I'm OK with having to be insured in order to survey for some entities (Cities, general contractors, design engineers, etc.), but lately everyone wants to be an "additional insured". To wit: "Subcontractor shall name owner and contractor (including their officers, agents, and employees)as an additional insured..."And the real kicker: "the policy shall stipulate that the insurance afforded the additional insured shall apply as primary insurance..."
I just told a contractor he would have to pay the extra premium.
I'll bet Larry P. has a whole day seminar on this topic.
Yup,
If it their stupid rule, then my rule is that they pay for it.
I carry what I am supposed to carry and if that is not enough, either I walk or they pay. Most of the time, I walk anyway.
Randy
I have to provide insurance certs pretty regularly, often to clients with persnickety requirements, but I've never had to pay anything extra to my carriers.
I carry quite a bit, but for the most part the jobs I bid have the insurance clauses written into the specs.
> I'm OK with having to be insured in order to survey for some entities (Cities, general contractors, design engineers, etc.), but lately everyone wants to be an "additional insured". To wit: "Subcontractor shall name owner and contractor (including their officers, agents, and employees)as an additional insured..."And the real kicker: "the policy shall stipulate that the insurance afforded the additional insured shall apply as primary insurance..."
>
> I just told a contractor he would have to pay the extra premium.
>
> I'll bet Larry P. has a whole day seminar on this topic.
Not an entire day seminar; but, half a day, yes.
There are several things here to note. First, your clients can not be "additional named insured" on your Professional Liability policies. That type insurance is based on claims made. The logic here is I am unable to get medical malpractice insurance because I am not a doctor. Your contractor will not be conducting professional surveying operations and can not be covered by your policy.
What is common is for clients to want a certificate of insurance and to be named ANI (Additional Named Insured) on other types of insurance like workers comp. You should absolutely charge extra for that because if a back hoe driver gets hurt your insurance company will foot part of the bill. When they do that, your premiums will go up.
Even worse, most of those requirements come with contracts. Most of the time the contract will require that you keep that insurance in force for a period beyond the completion of the project. I once was asked to propose on a project that by all reason should have cost no more than $10,000. But the insurance requirement was going to cost close to $75,000 per year. And oh by the way, the policy had to be kept in force for a period of 3 years past their completion date at the site. My best guess is they will be working at that site for another 20 years.
Larry P
