What kind of insurance do painters and paperhangers need?
Why painters and paperhangers need insurance
Like any business, painting and paperhanging contracting businesses need protection. Insurance can help protect your business, your talent, and your hard work!
By the nature of your work, you may encounter several hazards daily. While you likely pride yourself on the quality of your work and the strict safety measures you have in place, accidents can still happen! In your line of work, you may encounter respiratory hazards or other dangers from working at heights and in confined spaces. Additionally, there’s the risk of injury from falling objects, slips and falls, etc.
Insurance can help protect you and your business if someone is injured as a result of your work, while on your property, or if their property is damaged by or as a result of you or your staff.
You need business insurance to help protect yourself and your business. When your business has the coverage it needs, you can focus solely on your craft, on serving your customers, and on growing your business!
Types of coverages you need and what Merchants offers
Merchants’ MAP® Contractors Package is designed especially for contractors such as painters and paperhangers! A few of our automatic coverages include:
- Commercial General Liability Insurance – Also called general liability (or GL) insurance, this helps protect your business from third-party claims involving bodily injury, property damage, and more. This coverage protects you if a customer is injured in your business office, for example, or if you damage a customer’s property while working at their site. Some of the included GL coverages are:
- Blanket Waiver of Subrogation – Merchants agrees to not seek recovery from a third party with whom you have a written contract that requires us to do so.
- Primary and Non-Contributory – When required by written contract, coverage provided to an additional insured is on a primary basis and Merchants will not seek contribution from the additional insured’s own policy.
- Employment Practices Liability (EPL) – EPL coverage protects you against claims of discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination.
- Inland Marine Insurance – This protects products, materials and equipment when transported over land or while temporarily stored by a third party.1
- Contractors Equipment Coverage – Protects your equipment and valuable tools, such as paint sprayers, ladders, extension poles, and brushes, and includes coverages such as rented equipment and employee tools and clothing, with various limits.
- Installation Coverage – Protects your property such as materials, supplies and fixtures intended to be installed, while at the job site, in temporary storage or in transit.
Need Additional Coverage?
Merchants also offers Optional Coverages to complete your Painting/Paperhanging Insurance policy. While MAP® Contractors Package provides comprehensive included coverages for your business, you may want to add additional coverages, such as:
- Additional Insured Options – Blanket or Scheduled – Provides liability protection for the additional insured under the named insured’s policy.
- Contractors Errors and Omissions Coverage (Not available in Vermont) – Contractors Errors & Omissions (E&O) coverage is protection for claims when a contractor’s work is allegedly faulty or defective, and is installed or incorporated into other products or property causing a loss associated with the replacement or reworking of the defective work.
- Cyber Liability Coverage (Not available in Vermont) – This provides comprehensive data security and privacy coverage that address both first party losses and third party liability claims, expert claims handling and breach response services in the event of a suspected breach, and a risk management website which provides information, guidelines and tools to help mitigate risk before a breach occurs.
Commercial Property Insurance
This covers your property such as buildings and/or their contents when damage is caused by a covered cause of loss such as fire.
Building and Business Personal Property Coverage
When Building and/or Business Personal Property Coverage is written, some of the included property coverages are:
- Business Income and Extra Expense – Provides reimbursement of net lost business income and continuing normal operating expenses, including ordinary payroll due to the suspension of your business operations from a covered loss.
- Equipment Breakdown Coverage – Equipment Breakdown coverage responds to the cost of repairing or replacing mechanical, electrical or pressure systems equipment that suffers a breakdown. Covered property can include compressors, pumps, computers, and boilers.
- Communication Equipment – Provides coverage for loss of or damage to Communication Equipment used in your business from any of the covered causes of loss. Communication Equipment includes, but is not limited to, cellular / mobile telephones, pagers, and personal digital assistants (PDAs).
When you have the right coverage, you gain the financial peace of mind you need to pour your full focus into your clients’ needs and the success of your painting/paperhanging business!
Click here to learn more about Merchants’ coverage options for painters and paperhangers.
Ready to chat about your business insurance needs? Use our Find an Agent tool to locate an independent insurance agent near you!
This blog was originally published on April 14, 2021.
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