Whether you are having a parking lot sealed, a new driveway installed or a street repaved, you want to make sure that you work with a reputable asphalt contractor. Otherwise, you could wind up with shoddy work that will not last as it should. You may have checked on the quality of the contractor’s work, asked your acquaintances for referrals and called the Better Business Bureau. However, if you do not make sure that your asphalt contractor is fully insured, you could still be leaving yourself open to risk.
Why Your Asphalt Contractor Should Be Fully Insured –
If Your Contractor Does Not Carry Workers’ Compensation and General Liability Insurance
Workers’ compensation is a form of insurance that virtually all businesses are required to carry on their employees. Should one of your contractor’s employees suffer a job-related injury or illness, the contractor’s workers’ compensation insurance will pay for the employee’s medical treatment and lost wages; if the employee dies as a result of a job-related incident, the policy can also pay death benefits to the employee’s family. If your contractor does not carry workers’ compensation insurance, the injured employee or his family could sue you for lost wages, medical care and/or death benefits.
Workers’ compensation insurance covers the contractor’s employees, but it will not cover injuries to your employee, family member, customer or other party who is not the contractor’s employee — even if the contractor or one of his workers is directly responsible for the injury. Nor will workers’ compensation cover damages to property caused by the contractor or his employees. For example, if one of your contractor’s employees accidentally destroys your landscaping, damages a customer’s car or causes one of your employees to be injured in a fall, workers’ compensation insurance will not help you or the contractor. However, if your contractor carries general liability insurance, his policy will pay for repairs to the damaged property or for the medical expenses and lost wages incurred by a person injured who is not an employee of the contractor. If your contractor does not have a general liability policy, however, the affected party could sue you to recover the costs of repairs or medical care and other expenses.
If the property damaged is your own, you typically have two options if the contractor does not have liability insurance. You could sue the contractor if you are able to find an attorney to accept the case, but it could take years before your case is settled. You might also file a claim with your own insurance company if the damage is covered. For example, if one of the contractor’s employees drives a truck through the wall of your business or home, your insurance company would probably pay for repairs and seek restitution from the contractor — but it is possible that the claim could affect your rates.
Protect Yourself
When you hire a paving contractor who is not fully insured, you are gambling that nothing will go wrong and that no one will be injured. Unfortunately, if you are wrong, the impact to your finances could be catastrophic. By making sure that your contractor carries adequate insurance, you are reducing your risks and safeguarding your assets.
Alpha Paving is a paving company in Austin, Tx and we emphasize safety on every job. However, we are also fully insured, so our customers can rest easy in the unlikely event that an incident occurs. We offer a full range of asphalt and concrete services, including asphalt paving, parking lot striping, sealcoating, road construction, speed bumps, street maintenance and crack repair. Our customers include municipalities, subdivisions, apartment complexes, hotels, restaurants, churches, schools, airports, shopping malls, office parks and health care facilities. We provide quality workmanship at reasonable prices. If you would like to request a free quote, you can complete our form online or call (512) 677-9001.
We also serve the areas of : Buda, Kyle, Killeen, Cedar Park, Leander, Belton, Hutto, Lakeway, Lago Vista, Taylor !