For a handyman, insurance requirements are straightforward. Three policies are pretty much essential:
• General liability insurance
• Equipment insurance
• Professional liability insurance
And, depending on the way your business operates, there are a couple more you might want to have:
• Cyber insurance
• Workers’ compensation insurance (if you employ anyone).
Read on for a rundown on what each policy covers and why you need it.
General liability insurance for handymen (and women)
You carry out your work at customers’ properties, right? Then you need general liability insurance. It protects your business from the cost of claims for:
• Injury to someone (other than you or an employee)
• Damage to someone’s property
• Personal injury (slander/libel).
We know you’re careful. But accidents happen. All it takes is for a client to trip over your toolbox and injure themselves, to find yourself facing a claim for medical expenses. Then there’s always the risk you might accidentally damage a customer’s property. Drop a drill on a tiled floor, knock over a family heirloom… You get the picture.
Without a general liability policy, you’ll have to find the cash to cover these expenses yourself. And if a case goes to court, there’ll be legal fees to pay and compensation if you’re found at fault.
Handyman general liability insurance can cover medical bills, repairs or replacement costs, legal fees and compensation, too. Even if there are no grounds for the case. A pretty handy tool to have at your disposal, huh?
Equipment insurance
You take your own tools to jobs and use them on-site, we’re guessing. We’re also guessing some of these will have cost you a lot. Especially if, instead of being a jack-of-all-trades, you specialize.
Then you want to think about protecting them. Because let’s face it, your tools are more likely to get lost, stolen, or damaged when you’re out and about. And while you’re trying to find the money to replace them, how will you work? You might even lose a client in the meantime.
Business personal property insurance (BPP) protects your portable equipment from loss, theft, or damage – including mobiles and laptops. What’s more, it covers anything moveable in your home office too. From your swivel chair to your stapler
Add BPP insurance to your general liability policy. Then if you lose your equipment, you won’t lose business.
Professional liability insurance for handymen (and women)
Now, general liability insurance doesn’t cover legal claims for faulty workmanship. To protect you from those, you need a different policy: professional liability insurance.
Because you charge for your service, clients can sue you if they think you made a mistake or your work wasn’t up to par. Even if there are no grounds for the claim.
Claims like these can be costly. If the case goes to court, you’re looking at attorney fees, court costs – and damages, too, if it turns out you were at fault. The thing is, faulty workmanship claims don’t just hammer your wallet, they take up valuable time. And time not spent working will also lose you money.
Say you have one of those clients. You know, the ones who are never satisfied. They call you up to tell you there’s a problem with the tiling you did. You go back several times to fix it. The client then hires another guy to correct your mistake. To cover the costs, your client then files a suit against you, saying your work was faulty.
If that happens, whether there are grounds for the claim, or not, a professional liability policy can hire you an attorney and pay your legal fees. It can also pay compensation if the case doesn’t go your way.
Handy, huh? It may be a tool you rarely use, but handyman professional liability insurance is a useful one to have in your toolkit.
Cyber insurance
If you use email, own a website, and transfer money online, cyber insurance is good to have. Why? Because cybercriminals are getting smarter.
These days it’s not just a case of hackers holding your website to ransom. Email and money transfer fraud are on the rise. And as a small business owner with less cash for tough cyber security, you’re an easy target.
If you’re the victim of a cyber-attack, cyber insurance provides you with 24/7 technical support to deal with it. Plus, the financial resources to recover. It means you’ll be back up and running, doing business again fast. And in the meantime, you and anyone who works for you, get training to help reduce the risk of an attack.
Workers’ compensation insurance
If you employ anyone – even if it’s just one person – most states require you have workers’ comp insurance. And as penalties can be severe, it’s best to check your state’s requirements.
But it’s a useful policy to have anyway. It protects you from the cost of workplace injuries, which, for a small business owner, can be extremely painful. And in your line of work, accidents are a daily hazard.
If one of your employees is injured, needs medical treatment and time off to recover, workers’ comp insurance can cover their medical bills and lost earnings. If the case goes to court, no matter who’s at fault, it’ll protect you from the cost of a lawsuit, too.
Handyman insurance cost
Insurance costs vary from business to business. They’re affected by things like:
• the size of your company
• its location
• the limits you choose.
But there are ways to save money on your policy price. If you choose to pay a bigger deductible (the amount you’ll contribute if there’s a claim) your premium will be cheaper. Just be sure you can actually pay the deductible if it comes to it.
When it comes to working out the amount of cover you need, it’s best to over-estimate. Think worst-case scenario but pick a figure you can afford.
Our general liability policies cost from $42 a month; professional liability policies start from $71 a month. But there are other payment options available. Pay quarterly or in one lump sum. Whatever works best for you.
Handyman business insurance quotes
You know leaving a minor fix now can cause a major problem later on. We bet you’re always telling your clients that. So why not take your own advice?
A few minutes of your time is all it’ll take to get your business properly protected. Then if you do find yourself in a fix, you’ve got just the right tool for the job. And a whole lot of peace of mind in the meantime.
If you’re still not sure what coverage you need, you’ll find more information on handyman insurance over on our website. You can also call us at 978.344.4215. We’ll talk you through your options and get you the right insurance package for your business. Fast.
Or, if you’re all set and ready to go, get your quote online now.