We’re certain you’ve done a good job in getting the best insurance coverage for you home for the money you have available.  But, in today’s real world, are you covered for any eventuality???  Probably not.  It would cost you a fortune to cover every possible loss scenario.  So, you do the best you can with what you have and hope for the best, right?

Perhaps…but there are more things you can do.  Think about this for a moment.  With the financial situation the way it is in our world, rather than selling their home and upgrading to something better, bigger, or newer, a large percentage of folks are opting to spend their money on upgrading or improving what they already have.  They are turning to contractors and other professional builders to put improvements and upgrades into their home and avoiding the hassle of leaving a good neighborhood, perhaps changing school districts, dealing with the job of trying to sell a current home in a declining market while at the same time pouring money into a new house with everything that entails (all new drapes, furnishings, appliances, etc.).

The law in NY reads: In addition to the construction worker, the people responsible for the worker’s safety have an obligation to ensure all safety measures are in place. When they say the people that is the Contractor and YOU!

Let’s face it, though. No matter how good a contractor is nor how highly he comes recommended, accidents can happen.  IF, for example, one of the contractor’s employees is injured on the job, the contractor should have insurance to cover all his expenses.  Should…you need to check and see that he does.  Beyond that, however, the simple facts are that even if the contractor does have a policy to cover his employee, that employee can turn around and sue you for additional money, perhaps big money.

For your own protection, you need to do two things before that contractor swings the first hammer blow.  You need to contact your home insurance agent, explain to him what work you are contracting for and who is going to do it.  Ask your agent if you have adequate coverage and, if not, get it before work starts.  The second thing to do is to make sure the contractor has you listed as an additional insured party for the term of the job.

What we’re telling you above might seem like overkill, but please consider this:  Accidents do happen, different people, when injured, respond in different ways, and you need to cover all the bases to make sure you don’t end up being a pot of gold for somebody else’s lawyer.