When it comes to hiring a painting contractor, make sure that you chose a painting contractor that is fully insured. As a customer, you should be aware that if the contractor states that they are insured when they indeed are not, you could open yourself up to a personal injury lawsuit should they or one of their workers get injured.

I have been in business for 12 years and started out with liability insurance only. That was fine when I was working alone and didn’t fall. However, if your contractor or one of their workers get injured on the job, this could leave you, the home owner, open to a personal injury lawsuit.

Georgia law requires that as a contractor, if I have 3 or more employees, then I must have a workman’s comp insurance policy for each of my employees. So as my business grew I had to buy a policy to cover myself and my workers. My 1st policy was costing me around 9% of everything I paid out in pay roll. that’s typical depending on your trade. Roofers are some of the highest in the industry with a rate close to 48%.

A while back, I had an employee get injured on a job and I was grateful that I had the workers comp insurance. Having this insurance not only took care of my employee’s injury, it also protected me and my customer. I have seen other contractors carry a certificate with them to show the customer and if this happens to you be leery. Most likely it is not a valid policy. It should come to you in the mail or via email from the insurance company.

The risk is not the nice guy that sold you the job, as he is most likely the owner and has no intention of ever suing anyone. The risk is someone that works for him getting hurt and not being taken care of coming after you for an injury claim. This is why it is important to ask to see proof of insurance.