Flooring Contractor
(Everything you need to know - and more)
Flooring contractors are hired by general contractors and homeowners to install flooring including tile, linoleum, hardwood and carpeting in new and existing buildings.
Whether working on new building construction, home improvement jobs or home additions, you will need to be sure that your business interests are properly covered by the right types of insurance.
An independent insurance agent in our network can advise you about your insurance options and can help you build a suitable flooring contractors insurance portfolio.
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Flooring Installation Industry Statistics From IBISWorld
- There are currently more than 78,000 flooring contractor businesses operating in the U.S.
- These businesses employ approximately 130,000 people.
- The flooring and insulation installation industry generates about $19 billion in revenue each year.
Liability Coverage Is a Crucial Part of Flooring Contractors Insurance
A very important portion of your flooring contractors insurance portfolio is liability insurance. It protects your business’s financial interests in the event of a liability lawsuit by covering legal defense fees, court costs and financial damages.
But in order to be covered, you must have the right types of coverage. Your independent insurance agent is likely to talk to you about the following insurance types:
- Commercial general liability insurance: Also referred to as CGL, this insurance covers injuries and property damage caused to third-party interests while doing flooring installation work. It also includes product liability insurance, which protects your business if you recommend sub-par flooring products that cause damage or injuries to others. When general contractors hire your business to do flooring installation work, they are likely to require that you provide them with proof of general liability insurance before they allow you to begin work. Additionally, they will probably ask you to add them to your policy, with an additional insured endorsement, for the duration of the job. Your independent insurance agent can help you obtain these flooring contractors insurance endorsements.
- Auto liability insurance: Your flooring installation business likely owns a van or truck – or maybe even a fleet of vehicles – that are used to transport tools and materials to and from job sites. By law, you need to cover your company-owned vehicles with a commercial auto insurance policy. These policies offer higher liability limits than standard auto insurance policies do so you can better protect your flooring business.
- Hired or nonowned vehicle insurance: If one of your employees is responsible for an accident while driving a personally owned vehicle to do a work-related errand or while driving a rented vehicle to transport tools and supplies to and from a job site, your flooring business may face a liability lawsuit. In this case, you will not have liability coverage unless you have included hired or nonowned vehicle insurance with your business auto policy.
- Employment practices liability insurance (EPLI): This insurance shields your flooring installation business from financial losses if a current or former employee sues for a perceived illegal business practice, such as discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination.
- Umbrella insurance: This provides your business with liability coverage beyond the limits imposed by your various insurance companies. It picks up where your other liability insurance policies leave off. If you feel it necessary to increase your liability coverage limits, umbrella insurance provides an affordable way to do so.
Your Flooring Contractors Insurance Should Include Workers' Compensation
Workers' compensation insurance is required of employers in most states. Even if your company is exempt, this coverage is very important for the financial well-being of your business.
It covers the cost of medical treatments for injuries sustained by workers while on the job, provides a continuation of wages while the employee is recovering and even offers a death benefit in the rare instance that a flooring installation worker is fatally injured while working.
In this way, it protects your business from devastating lawsuits related to workplace injuries.
While adding this coverage to your flooring contractors insurance portfolio can be costly, there are ways to keep your costs at a minimum. One way is to shop around for coverage, which is something an independent insurance agent can do for you.
The other way is to follow safety protocols as dictated by your insurance company. Your workers’ safety is just as important to a good insurer as it should be to you.
A company that is experienced with insuring workers in the flooring installation industry will be able to serve as a useful resource when it comes to safety training and information.
Your Flooring Contractors Insurance Portfolio Can Cover Business Property
If you have a central office where you greet customers, make appointments, handle administrative work or store your tools and materials, your flooring contractors insurance policy should include coverage for the property kept in this location.
You and your insurance agent may also want to discuss adding extra expenses insurance coverage to your flooring contractors insurance portfolio.
This insurance covers the costs involved with renting and setting up office space in a temporary location if a covered event has rendered your home office unusable until repairs are made.
The tools and equipment you use in day-to-day operations can be very expensive to replace. You will therefore want to be sure that your flooring contractors insurance also includes coverage against loss, damage and theft while they are at a location other than your central location. This coverage can be obtained in two different ways.
- Builders risk insurance: If you are working on flooring installation as part of a new building construction, the top contractor on the job will most likely have purchased a builders risk insurance policy. This insurance covers the property that is used and stored on the job site during the project. In most cases, this would include your flooring business property.
- Inland marine insurance: If you are doing flooring or insulation work on an existing building, such as for a home improvement or addition job, you need an inland marine policy to cover your tools and equipment while they are being used on the project. This insurance covers your business property both at the job site and while in transit to and from jobs.
Your independent insurance agent can explain your coverage options and help you get the coverage you need to cover your tools and materials.
Save on Business Insurance
Our independent agents shop around to find you the best coverage.
Get Help Building a Comprehensive Flooring Contractors Insurance Portfolio
Building a suitable flooring contractors insurance portfolio for your business does not have to be a complicated process. When you work with an independent insurance agent in our network, you can rest assured that your insurance needs are being met.
These agents can help you identify your exposures, recommend the right coverage types to mitigate those risks and shop around to find you a selection of suitable and competitively priced policies.
Find an independent agent near you to learn about flooring contractors insurance.