| NEXT (Best) | Thimble | Hiscox |
|---|
| Aggregate limit | $5,000/$10,000 | $2,500/$5,000 | $5,000/$25,000 |
| Covers hired and borrowed equipment? | $5,000/$10,000 | $2,500/$5,000 | No |
| Miscellaneous equipment also covered? | $5,000/$10,000 | No | No |
| Offered as an endorsement to general liability insurance? | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Deductible | $500 | $500 | $0 |
It would be difficult to cut, shape, and install wood planks, tile, or other flooring materials without your tools. You want to protect your tools and equipment as without these, it would be near impossible to dispense your services. Besides, these tools and equipment don't come cheap. They’re quite the investment.
That's why you ought to get tools and equipment coverage. The latter covers the cost of repair or replacement, ensuring that you have minimal downtime. For example, if you left your tools and equipment at a particular job site and these get stolen, tools and equipment insurance can cover the cost of replacing the items lost.
Consider adding on inland marine insurance, to your tools and equipment coverage. This policy covers your tools and equipment while you are on the move. For example, if someone breaks into your tool trailer while it’s left in a fast food parking lot, inland marine insurance can take care of the resulting losses.
Commercial Property Insurance for Flooring Contractors
| CoverWallet | NEXT (Best) | Hiscox | Thimble |
|---|
| Building coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $100,000 | $25,000 | $25,000/$500,000 |
| Contents coverage limit (minimum) | $50,000 | $16,000 | $25,000 | $25,000/$500,000 |
| Outdoor signs | Excluded | $2,500 | Excluded | Excluded |
| Accounts receivable | Excluded | Excluded | Included | $5,000/$10,000 |
| Money and securities | Excluded | $2,500 | Included | $1,000 |
| Lock and keys | Excluded | $2,500 | Excluded | Excluded |
| Business interruption floater | Excluded | Included | Included | Included |
| Equipment breakdown floater | Excluded | Included | Excluded | Excluded |
| Inland marine insurance floater | Excluded | Excluded | Excluded | $10,000 |
| Employee dishonesty floater | Excluded | $5,000 | Included | $2,500 |
Suppose an electrical spark starts a fire that damages not only your warehouse or office but also your inventory, having a commercial property insurance policy would cover the loss.
Particularly, this covers the value of your business's property from covered perils, including extreme weather, vandalism, and fires, among others.
Note that while the primary job of this business insurance for flooring contractors is to cover the building, it can also help you if valuable papers and records, accounts receivable, furniture, computer, tools and equipment, and other valuables get damaged or lost while in the business premises.
Use the table above to compare the commercial property insurance of companies we recommend for flooring contractors.
Business Owner’s Policy for Flooring Contractors
| CoverWallet | Thimble | NEXT (Best) | Hiscox |
|---|
| General liability aggregate limit | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $2,000,000 | $300,000/$2,000,000 |
| Commercial property coverage limit | $50,000 | $500,000 | $100,000 | $25,000 |
| Optional policies can be added? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Name additional insureds for free? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| BOP discount? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Flooring insurance programs for contractors might offer a business owner’s policy. If you have one, then don’t hesitate to get it. A business owner’s policy is a combination of general liability and commercial property insurance. It grants coverage for the unexpected costs if your business is sued and when your business property gets damaged.
Since a business owner’s policy is a two-in-one insurance product, it allows you to save money on premiums. You’ll also find it easier to manage.
Use the table above to compare the business owner’s policy of companies we recommend.
Builders Risk Insurance for Flooring Contractors
A flooring project, no matter how big or small, is a construction project that you can insure with builders risk insurance.
Why get builders risk insurance anyway? Before completion, your flooring project and its materials can get damaged. In such an event, builders' risk insurance will cover the resulting losses and reimburse the value of damaged materials.
You must understand that builders risk insurance only covers these perils:
Explosions
Weather
Impact
Human errors
Theft
Vandalism
Workers Compensation Insurance for Flooring Contractors
Employees working with hand tools and sharp objects, including nails and saws, are susceptible to cuts, piercings, and, in worst-case scenarios, accidental amputations. On the other hand, lifting heavy equipment and flooring material could cause back injuries, hernias, strains, and sprains. Besides, working at the floor level for hours on end could result in significant damage to the knees.
Evidently, as a flooring contractor with people in your employment, you stand the risk of being held liable for small to serious injuries. Other than the latter, you are expected to cater to the costs arising from occupational diseases arising from exposure to noise, dust, and flooring chemicals.
That's where your workers' compensation policy comes in. This covers the following when employees gets injured or sick because of work:
Medical treatments, including the cost of doctor's appointments, hospital and emergency room visits, medication, therapy, and rehabilitation, and recovery equipment
Disability benefits
Death benefits and funeral services
Consider having your worker's compensation policy include an employer's liability coverage. The latter caters to all arising costs in the event that an employee sues your flooring business following a work-related injury.
Commercial Auto Insurance for Flooring Contractors
As a flooring contractor, chances are you use box trucks or vans to transport materials, equipment, and employees to worksites. This exposes your business to various auto exposures.
Consider this. Suppose you fail to secure your load properly, or there's an accident. The commercial auto policy steps in paying the costs arising from any damages caused by your commercial vehicle.
Overall, a commercial auto policy covers the following:
Property damage from an accident
Medical costs from an accident
Vehicle vandalism and theft
Umbrella Liability Coverage for Flooring Contractors
Umbrella or excess liability coverage increases your protection in the event that a claim exceeds what's stipulated within your general liability, commercial auto insurance, and professional liability insurance. Having excess liability insurance ensures that your business can cover the cost of claims, no matter how costly, without a lot of losses.
Carpet Installer Insurance
As a carpet installer, your primary job is to make your clients happy. You are expected to install the new carpeting as desired, in the least amount of time and with the minimum of mess and disturbance.
But, the nature of this business puts you at risk of having a claim brought against you. For starters, you could end up with a disgruntled customer or cause property damage as you move about the property. Besides, the job is rather strenuous, requiring heavy lifting, which could take a toll on your health.
As such, among the most important considerations, you ought to get carpet installers insurance. The latter is specialty insurance that helps cushion your business from the unique risks you face in the carpet installer landscape. The consequence is that you are better able to concentrate on doing the best for your clients.
