A handyman is a skilled professional that is experienced with a variety of jobs,
often done in residential and commercial buildings. A handyman may be skilled with
maintenance-type work like electrical, plumbing, repairs, and other types of trade
skills. Due to the work environment and type of work a handyman does on a daily
basis, there are also a number of risks associated with a handyman’s job, both to
the business itself and the handyman. In order to protect your handyman business
from lawsuits, litigations, or other forms of financial burden, getting proper handyman
insurance is essential.
Types of Handyman Insurance
There are a number of types of handyman insurance available for your company, which
will offer your business and assets protection against potential lawsuits, injuries,
or other risks. The following is a summary of the different types of handyman insurance
you have to choose from:
Handyman General Liability Insurance
A common insurance policy for handyman businesses is general liability insurance.
General liability protects your business from a variety of risks that can potentially
cause you financial strain, including unforeseen events. Problems that can arise
— which are protected by general liability include liability to a 3rd party arising
from negligence. For example, if there is a flood after the handyman has been working
on the customer’s plumbing which destroys some of the customer’s property, the business
can be accountable. General liability will help to cover the costs of this occurrence.
Handyman Business Owners Policy
If you want to go a step further, you can get an insurance policy that combines
general liability insurance with additional customized policies, in what is known
as a Business Owners Policy (BOP). A BOP can include any number of policies you
choose to include in this package policy for your handyman business’s protection,
such as the following:
- Structure and Contents – If you bring your handyman business to various locations
and keep your office equipment and tools in a trailer, structure and contents will
offer you financial assistance if a natural disaster destroys the trailer and contents. - Business Income and Extra Expense – Following a natural disaster or damage
from a flood or fire, you may experience a loss of business operations while repairs
take place. In this example, business income and extra expense coverage helps cover
the income you are without during this time. - Business Income and Extra Expense – Your mall kiosk may need to shut down
temporarily following an accident that damaged your equipment or supplies. In this
case, business income and extra expense will cover the loss of business income while
you are unable to operate your kiosk as well as additional expenses from relocating. - Employee Dishonesty Coverage – Unfortunately, employee dishonesty and fraudulent
activity sometimes occur. Protect your business from these acts by adding employee
dishonesty coverage to your BOP. - Electronic Data – As a handyman business, you more than likely store important
data electronically such as employee records, client information, and financial
information; protect this data with an electronic data policy on your BOP should
it get damaged or destroyed. - Products and Completed Operations – Even if you performed work as was requested,
issues can come up later as a result of the errors or mistakes. If this happens,
the products and completed operations policy of your BOP offers your company financial
protection.
Many customers and clients prefer their handymen to come from a business that is
bonded, which ensures that they will guarantee the services they plan to provide.
After signing a contract for the services, the company is bonded so that customers
have a guarantee that the work will be completed as requested. For example, if you
have agreed to repair the shingles on a client’s roof, the surety bond offers a
promise to the client you will complete the work in the amount of time detailed
on the contract.
Handyman Business Auto Insurance
Handyman businesses often use vehicles for business purposes, such as picking up
supplies or driving to their client’s home or business to complete repairs. For
this reason, business auto insurance is an essential policy for this type of business.
If your handyman is in an accident while driving the company vehicle, and is injured
or causes damage to the vehicle, these costs will be covered by business auto insurance.
If your handyman company has more than one employee, you are required by law to
carry worker’s compensation insurance. Should your employee get injured on the job,
which is a risk you take for this type of physical labor, they will be covered by
worker’s compensation. Injuries are a high risk among handymen due to the nature
of their job, so worker’s compensation is not only the law, but extremely important
for your employee’s protection.
Handyman insurance offers you peace of mind to do your job well, while knowing your
employees, business and financial assets have the best security available.
