Talked to a roofer in Phoenix last week who changed my mind on subcontractor insurance

He told me he dropped his liability coverage to the bare minimum after 20 years with no claims, then a pallet of tiles slid off a truck and damaged three cars in a parking lot. That settlement cost him $47,000 out of pocket. Made me pull my policy out and check my own limits, what do you guys carry for general liability?

3 comments

3 Comments

keith16410d ago

joseph48 nailed it with "one bad accident wipes out a year or two of profit." I read somewhere that a roofing crew in Florida had a ladder fall and hit a pedestrian, guy ended up with brain damage and the settlement was over 800k. That crews insurance capped at 500k. They lost their business, house, everything. Made me bump my own liability to 2 million after seeing that story. I figure what's an extra couple hundred a year compared to losing everything you worked for?

joseph4810d ago

47 grand out of pocket over a pallet of tiles. That hurts just reading it. I carry 2 million aggregate on my general liability and honestly I still lay awake some nights wondering if it's enough to cover some dumbass move like backing a truck into a bank lobby. My insurance guy laughs at me every time I call to tweak the limits, but I figure one bad accident wipes out a year or two of profit real quick.

martinez.paul10d ago

Wait, $47,000 out of pocket for three damaged cars? That's brutal. I gotta agree with @joseph48 here, one bad day can wreck your whole year financially. Makes me want to double-check my own limits again tomorrow morning lol.