Why It’s Important To Hire An Insured Contractor

While it may seem obvious, you would be surprised to know that not all contractors or companies are insured.

Why Is It Important For Your Contractor To Be Insured?

Hiring the wrong contractor can be huge headache, and worse yet a legal, and financial nightmare.

Hitting an underground utility, whether that’s Natural gas, Electrical, Sewer, or a Water line can be a big deal.

In order to help make sure this is not your problem here are 4 things to be aware of.

1. BC1Call:Is a free underground utility locate service for: Gas, Electrical, Sewer, and water
   1. Must be contacted 3 days prior to ANY excavation, including the top few inches.
   2. Work cannot start prior to your BC1CALL ticket being created.
   3. Work must start within 14 days of your ticket being created, and must either be completed by day 30, or the ticket extended.
   4. All utilities located on ticket must be marked on site prior to excavation.
   5. In the event of an accident the appropriate authorities need to be contacted.

2. Insurance:Contractor should have Commercial liability insurance:
   1. Valid and not expired.
   2. Insured to correct depth of excavation required. (It does no good to be insured to 6′ if the excavation is at 9′)
   3. Appropriate limits of coverage I.E $2,000,000.00.

3. Worksafe BC:Contractor should be able to provide you with a clearance letter showing coverage, as well as be familiar with excavation work standards.

4. Experience:Nothing prevents damage and lowers liability as much an experienced and safe operator. Being in a rush, or poor planning leads to accidents or worse.

By making sure your contractor is insured, you can avoid costly mistakes, and have the peace of mind that it will be taken care of if there is a problem.