Flooring contractor insurance
We highly recommend flooring installers to have insurance. Because flooring contractors install things like tile, linoleum, hardwood and carpeting into new and old structures, there are many risks the business needs to be protected from. The top two must-haves are general liability and workers’ comp insurance.
Can flooring contractors get by without insurance? Maybe, if your hiring party doesn’t require it (which is rare). But here’s the real question: is it worth the risk? Having some extra protection never hurts, especially when it’s way more affordable than having to pay for an insurance claim.
Flooring installer liability insurance
General liability insurance is a general form of insurance that protects businesses from some of the many things that can go wrong while on the job. It’s designed to protect you from a loss if you are liable for third-party bodily injury, property damage, or personal/advertising injury. General liability is especially important if you interact with the public, which as a flooring installer, you do.
Here are a few types of incidents covered:
- Bodily Injury: The average slip and fall accident costs $30,000. If you install a tile floor incorrectly and someone falls and breaks their wrist, your policy would pay for the medical bills.
- Property Damage: One of your tools bumps into a wall and destroys an entire section. This policy would pay for replacement and repair costs, instead of you having to pay for the damages personally.
- Personal/Advertising Injury: This portion of the policy covers libel, slander, copyright infringement, and false advertising.
- Legal Fees: If you face a lawsuit, your court costs will be taken care of.
- Completed Operations: Covers a flooring contractors liability for property damage or injuries to a third party once the flooring is installed.
Flooring installation contractors can pay as little as $40/month for general liability insurance, which is only $480/year for this critical policy.
Workers’ comp for flooring installation contractors
Your profession comes with physical risks every day. You’re installing subfloor. You’re measuring and cutting carpet. And nailing down heart pine boards. That’s what makes workers’ comp key for flooring installation contractors.
Workers’ compensation insurance protects business owners and their employees in the event of a workplace injury. If you or someone on your team gets hurt on the job, this policy will pay for the medical costs and lost wages associated with the accident. Not only that, should you face an employee lawsuit, court costs and legal fees are covered.
Workers’ comp claims examples:
- A back strain from lifting heavy carpet rolls
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome caused by repetitive motions
- A slip and fall injury from slipping on a wet surface
- A car accident while running a work errand
Generally, the starting cost for flooring contractor workers’ comp is $63/month, or $750 per year. Learn about workers’ comp insurance costs.
Flooring contractor property insurance
You rely on your gear each day. It would be hard to cut wood planks to the exact measurement needed without your tools. And those tools don’t come cheap, either–they’re an investment. How would you be able to earn a living without them?
If you want to protect your business equipment, commercial property insurance is the way to go. This policy keeps your equipment and inventory safe while on your business premises, as well as the premises itself.
Tile, stone, and flooring installers can expect to pay as little as $35/month for commercial property insurance, which amounts to only $420/year.
The downside of the policy is that the coverage ends after you have left your business premises. If you are taking your equipment on the go to other locations, inland marine insurance is the right policy to add to your insurance plan.
Flooring pros might pay around $15/month for inland marine insurance, also known as tools & equipment coverage.
Auto insurance for tile, stone, and flooring installers
When you’ve got big projects ahead of you, one thing is always at top of mind: efficiency. Time is money, baby. And the most efficient way to get all of your work gear and supplies from one job site to another is to drive it there, which is why you need commercial auto insurance if you own a work vehicle.
Business auto insurance covers any vehicle owned by your business. This policy protects you and the vehicle while making deliveries, running work errands, or going to and from job sites. If you purchased a vehicle through your company, please note that your personal auto policy will not cover the vehicle.
If you hire, rent, or borrow vehicles on behalf of your business, you will need hired and non-owned auto insurance to have the proper protection. This policy also extends liability coverage to you and your employees in the event a personal vehicle is used for work-related purposes.
Commercial auto liability insurance can cost as little as $84/month, or $1,000/year.
Umbrella insurance for installers
All insurance policies have limits of liability, which is the payment cap in regard to a specific claim. One that limit has been met, the insurance carrier is no longer responsible to pay for the claim — the responsibility shifts to the policyholder.
Let’s use a commercial auto claim as an example. Typical limits for the policy are $500,000. You get into an accident while driving to the bank, amounting in a total claim of $525,000. Your insurance carrier will cover the $500,000, and you will be responsible for the remaining $25,000. Unless you have an umbrella policy, that is!
Umbrella insurance is a protective layer of insurance that is placed on top of existing policies. This policy will pay for additional costs outside of the existing policy’s limits.
A typical umbrella cost hovers around $19/month.
Flooring insurance cost
On average, flooring installers pay around $40 per month for general liability Not bad! Of course, the bigger your business is, and the more risks you face, the higher the price will be.
Looking to save? Why not consider a business owner’s policy, or BOP? BOPs combine general liability and commercial property insurance into a discounted package. With a BOP, you get more coverage, and at a lower price than purchasing each of the policies separately.
Workers’ comp costs for flooring contractors depends on a few key factors:
- Your state: All states have different rules and regulations, and some can affect the price.
- Your industry: Workers’ comp is all about risk. The more liability your face in your line of work, the greater your classification rate will be.
- Your payroll: The more employees you have, the higher your payroll. The greater your payroll, the more expensive your policy will be.
- Your claims history: This is tracked by something called your experience modifier, or mod. If you haven’t had claims in the past, your mod should be around 1.0 — which is great. If you have suffered losses in the past, it will increase your mod. But if you’ve had claims in the past, your mod will rise. If your mod is 2.0, that means your insurance premium will be double the cost.
- Expense constant, which covers administrative fees and usually costs around $200.
Check out our flooring contractor insurance cost guide.
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