Notes

Insurance For Home Inspectors
E&O insurance for home inspectors is a specialist policy that protects you from professional negligence claims made against you as a home inspector. The reason you may wish to consider this type of insurance is that professional negligence can be expensive. If you're a home inspector then you've probably been through the experience of watching a client rip off their builder or letting in a faulty fridge. It's bad enough when it actually happens, but what's worse is when your insurance company finds out about it after the event. They then have to fork out tens of thousands of pounds to get your customer back on track. If you have an adequate policy this shouldn't be too much of a problem, but if you're on a tight budget you may struggle to find a decent policy.

Most policies for a home inspector will cover you for the time you spend working on the house. However, some will also include the cost of parts and work that you do while inspecting the property. This works out cheaper because it's only the work that's covered by the policy that's pricey. The other factor is that if the work you do while inspecting goes wrong you can be held legally liable for the cost of rectifying the situation. For example, if you discover water leakage in a wall but you don't detect it until the home inspectors are through, you can find yourself with a hefty bill.

If you've got a building and contents policy for the property then you may think you won't need to take out E&O insurance for home inspectors. However, if you want to protect yourself against claims from the builder and want to make sure that your customer is properly insured you need to check the details of your policy carefully. The first thing you should do is contact your provider and ask them whether the policy would cover you for any work done while the building is still standing. The majority of providers will not stipulate that work needs to be carried out before the completion date of the property. If your provider does stipulate that work has to be carried out before completion then it will usually be covered by your home contents policy.

If the provider does stipulate that work has to be carried out before completion then check the wording of the policy carefully. It may say something like 'the building must be structurally sound'. If this was written in the contract then your policy would cover the cost of an inspection before completion. The inspector may come and do an inspection, carry out relevant reports and then write a report. Your provider should be happy with the report and offer you cover.

A claim may also arise when the home inspector finds some damages that are not your fault. If you are left with no choice but to pay for these damages, apart from the repair costs, you may have to enter into a legal agreement to ensure that you are paid for the damage. A typical arrangement is where the inspector's service company pays for the damage and you enter into a legal agreement or payment settlement. If both parties agree then this can often be covered by the home inspector's policy.

Another situation where your insurance policy would cover the home inspector's costs is if the home inspector calls in a 'witness statement'. This refers to any evidence that a third person saw the damage prior to the claim being made. In some cases this evidence could form critical evidence and could save you from having to pay compensation. The insurance company will often have a policy where it pays out to anyone who can provide a witness that can corroborate their evidence. It is always best if you can provide solid, verifiable evidence as your witness is then more likely to be confident about their claim. This would be a good reason to take the time to check the contents of your fire insurance policy as there may be an exclusion for fire damage.

It is very important that you are aware of the exclusions and restrictions that apply when making any home improvement or property insurance claims. In many cases these exclusions and restrictions are purely a legal requirement that was put in place by your insurance company. For example, it is usually not legal to make changes to a property without the consent of the owner - so any claim for work done by a valeting service or carpenter must be agreed beforehand.

As a business you have contractual rights to your premises and the rights of the people using them. If there are damages to these for which you are legally responsible then your inspector's policy would cover the cost of repair. However, car insurance spearfish might be possible to take out public liability insurance or workers' compensation to protect yourself against claims by your employees. This could protect your business in the event that a customer becomes ill or is injured on your premises
Here's my website: https://insureinfoq.com/2021/12/12/how-to-shop-for-car-insurance-in-spearfish/