Sovergien? is that a agent?
I am going to be streight with you guys I am green in this department and I need the help.
And as the other gentimen mention, yes the agent ust wants to sell me the chepest.
On liability you get what you pay for, a policy that goes from year to year will always be the lowest prices, but provides little coverage, should the claim for damage come to you in the 13 month or any time beyond, your on your own, where as if you have a liability policy with continued coverages, and completed operations along with errors and omissions, you have decent coverages with liability, some agents will not take the time to explain the advantages of good coverages if you come in looking for cheap, they want their cut, another thing is comp insurance, in some states you are not required to carry it if you are a one man show, but who in their right mind would let someone work on their proprety, that does not have comp coverages.
If it is your choice, get short term and long term disability and health care coverage in lieu of W/C coverage. You are going to want those anyway, and no reason to pay for W/C if your other insurances will cover you.
There are a few gotchas, including a lot of disability policies that don't fully cover you for being able to work PT or being able to work outside your normal occupation. In other words, they might make you take a PT job as a greeter at WalMart and deduct the pay from your disability check if you can't work as an electrician.
But the poster is right about his point. Many places want to see WC coverage even though in reality it does not protect a third party at all. It is mostly to protect the employer.
I do mostly service work, not sub contracting, but the few contractors that sub me REQUIRE that I carry w/c. Even though I presently have no employees and the w/c wouldn't cover me anyway because I'm not an employee, I still carry it! At the end of every year, the w/c provider audits my payroll records to see if they can squeeze more $$$ out of me. (w/c is based on employee salaries) Every year, I get a nice check in the mail for overpayment!:grin: Sounds stupid, but that's the game! The contractors that sub out need a w/c certificate to show their ins. companies that all subs are covered when they get audited. No w/c certificate means they pay for it based on how much they gave you throughout the year!
Sovergien? is that a agent?
Yep $800/yr for WC that I can't use, but my biggest clients require it. Cost of doing business.
In MA when I go to pull a permit I need to provide proof of liability insurance and workers comp coverage.
http://www.mass.gov/Eeops/docs/dps/appl/form_bbrs_aff_builders.pdf
Bob,
Unless something has changed recently, as a one man shop in MA with no employees, workers comp is not required.