor operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that what you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the particular laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for injuries caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for siding contractor

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you must have.

Best advice is to talk to experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for support.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your siding contractor business

Take care! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

The right way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial van policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

In addition, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your car is involved in a crash.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, mandate this type of insurance.

The wanted value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your requested level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your siding contractor business needs specialized and expensive equipment, you will realize how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

Also, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can destroy your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your siding contractor business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your siding contractor business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any siding contractor business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the space, you may already have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Every physical building location should carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against deliberate damages like theft and vandalism.

If your siding contractor business works in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of siding contractor business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends completely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of siding contractor insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your siding contractor business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your siding contractor business

Is your siding contractor business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for siding contractor – are special policies where you can cover a designated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you buy the cover for a defined period – a specific date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover increased.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your siding contractor business

You have the option to combine several of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by incorporating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is often the right choice for small and medium-sized siding contractor businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

Also, the size of your business will determine whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual turnover.

In addition, you must separately take out the required worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your siding contractor business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your siding contractor business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if an employee experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits provide for medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s requirements in this regard can leave you as the employer obliged to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you may not get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation charges are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every siding contractor insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with an agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your siding contractor businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your siding contractor operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small freelance siding contractor businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like New Mexico, they can be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your siding contractor business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another good source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for siding contractor operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe standard insurance policies designed to protect siding contractor business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my siding contractor business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to operate your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Some other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small siding contractor business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a client for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the most common policies for siding contractor insurance.

How much will siding contractor business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, several other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for siding contractor, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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