If you work as a commercial plumber contractor, then we don't need to even bother listing all of the things that can go wrong. From moldy walls stemming from neglected leaks to flood damage and so on, the job can be a lot more complicated than you'd expect.
What they tell you is that the job mainly consists of sticking pipes together so that people can have running water in their homes, but the reality of the work can get very messy very quickly.
The irony of the job: Being prepared for everything means acknowledging that you can't be prepared for everything. There will be issues that you can't prevent, and problems that you can't fix with the tools in your truck. You're probably going to have a robust insurance package to ensure that you are protected against a wide range of mishaps and unforeseen circumstance, from professional liability to insurance for your work vehicle and tools. And of course, your commercial plumber contractor general liability insurance policy will serve as a foundation for that insurance plan.
If you've never looked into the fine print of your insurance package, your general liability policy is the part that protects you against a lot of the most disastrous and expensive claims. These will generally include the following:
- Faulty installations. We all know that plumbing isn't always a precise science. The glue you use might wind up being recalled because it has a tendency to get brittle and crack after only a year or so. You might wind up installing a pipe that had a manufacturing defect. But, the first person who shoulders the blame following a faulty installation is usually the plumber. You need protection against these claims.
- Property damage. So nobody told you that the electrician got creative and hid the wiring inside a PVC pipe where a water pipe should go, and now the client is looking at you and your crew like you're the Three Stooges. Property damage happens. Flooding, expensive repairs and damaged walls can happen as a matter of course even on the most routine jobs.
- Injury. Maybe it's not your fault that the client decided to go running across the slippery, wet bathroom floor, but that doesn't seem to stop them from wanting to sue you. That's where injury liability protection comes in.
These aren't the only things that can go wrong on a job. There's a lot more to plumbing than just patching up leaky pipes and installing new sinks. There's quite a bit that can go wrong at every level of the business, from on-the-job mishaps to problems at the office. Running your own company isn't easy, and even when everything goes right you can start to feel like lawyers are seeing a target on your back.
But, a general liability policy is probably going to be the policy that you wind up leaning on more often than the others. All those worries you have about the liability issues that you'd never be able to pay for out of pocket, that's what general liability covers.
Contact a local insurance agent to help you figure out what’s best for you.