Managing certificates of insurance every year can be a time consuming and daunting task for many contractors, especially those who have a large subcontractor exposure. It is very important for contractors to maintain current certificates of insurance on file for their subcontractors. It is also important that contractors provide their own certificates of insurance to contractors which they perform work for, as well as local municipalities in which they work and other interested parties. Briggs Agency can help save you time and money by helping you manage certificates of insurance in your business.
A contractor must first understand why it is important to obtain a certificate of insurance, along with a signed subcontractor agreement, before the subcontractor does the work. It is important for a number of reasons and a few examples include the following:
- You want to verify that the subcontractors do in fact have business insurance (specifically general liability and workers compensation) with a reputable insurance company.
- You will need to provide your subcontractor certificates of insurance to your own insurance company when it comes time for the audit of your own general liability and workers compensation policies. If your subcontractor does not have their own general liability or workers compensation, your insurance company will charge you an additional premium to cover the exposure of an uninsured subcontractor.
- The transfer of risk. You want your subcontractor to be responsible for damages or injuries that result from their work. Having your subcontractor name your business as “additionally insured” under their general liability coverage will provide you some protection under your subs insurance policy. You can also request your subcontractor’s insurance company to “waive their right to subrogation” under their general liability and workers compensation policies.
The insurance agents at Briggs Agency can work with you to make sure that the certificates of insurance you receive from your subcontractors are in compliance with your subcontractor agreement. In addition, we can maintain a file of all your subcontractor certificates for you, so when it is time for your audit, we can easily provide those to the auditor, preventing an additional premium charge for uninsured subcontractors.
Briggs Agency also has a professional commercial insurance servicing staff who responds quickly to your requests for a certificate of insurance to be sent to a client or other certificate holder. Our seamless new policy process and renewal policy process includes verifying all of the certificate holders you need COIs sent to, and actually sending them by mail, email, or fax.
Maintaining your own business certificates of insurance and those of your subcontractors does not have to tie up your administrative staff’s time. Contact us to review your entire insurance program and see why contractors of all types throughout Indiana and Illinois have chosen the Briggs Agency to handle their insurance for over 70 years.
Also Read: What Type Of Insurance Should An Independent Contractor Carry?
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