Don't think you have to screw up to get sued! And, unfortunately you don't have to have screwed up to lose either.
The Boss Is Completely Unlicensed ?
Does he have a state license for his company to do what he does?
Who signed as responsible in charge for that license?
The state board will go after the licensed guy, you, if anything goes wrong. You could pay fines or worse, even if a customer only complains of a billing dispute.
I would nor, could not work under those conditions.
Paul in PA
Without A License, The Boss Cnnot Get Coverage
You have bought yourself a pile of liability.
Paul in PA
If one can not disclaim themselves from liability, then why is this gentleman being advised quit a boss that refuses to get e and 0? It seems the question is whether or not to work for a company that is insured or not. It seems the advise given is to only work for a company that is insured. Otherwise, the question would be, why doesn't my boss pay to cover me, but not himself or his company? corporate shield thing.
The problem is that you're not covered for anything that you did prior to carrying E&O, and as soon as you stop paying, you're no longer covered for what you did while you had E&O. It's a racket, and it needs to be changed.
Our E&O insurance is "claims made" and does cover prior acts to the date we state as beginning business. You are right though that if we discontinue the coverage we are no longer covered for acts even though they occurred while we were covered. You can buy a "tail" policy to cover those acts for a set number of years. This is common to consider when retiring.
> The problem is that you're not covered for anything that you did prior to carrying E&O
That's not necessarily the case. I didn't start carrying E&O until 2002 or so, and I've been covered back to the start of my business in 1993 ever since.
Old timers thought that if you didn't carry insurance, the attorneys would not bother you. This is entirely false. Sometimes the Insurance provider can get you out of a lawsuit before your company is named in it.
Huh, then maybe I got screwed. They were only going to cover me from the date I signed up. Thought I was going with a decent company too, that one out of the south, one of the Carolinas.
Anyway, I was only covered from when I got it till when I cancelled it. I got many letters after I dropped it, warning me of my lack of coverage, for everything.
Not for the first time am I thinking that I got into the wrong game.
I believe standard policies work like you experienced. It is possible to negotiate policies that fit your situation. For instance, when I split from my partner and went solo, I worked with the agent to make sure that my new policy would cover my prior work. There were some hoops to jump through but ultimately I was able to retain coverage for my prior work for a small difference in premium.
:good:
I would not sign that.
Not because of the E&O insurance, instead, because I am not going to determine and state anything about encroachment.
As surveyor, I locate monuments, boundaries, objects and so on and make a drawing that shows where all that is in relation to everything and that I will sign.
Never do I make the encroachment call, that is up to the owner of the property as to his decision as how to approach the situation.
I've had many clients ask about me being bonded. That can mean many things to the public.
At one time business owners had to put up a dollar amount to be bonded to "legally" operate and do business there.
What they were wanting to know was "am I insured in case things turn against them and then they want to sue me".
Don't operate outside your licensed profession.
0.02