In Texas it is the right of any employee injured on your property to sue you, unless his employer has Workers Compensation Insurance.
Be certain to get a current copy of the policy before allowing any foundation repair company to perform work at your house.
Granite Foundation Repair can provide a current certificate of insurance.
In Texas there is only one way to protect yourself against contractor employee injuries at your house. The contractor must have an in force Workers Compensation Insurance policy.
Don’t be fooled by promises that the foundation repair contractor will be responsible for all injuries. Even when the contractor provides a signed statement, you, the property owner are not protected. At least one homeowner has lost his property to an injured employee of a foundation repair contractor. It is Texas law that the contractor can not sign away an employee’s right to sue you.
Your best protection is to demand a current copy of the Workers Compensation Insurance Policy.
As a member of the Foundation Repair Association, Granite Foundation Repair is required to carry Liability Insurance. The Association insists upon the annual receipt of evidence of insurance.
In the event of a catastrophe, liability insurance protects both the company, and the homeowner.
A Granite Foundation Repair employee can provide you with a certificate of insurance at the time of evaluation, or have our insurance company provide you with a named certificate prior to the beginning of work.
Workers Compensation Insurance in Texas protects a homeowner from the liability of having to pay for medical costs incurred as a result of injury on the job site. Always ask to see a current certificate of insurance before work begins at your property.
Worker’s Compensation Insurance is expensive. Real expensive. At Granite Foundation Repair our annual Worker’s Compensation Insurance premium is well into five figures.
Many a contractor has been known to skip the expense and take his chances. The contractor knows that the burden of medical injury expense and liability rests as much with the homeowner as the contractor.
The contractor can not enter into an agreement with the homeowner such as ” If my employees get injured on your property, I will hold you harmless for their expenses”. The employer does not have the legal authority to sign away his employee’s legal rights.
A Worker’s Compensation Insurance Certificate is your assurance that the employee must seek restitution for injury through the Workers Comp plan, and not from the employer or the homeowner.
We are not attempting by the statements above to act as an attorney. Please consult with your attorney…
and please, insist upon that current insurance certificate. A reputable foundation repair company can ask its insurance company to provide you with a named certificate.. further assurance that the insurance is fully in force.
One way to keep the cost of foundation repair low for the contractor is to not pay for insurance.
As a homeowner, you need a foundation repair company that has current insurance: both Workers Compensation and Liability Insurance. In Texas
the cost of most Workers Compensation Insurance policies run about 8% of wages.
It is not mandatory that the employer insure his workers against on the job accidents. Most accidents occur at the job site, on your property. You, the homeowner, could be held liable if a worker is injured while working on your house.
Liability Insurance is also not mandatory. I am not going to speculate as to what may go wrong during foundation repair. Suffice it to say that Granite Foundation Repair carries liability insurance for $1,000,000 per occurrence. A million dollars of insurance to cover the unforeseen. Liability insurance runs $1500-2000 per month.
As a condition of ongoing membership in the Foundation Repair Association, Granite Foundation Repair, Inc. carries both Liability and Workers Comp Insurance.
It is always best to call your insurance agent and ask if you have coverage for foundation repair.
We at Granite Foundation Repair do not represent ourselves to be insurance experts. Most of the time though, our clients have told us that the foundation problem was not covered by insurance.
If there is a sudden foundation problem, perhaps from a freshwater plumbing leak, or retainer wall failure, insurance may pay for foundation repair. Usually coverage does not include slow leaks such as caused by a crack in a sewer line, or a pin hole in a freshwater line.
Bottom line.. call your insurance agent to see if the foundation problem is covered by insurance. It only takes a minute.
There are over a hundred companies in the Dallas Fort Worth area that advertise foundation repair services. So who can you trust?
There is no licensing of foundation repair companies in Texas. Buyer beware when an ad states Licensed
The Foundation Repair Association is a professional national organization that exists to promote high ethical standards in the practice of foundation repair and to promote cooperation between the foundation repair industry and government.
Here are some of the criteria that the Association members must adhere to:
Granite Foundation Repair is a member of the Foundation Repair Association.