Pro tip: always double check your subcontractor's insurance before they start work

Last month I had a crew doing drywall at a house in Cary, NC and halfway through day 2 one of their guys fell off a ladder and broke his wrist. Turned out the sub's insurance had lapsed 3 weeks earlier and nobody caught it. I ended up having to cover his medical bills out of pocket since my general liability didn't kick in for subs I hired. Cost me about $4,200. Now I make every sub send me a fresh certificate of insurance the morning they start a job. Anyone else had to learn this lesson the hard way?

2 comments

2 Comments

rose_young10d ago

Oh man, I feel your pain on that one. I learned a similar lesson a few years back when a painting sub's ladder slipped and took out my customer's brand new cedar fence. His insurance had expired the month before and I ended up eating the full $1,800 to replace that fence plus my deductible. Now I keep a running spreadsheet of every sub's policy numbers and expiration dates right on my phone, because apparently I'm a glutton for punishment who needs to be reminded the hard way.

henryf539d ago

I read somewhere that like 40% of contractors don't actually verify subs insurance until something goes wrong, which is wild to me lol. That spreadsheet idea is solid though, I actually started doing something similar after a buddy of mine got burned by a roofer who let his policy lapse mid-job. It's crazy how fast these little details can snowball into a massive headache and an empty wallet. Definitely stealing that phone spreadsheet idea for my own sanity.