An Uninsured Contractor is a Recipe for Disaster

Construction sites are one of the most dangerous places and workers are most prone to accidents. Hence it is required by law that the contractor must be insured, this helps in covering the damages both to people and places.  If something happens on a construction site then there is ample coverage for any injured worker or damaged property can be compensated.  Having an uninsured contractor opens you up to liability.

Let us see how an uninsured contractor is a recipe for disaster

If a contractor doesn’t have at least the minimum amount of insurance, they are allowed to be licensed either and basically you have unlicensed and uninsured people are working on your site.

Remember for licensed, insured contractors, the general contractor holds a general insurance policy that has good coverage but if your contractor is unlicensed and uninsured you become the general contractor which means you must be paying for the medical expenses and no insurance will come to your rescue if something happens on your property.  Therefore, you the owner of the property are responsible for anything that goes wrong with the uninsured contractor.

Your Home Insurance Policy

You might think that homeowner’s insurance policy might come to your rescue but that isn’t the case. Any medical or any damage caused to the unlicensed, uninsured worker are purely excluded from the policy coverage, so is any damage to your property.  In case of uninsured and unlicensed contractor anything happens then you the project owner is held liable and they can even sue you for that.  So not only can they cause damage to your property but they can sue you on top of that.

Don’t Let a Low Price Fool You

You may be wondering why anyone would ever deal with an uninsured contractor and open themselves up to that kind of liability.  Most homeowners do it to save money.  These types of contractors tend to charge a significantly lower price.  Aside from the risks you are taking the quality of the work isn’t usually as good either.

Going with an uninsured contractor is a case of being “pennywise, but pound foolish” where in the long run you will end up spending far more than if you had hired a reputable contractor to begin with.  If something goes wrong on your property it can bankrupt you.  Always check to make sure that your contractor is insured and ask for proof.

Understand that an uninsured contractor is a recipe for disaster