If you’ve come across roofing contractors in the past, you may have seen claims like, “we’re fully insured and licensed” on their website, advertising, or marketing materials. This sure sounds nice, but what does it actually mean? And more importantly, why should you care?
WHY DO INSURANCE AND CERTIFICATIONS MATTER FOR ROOFING CONTRACTORS?
When you are shopping around for a reliable residential roofing company, one of your top qualifying questions should be asking whether or not they carry liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance.
Liability insurance covers damage to your property while the project is ongoing, so it gets you off the hook from any responsibility and having to pay out of your own pocket if goes wrong over the course of your roofing job. For example, if a ladder falls and comes crashing through your glass window, it’s not on you to pay out of pocket to fix it. Sounds pretty good, right? A reliable residential roofing contractor will, at a minimum, carry both.
Many US states require roofing companies to be fully insured; HOWEVER, there are a lot of roofers out there who still do business without these important credentials. But here’s the kicker…some contractors may tell you that they are insured when they actually aren’t (GASP). That’s why it’s critical that if they tell you they are insured that they provide you with proof. There are a ton of risks associated with hiring unqualified, uninsured companies, including lower-quality workmanship and zero coverage for accidents or damage that may occur during the replacement process, so getting proof of insurance is pretty reasonable request on your part.
“A buddy of mine is a handyman who does roofing on the side is helping me out.”
Well, good for your buddy, but are they insured?
Even if you have a close friend, neighbor, or relative who claims they know how to install a roof and volunteers to help you out for a lower cost than a reputable, professional contractor, it doesn’t change the fact that them being uninsured and uncertified puts you, the homeowner, exposed to a number of costly risks.
We’re not saying that your friend is going to do a bad job on your roof—they may be great at what they do! What we’re saying is that if your friend or a member of their crew were to slip, fall, and get injured while working on your roof, who will be held responsible for paying their hefty medical bills? YOU, that’s who. And if their injuries render them unable to go back to work, you’ll be responsible for their worker’s compensation as well. That’s a lot of responsibility to take on in addition to getting a new roof.
"The job is only going to take a few hours. I doubt anything’s going to happen in that short of a time.”
We certainly hope that you’re right, but the fact of the matter is that roofing is a hazardous business and accidents can and do happen. in a 2019 report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), it was concluded that roofing contractors had a work fatality rate more than 10 times the average rate of work fatalities per year.
According to Roofing Contractor Magazine, the startling figure comes from the BLS’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries in 2018 released in December 2019. According to the data, roofing fatalities accounted for 96 of the 5,250 work-related fatal injuries that occurred in 2018.
“This equates to a fatal injury rate of 51.5 per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers. By comparison, the average rate across all occupations is 3.5.
To put it into perspective, other occupations with high fatal injury rates around this level include logging workers (97.6), fishers and related fishing workers (77.4), and aircraft pilots and flight engineers (58.9). For a more stark contrast, police and sheriff’s patrol officers saw a rate of 13.7 injury fatalities per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers in 2018.”
- Chris Gray, Staff Writer, Roofing Contractor Magazine
“But this contractor installed a bunch of roofs on my street, so they must be insured!”
Just because a roofing company looks legitimate or has done work for your neighbors, does not mean they’re insured. And, as we said previously, just because your state requires them to be insured, it’s important not to assume that they are.
In fact, many roofing companies know that the typical homeowner does not have a full understanding of insurance and take advantage of this in order to win your business.
Here are a few tips/red flags to be aware of before landing on a contractor:
The salesperson may show you a copy of their company’s insurance certificate, but it may not be in force (i.e., the policyholder has been paying their insurance on time and the policy is active).
If the name on the policy is different than the name of the contractor on your contract, that’s a red flag.
A contractor may have a valid insurance policy, but the coverage may not include roofing. Wait… what?
“why IN THE WORLD would a contractor WHO does ROOFing have aN INSURANCE policy that doesn’t include roofing???”
Well, it’s very possible that this so-called roofing contractor"—in an effort to dodge the cost of roofing insurance—has declared themselves a general contractor by inserting "roofing & construction", "roofing and remodeling", "roofing and renovation", etc. This is because general contractor insurance is much cheaper. Pretty shady, huh?
To assure your protection, a trustworthy, professional, and insured roofer will be happy to give you the name of their insurance carrier and agent, allowing you the opportunity to independently contact the carrier to verify that the policy is in force and covers roofing.
“The contractor I hired told me they’re exempt from carrying insurance.”
Any contractor who claims they’re exempt from carrying insurance, that your homeowner's insurance will cover you, or that they are self-insured, may not be telling the truth. It’s something that’s important to be aware of and is simply not worth taking the chance!
Let’s Sum up what we’ve learned
We did not write this blog to talk badly about local handymen, nor to scare you into thinking all roofing contractors are out to take advantage of homeowners. We wrote this blog to share our knowledge about working with uninsured contractors and the risks it poses to homeowners.
With that said, here are a few key takeaways:
A high-quality residential roofing contract should, at a minimum, carry liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance.
Without the proper coverage from your contractor, you could be held personally responsible for paying the costs of damages to your property, an injury on the job, and subsequent worker’s compensation claims.
Although many states require contractors to be insured, not all of them are. It’s important not to assume that they are.
It’s not uncommon for roofing companies to take advantage of homeowners’ lack of knowledge when it comes to insurance in order to make a sale.
Not all “roofing contractors” carry roofer’s insurance in an attempt to avoid certain insurance costs.
The more information you have and questions you ask about a contractor’s insurance, the better off you will be.
Greenawalt Roofing is fully-insured, with a number of certifications to our name that help our customers feel comfortable that they’ve chosen the right partner. Getting a new roof should be a fun and exciting experience, not one that leaves you and your personal assets at risk.