insurance for house painter

[Tom Desmond]

Hi, I received an reasonable offer to paint my house from a painter who
has experience in the area and good local references, but he does not
have insurance. I would like to hire him, but I am leery of the risk.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

TIA
Tom Desmond

[dav...@myremarq.com]

I would keep looking.

His lack of the necessary licensing and insurance would seem to indicate
that this guy is not a professional. I would be concerned that he might
skimp in other areas like the prep. work, paint quality, etc.

**** Posted from RemarQ - http://www.remarq.com - Discussions Start Here (tm) ****

[cons...@iii.org]

This is the Insurance Information Institute - a non-profit organization
dedicated to educating the public about property & casualty insurance. We are
not lawyers but you should be very careful about the agreement you sign with
any contractor and if he does not have the proper insurance coverages do not
use him. Send the certificates or evidence of coverages to your insurance
company when you get it.

In article <371B3AE7...@intrex.net>,
Tom Desmond <tdes...@intrex.net> wrote:

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[Daniel Hicks]

Tom Desmond wrote:
>
> Hi, I received an reasonable offer to paint my house from a painter who
> has experience in the area and good local references, but he does not
> have insurance. I would like to hire him, but I am leery of the risk.
> Does anyone have any suggestions?

What if he falls off a ladder and sues you?

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[HLanthier]

Wouldn't your Homeowners Insurance cover any injuries /claims that might arise
from falling off the ladder???
Sarah at HLAN...@aol.com

[Daniel Hicks]

Depends. Your HO insurance company will likely look for excuses to duck
any claims, plus they might have a relatively low limit on this sort of
thing. In any event you could end up in the middle of a lawsuit as the
"injured party" looks for a "deep pocket".

[Bruce]

There is no way to be completely protected. Even if the contractor has
Worker's Comp, that doesn't prevent an injured worker from suing a
homeowner. It MAY deter the worker from suing, but it doesn't
necessarily stop him from doing so.

Worker's Comp, like any insurance coverage, is subject to exceptions and
denials of payment. For example, in Texas one of the exceptions to
payment for a claim is if the accident occurred due to an "Act of God".
It doesn't take much imagination to invent a scenario where almost any
accident could fall into this category.

Overall, I believe the homeowner is better protected when the contractor
and all the employees sign a "Hold Harmless" agreement. This is a legal
document whereby the contractor and the workers give up the right to sue
the homeowner--regardless of the cause of the accident.

It's not foolproof but I believe this offers the homeowner the most
protection. Worker's Comp is mainly protection for the worker and the
contractor.

Bruce
A.&B. Construction
Houston, TX

In article <371B3AE7...@intrex.net>, tdes...@intrex.net says...

> Hi, I received an reasonable offer to paint my house from a painter who
> has experience in the area and good local references, but he does not
> have insurance. I would like to hire him, but I am leery of the risk.
> Does anyone have any suggestions?
>

> TIA
> Tom Desmond
>
>