Your Iowa City, Iowa construction project has been going smoothly, but you've had some issues in the past with mistakes costing you excessive money. This situation occurs from time to time in the field but doesn't have to be a significant problem if you take the time to purchase insurance.
Most of the time, this insurance will be a policy held by the builder and will go into effect on every job that they take. However, you may need to pay extra to get the policy to cover your project. You should always pay this price because insurance will keep you and your project safe.
The Nature of This Insurance Policy
Construction insurance is an exciting policy type that works to protect you and others in a variety of ways. These policies are defined by a variety of factors, including classification by the National American Industry Classification System or NAICS. This group has collected a variety of information about various types of industrial sectors and works to help identify what types of policies are an excellent choice for specific building fields, careers, and businesses.
For example, sub-sectors that fall under this heading include new buildings, industrial buildings, for-sale housing, structural design, water and sewer lines, oil and gas pipelines, electrical and wiring installation, poured concrete, commercial building concepts, highway building, drywall, insulation, most types of masonry, siding design, flooring contracting, painting, various types of carpentry, and even remodelers. These policies typically have a few unique purposes.
First of all, an insurance policy may protect you if your builder makes a mistake. Let's say that you're getting a new home and your builders put the wrong-sized door in the front of your home. Without insurance, you'd likely have to pay them extra money in labor to replace the door. This extra money is often budgeted into your bid, anyway, as about 20 percent of a project's budget is set aside for fixing errors. However, insurance can help you avoid this situation by paying for the builder to correct the mistake.
Just as importantly, an insurance policy can also protect the construction experts in a variety of ways. For example, liability policies help pay for lawsuits if somebody is injured on a job site and wants to sue the company. These policies typically include a multitude of different elements, such as workers' compensation, building mistake coverage, and more. Try to find a builder with a diverse and effective policy to ensure that you don't pay too much money for their services.
Types of Policies to Consider
The myriad of insurance options from which you can pick may make it difficult to find one that is right for you. The following choices are among the most popular for the field and will give you and your builder the comprehensive coverage you need to keep your project and your home safe:
Talk to your builder about their insurance option to see what kind of coverage they hold. In most cases, they'll likely have coverage for all of these items. You'll then pay a small fee for each project to apply these policies to your site. These fees are usually quite low and built directly into your costs.
Mistakes to Avoid With This Insurance
Just like with most types of insurance, mistakes are easy to make with these policies. These mistakes can have a variety of adverse effects for you and the building expert. Some might not have enough liability to protect against injuries, which could cost you a lot of money if somebody gets hurt. However, other types of mistakes are more common and typically cause a multitude of issues that may make your project hard to finish.
For example, you may not purchase enough coverage for your project and find yourself in a severe problem. Typically, a policy should cover up to $1 million or $2 million per project. Talk to your construction expert to learn what type of policy they have, how much they pay for it, and how much it covers. In this way, you can be prepared to get the best plan and insure your project at a price that works best for your needs.
Inadequate subcontractor coverage is another common mistake. Simply put, your building firm may hire out subcontractors to do certain types of tasks, such as putting shingles on a roof. The insurance policy doesn't automatically cover these individuals unless the builder makes sure to include them. In most cases, though, the subcontractor will need to buy their insurance, which can complicate this process even further.
Finding a Policy Option
As you can see, insurance provides you and your builder with a strong level of high-quality protection. If you avoid making any of the mistakes outlined in the section above, you should have no difficulty finding a policy and a builder who has your best needs in mind for every project.
So if you plan on any Iowa City, IA construction projects over the next few years, you should seriously consider an insurance policy. You may be able to buy a separate policy to protect yourself, one that will provide more comprehensive and high-quality payments for your jobs.