Who has general liability insurance? 1

[bigmig]

I come across a client every few years who uses a boiler plate sub contractor form. One item on the contract, is the requirement that all subcontractors carry general liability insurance.

I contacted my insurance company broker, who said I didn't need g.l insurance because I was not physically on the job....the chances of me causing an accident in my 30 minutes of site inspection time was nil to none.

Fast forward 3 years and now the same insurance broker is saying I need to get it because more and more clients are lawyerinh up
With these boiler plate, cover-every-sub-contractor contacts, that require general liability insurance....regardless if you set foot on the job or not.

Does anyone carry general liability? If so, why? If not, why not?

 

[jdgengineer]

We carry it. $2/$4 mil. We previously had $1/$2 but upping it to $2/$4 cost us $50 a year. It's also a business owners policy so covers theft, electronic damage, damage to premises rented etc. We have a staff and office space. The GL policy is required by our property manager and is a common requirement for our contracts.

Our policy is ~$600 a year compared to ~$35k for our E/O.

 

[GeoPaveTraffic]

Everyone that I know caries general liability insurance. In addition to the items listed above, it also covers your vehicles, rental cars, etc.

Mike Lambert

 

[jdgengineer]

I'm not sure about vehicles. If you don't have any corporate autos you can probably buy a "hired / not owned" policy endorsement to cover driving personal cars. Once you have a corporate auto this is generally handled by corporate auto insurance.

Keep in mind I'm not an insurance agent or expert so check with someone who is to verify.

 

[Ron]

Same here. We have it. Covers us in case we do something stupid on a jobsite like back over a control valve or something similar.
Ours also covers non-owned vehicles...meaning if one of my associates is driving his/her car on a jobsite, it covers it.

My CGL costs less than $1000 a year.

 

[Triangled]

i have engineers visiting sites and climbing on top of and around buildings routinely. i have this insurance. corporate auto too. i view insurance as a cost of doing business.

 

[gte447f]

I also have general liability insurance for similar reasons to what Triangled, Ron, and jdgengineer have said. I can't remember the cost right now, but it is much more affordable than PL insurance.

Knock on wood I have never had to use the insurance. I was on the roof of a building with a client once, when a gust of wind blew our ladder down and it landed on someone's car parked close by. Luckily it was just a car and not a person that the ladder landed on, and luckily the ladder in question belonged to my client and not me, so his insurance covered the damage to the bystander's car. I assume this is the type of thing that a general liability policy would cover.

p.s. Lesson learned, I always tie off my ladder to the gutter now if there is one available.

 

[XR250]

I get the same request. I just send them my PL binder and it usually keeps them happy.
I don't carry GL or WC. The chance of me causing a problem on a job site is about nil and I am willing to take that risk.
I figure between my auto policy, my PL policy and my own pocket, I am covered.

 

[joehvac]

My first client was a multi state contractor and corporate required that engineering vendors carry a $1 million GL policy (naming contractor as additional insured) and a PL policy. The GL is fairly inexpensive ($400 a year).

 

[XR250]

My first client was a multi state contractor and corporate required that engineering vendors carry a $1 million GL policy (naming contractor as additional insured)

My policy won't even let me do "naming contractor as additional insured". It is a ridiculous request that forces them to essentially sue themselves.

 

[jdgengineer]

It's a pretty common request in contracts to have the client named as an additionally insured in GL and auto policies. Typically, you don't add additionally insured to you PL policy.