If you have plans to get a small, commercial painting business going, you will need an adequately equipped business insurance policy to cover everything. It’s possible that you have already started as a paint contractor, but are you completely sure that the current business insurance policy will pay for all possible mishaps?

Unlike the average small business, commercial painters’ insurance can benefit from more specialized insurance plans. Just go through the following to make sure that your present/future business insurance policy is not missing any of the necessary coverage areas.

General Liability Insurance for Painting Contactors

General liability is the primary coverage that all business insurance plans include, irrespective of the sector.Having said that, general liabilityplans can be very different from each other, even if they are from the same insurer. The difference will be even more evident if you compare general liability coverage, as offered by different insurers.

Since we are discussing the commercial painting sector specifically, you must ensure that thegeneral liability insurance policy was designed for painters. If the policy was indeed created to help painting contractors, expect the policy to have contractor’s E&O coverage to pay for:

  • Professional negligence claims.
  • Legal costs related to defending the business (if applicable) against such claims.
  • Professional negligence awards, which would be the payment(s) as made mandatory by a judge/jury.

Professional Liability Insurance for Painters

Commercial painting requires skill and making even a small mistake can end up looking very odd on a business property. The client may ask to be compensated, or they may ask you to correct the mistake as soon as possible. In worst-case scenarios, they may even sue you for professional negligence.

Professional liability insurance coverage for paintersprotects against all such scenarios which may arise from professional negligence. The insurer should pay for the expenses, irrespective of whether it was you or your employee(s) that made the mistake. If yourcompany is sued by the client, they should pay for legal counsel and representation, if needed. They should also pay at least a portion of the final settlement/judgment awarded on losing the case.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance for Painters (Employees)

Legal requirements related to worker’s compensation insurance for a painting contractor are not any different than that of a general contractor. However, general contractors need to pay for more comprehensive coverage to protect their employees since they employ a much wider range of skilled workers than any painting contractor would need to. This also increases the chances of their employees getting hurt on the job since they can now get hurt in more ways.

Since painting contractors mostly employ painters, their chances of getting hurt and their scope of damaging the client’s property are nowhere near as varied, or as high. Consequently, general contractors need to pay more for their worker’s compensation policies.This makes it very important to check whether your current/future insurer even has a worker’s compensation plan for painters. If they do not, you could be paying the same as any general contractor, without due cause to justify the expensive policy.