Frequently Asked Insurance Questions - Claims Scenarios - Risk Management Tips
Frequently Asked Insurance Questions for Site Preparation Contractors
These are the most common types of commercial insurance for Site Prep Contractors.*
- What Insurance is usually needed for Site Prep Contractors? Site Prep Contractors usually need at least General Liability and Workers Compensation. If the company owns vehicles, then commercial auto insurance is usually required.
- What additional insurance can be needed for Site Prep Contractors? In addition to the above, Contractor's Equipment insurance, Umbrella/Excess insurance, Pollution Liability Insurance, and Management and Cyber Liability insurance may be recommended.
- What is General Liability Insurance? The commercial general liability (CGL) policy is a standard insurance policy issued to business organizations to protect them against liability claims for bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) arising out of premises, operations, products, and completed operations; and advertising and personal injury (PI) liability. https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/commercial-general-liability-policy
- What is Workers Compensation Insurance? Workers compensation is the system by which no-fault statutory benefits prescribed in state law are provided by an employer to an employee (or the employee's family) due to a job-related injury (including death) resulting from an accident or occupational disease. https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/workers-compensation
- What is Contractors Equipment Insurance? Commercial contractors equipment insurance is a broad-ranging policy designed to cover damaged or missing contracting equipment.
- What is Umbrella/Excess Insurance? It generally is written over various primary liability policies, such as the business auto policy, commercial general liability policy, watercraft and aircraft liability policies, and employers liability coverage. The umbrella policy serves three purposes: it provides excess limits when the limits of underlying liability policies are exhausted by the payment of claims, it drops down and picks up where the underlying policy leaves off when the aggregate limit of the underlying policy in question is exhausted by the payment of claims, and it provides protection against some claims not covered by the underlying policies, subject to the assumption by the named insured of a self-insured retention. Https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/umbrella-liability-policy
- What is Pollution/Environmental Liability Insurance? Helps protect businesses from unexpected pollution exposures that may not be covered by standard casualty and property policies. It fills an important insurance coverage gap for contractors.
- What is Management Liability? Management liability insurance is a combination of critical coverages designed to protect directors, officers, managers, and business entities from exposure arising from governance, finance, benefits, and management activities. Also referred to as executive liability insurance, this includes directors and officers (D&O) liability, employment practices liability (EPL), fiduciary liability, and "special crime" insurance. These coverages may be written as stand-alone insurance policies or combined into a single "package" policy. https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/management-liability-insurance
- What is Cyber Insurance? Cyber insurance can provide coverage for the business (data recovery and restoration, business interruption, ransomware etc). It can also provide third party coverage for legal fees/defense costs, regulatory fines, claims from affected parties etc.
*This list of insurance coverages is not comprehensive. Your Insurance should be tailored to your company and its operations.
Claim Scenarios for Site Preparatinon Contractors
These are a few common insurance claim scenarios Site Prep Contractors and other Contractors have experienced and for you to be aware of.*
Workers Compensation Insurance Claim
A Contractor falls into a trench on a job site and breaks an ankle.
General Liability Insurance Claim
Your Excavating a site for a foundation. Your excavation work weakened a near by building causing the building to have stress fractures. The nearby damaged building collapses injuring people inside.
Commercial Auto Insurance Claim
Your employee is driving a front loaded down a public road and gets too close to a cyclist who falls and injures himself.
Contractor's Equipment Insurance Claim
Your bulldozer is parked at a job site over night. A storm causes a tree to fall onto your bulldozer severely damaging it.
Contractor Pollution Liability Insurance Claim
Excavation contractor spread contaminated soil throughout a job site. The contractor was held partially responsible for exacerbating the contaminated soil.
*These are common insurance claims for Site Prep Contractors and is not comprehensive. Its best to talk to a licensed insurance agent about your potential claim.
Risk Management Tips for Site Preparation Contractors
Below are some common Risk Management Best Practices to help you reduce your Total Cost of Risk including your Commercial Insurance.*
Commercial Auto Risk Management Tips
- Run MVRs at minimum annually on your drivers.
- Invest in Inward and Outward facing cameras starting with your heaviest vehicles first and outward facing cameras.
- Install telematics if you are willing to improve driver habits and coach drivers on improving their driving skills.
- Have a written Distracted Driving Policy signed by all drivers.
Workers Compensation Risk Management Tips
- Prioritize workplace safety.
- Promote a Safety Culture from the top down of the organization.
- Provide comprehensive training to all employees in addition weekly toolbox/tailgate talks.
- Encourage employees to report injuries immediately and then promptly report them to your insurance carrier.
- Gather as much information about the claim including accident reports, witness statements, and medical documentation.
- Have a Return/Stay at Work Program including modified job duties encouraging employees to return to work as soon as they are medically cleared.