Roof gutters and paint work at my home, just in case insuran

by liliantbn » Thu Mar 28, 2013 05:31 pm

A friend is an expert roofer and has offered to redo my roof. I agreed and bought the materials but found out his insurance coverage is through his regular job and would not cover him or his assistants while they work for me. I have no homeowners insurance. Can I buy insurance for the project, maybe as workers comp since they (3 or 4 persons) will be my employees for a couple of weeks (or less) I would not mind paying a month just in case someone was injured. Is there such insurance and how much is it? Other properties are far away and area is enclosed, so there is no risk to others, and I don't care about damages to our property, my concern if for on the job injuries to the workers so it would be worker's comp. Can I get it for a short time? even if it goes in the guy's name to cover him and his workers, he will want me to pay for it since he rarely works independently from his main job. Thanks.

Total Comments: 2

Posted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 10:58 pm Post Subject:

You are not employing these people. If you were, you'd be paying payroll taxes, Social Security, etc. You are really just contracting with them to do work. The same as any other company there to repair your roof, move furniture, mow your grass, etc.

If one of them is injured you'd only be responsible if you were somehow liable for their injury. If you were legally liable in some way then your home owners insurance would address the loss. Otherwise the person who was injured would need to address their own injury.

Posted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:31 am Post Subject:

I have no homeowners insurance.

And why not? Opposed to it philosophically . . . independently wealthy and able to afford to make any repairs caused by an insurable risk, such as fire or windstorm, or personal liability for your negligence around town?

Buy homeowners insurance for the one month, then cancel after the job is complete. Then you might be covered.

The problem is, you are doing business with an unlicensed contractor, and state laws prohibit that person from accepting your job. As a licensed contractor, he would be required to carry the worker's compensation insurance, not you.

You are doing everything in the worst possible manner. Any losses you suffer will be your own out of pocket expense. Your home may end up with a shiny new roof, but if one of the "workers" gets hurt on your job, he may be the new owner of your home after the court gets done with the case.

And as tcope said, these are not your employees. If they were, you would be shocked at the cost of their workers' compensation insurance. Roofers are among the highest risk occupational classes.

Maybe just keep your fingers crossed and nothing will go wrong. But that's the reason most homeowners buy insurance -- because every now and then you have to pick your nose or scratch your butt, and in that blink of an instant, your fingers won't be crossed and Murphy's Law will catch up with you.

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