7 Construction Technology Apps Every Contractor is Talking About

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Technology is changing the construction industry landscape. General contractors, subcontractors, project managers, owners, developers, architects, and engineers are better connected today than ever before.

Smart technology such as tablets and smartphones, apps, and software solutions are saving contractors time, improving organization, and fostering better collaboration on projects.

More and more industry professionals are adopting construction technology in their day to day business operations. Apps for mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones are leading the way for the integration of new construction technology on job sites.

Here are seven of the best, most downloaded, productivity-enhancing apps you should be using in your daily operations.

1. Bid City

A construction app that gives general contractors the inside scoop on new private projects is CMD’s BidCity. Find actionable project and company details on your iPhone or iPad. BidCity provides project name, scope, as well as bidder and participant contact information. BidCity’s map based layout makes finding local construction projects easier than ever.

Free to download for iPhone and iPad.

2. Construction Manager

Can an app help you cut through the piles of paperwork and help your business manage, edit, save, and share data instantly and effortlessly? It can if it is Construction Manager. This app can:

  • create on-site estimates for construction and repair projects
  • record and track important construction processes throughout the day
  • keep daily reports and maintenance logs
  • share timesheets
  • quantify materials, labor, and equipment needed to complete projects

Construction Manager even includes calculators to help you determine room size, and calculate the amount of concrete and paint you need for your project. A reviewer said,”This app is so easy to use in the field and has saved me lots of time. I would highly recommend it.”

Construction Manager is available for iPhone, iPad, Android Tablets and Android Smartphones.

3. PlanGrid

Collaboration between contractors and architects reaches new highs with PlanGrid, an app that allows users to integrate project plans, specs, and photos. Uploaded files are automatically synced with all team members that use the app. A punch list feature allows remodelers and designers to track project progress. Users can take photos and pictures to tasks, as well as upload PDF drawings.

PlanGrid was designed to be used in the field, and to perform fast and reliably. More than half a million users have uploaded over 20 million plans and blueprints to PlanGrid.

Available for iPhone, iPad, Android Tablets, and Android Smartphones.

4. Fieldwire

Project managers and contractors can use Fieldwire to collaborate with team members while in the field. Access plans and blueprints, share photos and punch lists, and access it all quickly on your mobile device. Fieldwire will optimize blueprints to display them instantly regardless of resolution. The blueprint viewer allows superintendents to plan inspections in minutes with hundreds of inspection items pre-loaded into checklist templates. Record issues or punch list items when you are on a walkthrough with a client, and upload photos to share instantly with subcontractors. Report safety concerns instantly.

Fieldwire is available for iPhone and iPad.

5. BuildCalc

Spend less time doing your estimates and calculations and more time building with this advanced construction calculator. BuildCalc offers advanced features and functions that will allow you to quickly determine a number of industry specific calculations.

  • Enter the room dimension, area or length and receive the number of drywall sheets needed for your sheet size.
  • Calculate material needs with the roof, drywall, or masonry functions to determine how much siding, panels or sheets you need.
  • Generate simple or complex stair designs.
  • Miter and bevel angles for simple and compound miter cuts with results for both miter saws and on-the-stick protractor marking.

Reviews for BuildCalc commend its versatility, effectiveness, and easiness to learn. “Being a second generation home builder and having labored through the repetitive layout calculation of stairs, rails, rafters, etc., I was amazed at how fast and easy this program made the normally redundant calculations.”

BuildCalc is available for iPhone, iPad, Android Tablets, and Android Smartphones.

6. Construction Master Pro

Another advanced construction calculator, Construction Master Pro includes full trigonometric functions to calculate complicated project problems, offers solutions for completing layouts, bids, plans, and estimates, and provides dimensional math conversions. Features include:

  • Area and volume calculators
  • Compound miters calculator
  • Right angle tools
  • Roof calculators (bundles, squares, pitch, plan area etc)
  • Decimals to the 100ths
  • Easy editing if you make a mistake

One user said, “I use the original Construction Master Pro in my remodeling business for rafters, stairs, squaring foundations, etc., so this was the first App I downloaded to my iTouch! I just started to use it, but it looks and feels like the real thing– no learning curve.”

In addition to being available for iPhone, iPad, iTouch, Android Tablets, and Android Smartphones, Construction Master Pro is also available for Windows devices, as well.

7. Safety Meeting App

Meet the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s required meeting laws with this app that covers 34 trade types and stores records electronically. OSHA requires contractors to conduct Safety Meetings on a regular basis and record the attendance, so Safety Meeting App allows your workers to take part of this training from their phones, tablets, or computers.

Instill a strong safety culture and avoid frivolous lawsuits while saving time on the worksite. Each meeting outline helps you comply with a specific OSHA safety training regulation, such as hazard communication, PPE, ladder & tool safety, lockout/tagout, and even driver safety topics.

Safety Meeting App is available for iPhone, iPad, Android Tablets, and Android Smartphones.

Our Expanded List of Bonus Apps!

We’ve expanded our list with even MORE construction apps that have contractors buzzing.

7 (More) Construction Technology Apps Every Contractor Is Talking About

We’ve been on the lookout for even more must-try apps for your smartphone and tablet. Here’s what we found.

#1: Latista For Construction

This is a quality control and field management app built specifically for construction companies.

With the Latista app, you can:

  • Access documents electronically from the field- including PDFs, images, Word docs, PowerPoints, and Excel files.
  • Take your 3D BIM models into the field.
  • Create and manage punch lists.
  • Conduct inspections from your ipad.

Latista can help you organize your quality control procedures- including workflows, electronic forms, and checklists. You can manage your safety program from your mobile device by scheduling and tracking inspections, and notify responsible parties when there’s an issue. There’s plenty more useful features for you to discover with the Latista construction management app, too.

Available for iPhone and iPad.

#2: BuilderTrend

BuilderTrend is a cloud-based construction management app that supports you through each phase of a project. BuilderTrend app allows contractors to work better with their employees, subcontractors, and customers.

How does BuilderTrend work with you for the entire duration of your project?

  • Pre-sale process: use the app to manage bid requests, proposals, and automate your email marketing.
  • Project management: create daily logs and to-do lists. The app can send messages, update schedules, and create a punch list.
  • Financial management: Use the app to keep track of your budget, payments from customers, and purchase orders. It even has a timesheet feature for your employees.
  • Customer management: The app has a client portal that lets you get client reviews, send surveys, and create comment threads to stay in touch with your customers.
  • Your monthly subscription gets you an unlimited number of users, so you can make sure all of your employees are working with the same program.

BuilderTrend is available for iPhone, iPad, and Android

#3: Contractor Estimate and Invoice

This popular app from Joist Inc. has been downloaded from the Google Play Store over 100,000 times, and for good reason. Contractor Estimate and Invoice allows you to create estimates, invoices, record payments, and manage your projects from any of your devices.

This job has features that can prove useful for both one-person handyman operations or large contracting businesses. Some of our favorites are:

  • Create a list of commonly used items/materials.
  • Calculate material and labor costs for estimates and invoices.
  • Get signatures on client contracts on the spot.
  • Keep track of customer payments.
  • Export everything to your accounting program.

Free to download for iPad, iPhone, Android, and desktop computers.

#4: Job Estimate and Repair Order

Snappii’s Job Estimate and Repair Order is designed to save you time on your paperwork by letting you create quotes, work completion reports, and other documents directly on your mobile device.

Who doesn’t love a little less paperwork?

The app includes the following forms:

  • Job Estimate
  • Repair Order
  • Change Order
  • Progress Report
  • Work Completion

You can also use the app to aid in project management by using it to evaluate the amount of work that needs to be done, track repairs made to equipment, and report on work progress. All of your forms and data from the app can be easily exported to PDF and Excel reports.

Even better, Snappii’s apps are all customizable, so if you like the basic function of the app but need a few more features, you can customize it yourself, or have Snappii customize it for you.

Free to download for iPad, iPhone and Android.

#5: SmartBidNet

This app is designed to streamline your relationship with your subcontractors. The free SmartBidNet mobile app works with their paid internet application. The internet program and mobile app allow you to manage your communication with your subcontractors from one convenient dashboard.

The app’s features include:

  • Create and customize a subcontractor database.
  • Create pre-qualification questionnaires to screen your subs.
  • Organize and share project documents and plans.
  • Send communications, bid invitations, and RFIs to subs.

The price of the software itself depends on your needs.

Available for iPhone, iPad, Android, and your desktop computers.

#6: FieldLens

This app is a communication tool designed specifically for construction companies. FieldLens allows you to stay in contact with your colleagues conveniently, so that you always know what’s going on on your job sites.

How can FieldLens help you stay in touch?

  • Assign and track tasks.
  • Create and view issues directly on your project plans and drawings.
  • Automate your daily report.
  • Post small updates throughout the day to keep your coworkers in the loop.

To make connection a bit easier, the app works completely offline. That means no more losing touch when you’re out on a rural job site with no wifi access. Best of all, if your company has 3 users or less connected to the app, it’s free. If you’d like to connect more users than that, FieldLens has Pro and Team Packages starting at $25/month.

Free to download for iPad, iPhone and Android.

#7: Harmon.ie

Harmon.ie is built specifically to help contractors collaborate with their colleagues. You could say this app promotes harmony.

Harmon.ie allows users to access and update important documents from anywhere, enabling you to collaborate with your supervisors, employees, and subs whether you’re in the office or not.

With this app, you can:

  • Access business emails, even without wifi or data.
  • Read and edit documents from your mobile device.
  • Collaborate in real time with coworkers in the field.
  • Eliminate the need for paper documents, and thus the risk of losing important paperwork.

Free to download for iPad, iPhone and Android.

If you need help with contractor insurance, let us know. We represent the best contractor insurance companies.

11 (More) Must-Know Facts About Builders Risk Insurance, Part 2

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Builders risk insurance is a wise investment for contractors jumping into new projects. Also called course of construction insurance, this broad policy covers your new project from a broad range of accidents. This can include everything from fire and flood to theft and vandalism.

We’ve already set you up for success with 11 Must-Know Facts About Builders Risk Insurance, but we want to let you in on even more awesome info about this can’t-miss policy.

Discover what your policy should cover, what factors impact your premiums, and more.

Ready to learn (even more) about builders risk?

11 (More) Must-Know Facts About Builders Risk Insurance

  1. If you’re a general contractor or a property owner/developer, then you’re typically the one responsible for purchasing builders risk insurance for the construction projects you’re responsible for. If you are a subcontractor, you are generally included as a “named insured” on the builders risk policy which the general contractor took out.
  2. Builders risk insurance does not cover buildings you’re doing small repairs on. It’s intended to insure residential or commercial buildings that are being constructed or having major remodels done.
  3. Coverage for earthquakes and floods is commonly excluded from most builders risk policies, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add it. Earthquake and flood coverage is generally available as an endorsement or separate policy if your project needs this protection.
  4. What do you do if a wind storm hits your construction project and the entire frame caves in? Luckily, most builders risk policies generally cover collapse. (Read your policy carefully though- there may be exceptions if the collapse is due to design errors or faulty workmanship if your policy contains a faulty workmanship exclusion.)
  5. You can add coverage for soft costs to your policy. By opting for this additional coverage, you can protect your project not only from the direct financial loss of supplies and property but from less tangible losses as well. Soft costs typically include losses incurred from project delay, such as extended equipment rentals.
  6. According to the IRMI (International Risk Management Institute), most policy limits are determined by the estimated completed value of your project. Be sure your estimate includes overhead and profit, as well as the value of all covered property such as materials and supplies.
  7. If any of the parties listed on the policy has filed bankruptcy in the last 10 years, the price of your course of construction coverage could go up. And that’s not all: your claims history can play a big role in your policy pricing, too.
  8. The materials you’re using in your project may impact policy costs- for example, using a wooden frame instead of the more conventional steel could increase your premiums.
  9. The location of your project may impact the price of your coverage. Your course of construction policy may be cheaper if you’re not building in Tornado Alley or along a fault line, for example.
  10. Most builders risk policies are “all-risk” policies. This means that, unless an accident is specifically excluded from the policy, most are covered. With the exception of specific exclusions, these policies offer protection against a broad range of risks.
  11. Builders risk insurance may not protect you from certain incidents that don’t qualify as accidents, such as faulty workmanship while you’re working on a project. Read your policy carefully and understand the exclusions it contains. You may need additional insurance protection to cover you against faulty workmanship risks.

Builders risk insurance protects you in case the worst happens while you’re working on a project. Accidents can get expensive fast. As efficient as you and your team are, a fire or flood on a construction site could hurt your company financially and set your project back weeks or even months. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your project has a course of construction policy written by a specialized insurance company that understands the risks your contracting company faces.

Like what you saw? Don’t forget to check out our first post in the series: 11 Must Know Facts About Builders Risk Insurance. And leave us a comment if we’ve left anything out!

11 Must-Know Facts about Builders Risk Insurance

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What’s the first thing you do before getting started on a project? If you are a shrewd contractor, you start thinking about how to make the most profit and eliminate the risk of losing money. And the best way to keep your project profitable is with a specialized insurance policy: Builders risk.

Here are 11 things you should know about builders risk insurance:

  1. Builders risk is another name for course of construction insurance, because that’s when it covers your project and assets: during the course of construction.
  2. This is a specialized form of property insurance that covers a building or structure under construction, or a remodel project (when most homeowners policies will not.)
  3. The material and supplies that you need to finish your project are included in this coverage. You don’t have to worry about paying out of pocket to replace materials if they are damaged by a fire, flood, or high winds.
  4. Vandalism and theft are included in course of construction coverage, so you don’t have to “pay the fine for someone else’s crime.”
  5. Course of construction can cover demolition expenses, and the cost to clear debris if your project is hit by an earthquake or other natural disaster. Clean-up and salvage costs won’t eat away at your profits.
  6. Lightning hits the neighbor’s house and a fire spreads to your project site? Covered.
  7. Your project buildings and structures aren’t the only ones covered; temporary structures are, too. Don’t worry about damage to your scaffolding or construction forms.
  8. Blueprints, site plans, and even temporary papers are covered with a course of construction policy.
  9. This friendly policy can include the owner, general contractor, and subcontractors as “named insureds,” which can eliminate finger pointing and responsibility for loss, delays, and damages payment in the event it is needed.
  10. You can get a policy for the time it takes to complete your project: three-months, six-months, or 12-months. You can even extend the period if your project takes longer.
  11. It’s easier to ask what’s not covered in your policy than what is. This broad-insurance coverage protects you from almost everything short of fraud, intentional acts, or specific inclusions.

5 More Bonus Facts!

We’ve updated this popular post with even more facts and info about your builders risk policy.

Bonus Fact #1

You can factor overhead and profits into your completed value estimate. These values are commonly figured at about 10% each. Your policy may specifically mention overhead and profits as being covered, but even if they aren’t mentioned be sure to add these costs in. Overhead and profits can sometimes total up to 20% of a project’s loss!

Bonus Fact #2

Some of your equipment may not be covered by your builders risk policy unless an equipment floater is included. Bulldozers and ditch diggers, for example, generally need a floater to be covered.

Bonus Fact #3

There is no equivalent policy to a builders risk policy. Your general liability and/ or commercial property insurance can’t substitute for the specialized coverage that a course of construction policy provides.

Bonus Fact #4

“It’s never too late” is a myth – at least when it comes to builders risk. You can’t get this coverage once a project has started, it needs to be obtained before work begins. When it comes to builders risk insurance you need to get it early if you want it at all. In other words, “the early bird gets the builders risk coverage.”

Bonus Fact #5:

Change orders change your policy. As changes are required on your project by architects or the owner, the costs of your project will also change. Some builders risk policies include “escalation clauses” that increase your coverage limits and premiums if change orders increase the total project costs. Others will require you to inform the insurer of changes to the project costs.

So much can go wrong while you are in the middle of a project. There is no way to know when winds will send a tree crashing through your site, if a sudden rainstorm will flood your project and ruin your materials, or if mischievous kids will spray-paint your project in the middle of the night.

Course of construction coverage keeps you on track to finish your project without having to pay out of pocket to clean up, replace, or repair the damage from a completely unexpected event.

Starting a job without this coverage is like walking away from a paycheck. It just doesn’t make sense.

Want to know even more about builders risk insurance? Check out part 2 of our series:
11 (More) Must-Know Facts About Builders Risk Insurance

Cyber Liability Insurance for Contractors- Do You Need It?

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The construction industry is changing. From tablets to construction apps, the way you work has officially entered the digital age. While technology is making you more productive and efficient, there can also be a dark side to all of this data.

Ready for the good news?

Cyber liability insurance is there to protect business owners from unexpected data breaches and the loss of sensitive client information.

But do contractors really need it?

Is Cyber Liability Insurance a “Must-have” Policy for Contractors?

The short answer is the same as for many other insurance policies: it depends. If you’re operating a one-man business and keeping it old-school… paper invoices, mailed checks, paper files, a desktop computer that you seldom use… you may not need it.

On the other hand, if you’ve embraced construction technology you may want to learn a bit more about the benefits of cyber liability insurance.

Even better, take this short quiz.

Cyber Liability Quiz

  • Do you use a laptop or tablet to do your business?
  • Do you ever take your laptop or tablet out of the office?
  • Do you take credit card payments from clients?
  • Do you use a device to take credit card payments on your phone or tablet?
  • Do you store client information digitally, including names, addresses, or credit card information?
  • Do you perform contract work for large commercial clients?

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you may benefit from cyber liability protection. Let’s dive in a bit deeper to see if this coverage is right for you.

How Likely are You to Have a Data Breach?

Data breaches are in the news all of the time these days. Usually, it’s the bigger corporate victims who get all of the attention. (We’ll talk about one of these big guys in just a moment.)

But it’s not just the bigger businesses who are at risk from hackers and cyber criminals.

Small to medium sized businesses are actually at greater risk of a data breach– specifically because they don’t often have the same resources available to protect themselves from malicious hackers and cyber thieves.

What’s easier? Hacking into a major corporation with dedicated IT security teams working around the clock to keep sensitive information protected, or hacking into your tablet while you use the free wifi at a local coffee shop or airport?

If you still don’t think it could happen to you, consider the following statistic from the National Small Business Association (NSBA) Technology Survey:

“Nearly half of all small businesses have been a victim of a cyber attack.”

The average cost associated with the cyber-attack for small businesses targeted was $8,699.48. And for small businesses whose banking accounts were hacked, the average losses were $6,927.50.

You Could be a Pawn in a Larger Hacking Scheme

It was a bad day for an HVAC contractor when news outlets learned that one of the largest data breaches of 2015 was all his fault.

Nearly 40 million debit and credit accounts were exposed when hackers were able to infiltrate point-of-sale systems at Target stores during the busiest shopping season of the year. The story was instantly picked up by the media and led to a frenzy of news coverage.

In the end, it was the HVAC guy who ended up getting the blame.

It turns out, the hackers didn’t get access to Target’s systems directly. Instead, they stole a username and password from an HVAC company that does work for Target and had access rights to monitor energy usage and temperatures at various stores. The savvy hackers, once gaining access to one of Target’s networks by stealing the login credentials from this contractor, were then able to get into the point-of-sale systems and start stealing credit and debit card information from millions of customers.

Luckily Target had a substantial amount of cyber security insurance in place to help mitigate the damage of the breach. Whether the HVAC company had coverage or was left holding a mighty big bill for their role in the breach is unknown.

What’s the big take away for contractors from this story?

If you do work for commercial clients and have access to any of their internal systems, you could be an entry point for hackers looking to use you as a pawn in a very expensive hacking game.

In which case, a little extra protection in the form of a cyber liability policy may be a good safety net to have.

Bonus: If you want to perform contract work with larger commercial companies, having a cyber liability policy in place could give you a competitive advantage over a less-insured contractor bidding on the same job. As usual, don’t be afraid to advertise your coverage to potential clients. It may give you the edge you need to win the bid.

What Does Cyber Liability Cover?

Let’s imagine that you accidentally leave your tablet on the front seat of your unlocked truck one day, and it gets stolen while you grab a quick sandwich from your favorite local deli. You use that tablet for a number of purposes, it’s loaded up with construction apps that help you keep track of bids, manage vendor and supply orders and payments, for project management purposes, emails, and to keep track of client information.

If you have cyber liability coverage, it may cover first-party response, such as:

  • Services to determine if a breach has occurred
  • Notification of clients or other affected parties
  • Customer credit monitoring
  • Crisis management and PR
  • Business interruption costs

And if that’s not enough to help clean-up the mess after a hack or data breach, cyber liability may also cover your third-party defense and legal costs in the event you get sued over the incident, including:

  • Judgments, awards, or settlements
  • Lawyers’ fees
  • Miscellaneous court costs

Knowing which contractor insurance policies are a good investment and which you can afford to do without can help you protect your assets without stripping away too much of your cash flow. For some contractors, cyber liability may not offer enough potential benefits to justify adding this policy to their insurance coverage. For many contractors, however, a stolen laptop, lost tablet, or access to client’s systems provides enough risks to warrant the protection.

If you’d like a cyber liability insurance quote from us, just let us know. They’re quick and because we specialize in contractor insurance, we might be able to save you even more on your insurance.

7 Tips to Put Your Contractor Insurance to Work for You

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It’s time for your contractor insurance policies to roll up their sleeves, pull on the work gloves, and really get to work. With these tips, you can get the most out of your insurance, save on your premiums, and patch up any holes that may be lurking in unread clauses in your coverage.

#1. Get More Out of Your General Liability Coverage

Did you know that you may be able to add an endorsement to your general liability policy to cover you for faulty workmanship claims? In the past, contractors had very few options to protect themselves if their completed work or work process led to a claim. Liability policies generally contain specific clauses that exclude coverage for faulty workmanship. But thanks to a unique Faulty Workmanship endorsement available for select general liability policies, offering contractors up to $10,000 in coverage for these claims. The best part? Faulty workmanship protection can be added to your policy at a price so affordable, you’d be silly to pass it up.

#2: Choose the Right Policy When Filing Claims

When multiple policies offer overlapping coverage, such as builders risk and general liability, choosing the right one for your claim can be tricky. Let’s say you are at fault for an incident at your project site that results in structural damage. On one hand, you are covered under the builders risk policy for unexpected events that occur during the course of construction. On the other hand, you have a contractor general liability (CGL) policy that covers you for property damage that you cause.

In situations like this, many contractors choose to file a claim against their own CGL policy, rather than against the project’s builders risk, in an attempt to avoid any kind of friction between the general contractor or owner who took out the builders risk policy. But what you may not realize is that a general liability claim may cost you more in the long run. Talk to your insurance provider to carefully explore your options for workplace damage claims, and you may be able to keep your premiums affordable in the future.

And this leads us to our next tip…

#3: Know What Your Policy Does (and does not) Cover

Do you understand the exclusions in your insurance policies? Take the time to review and understand what your policies do (and don’t) cover. That way you can compare the gaps in your coverage to your current risk management strategies and available cash flow. You don’t need to be an insurance expert (that’s why you have us in your corner!); but you should have a basic understanding of what your policies cover, and what situations or scenarios they exclude.

If you see some glaring holes in your current contractor insurance protection, you can take steps to patch them up. Maybe that means including an umbrella policy to help increase the limits of your existing policies in the event of a large claim. Maybe that means adding an endorsement to expand your coverage on a specific policy. If you want to get the best results from your insurance, you need to know what your policies cover.

Conversely, if you notice a bunch of coverage or endorsements built into your policy for risk that you don’t encounter, talk to us about ways removing those may reduce your premiums while still providing you a safety net.

#4: Protect Yourself from the Most Common Claim Scenario

What do more than 20% of all insurance claims have in common? They are a result of burglary or theft. Annual estimates for loss from equipment theft are in the ballpark of $400 million, and some estimates are quite a bit higher than that. And the newer your equipment, the more attractive it is to the sticky fingered criminals who covet it; more than 75% of all stolen equipment is less than 5 years old.

You can put your contractor insurance to work protecting your tools and equipment in three ways:

  • Commercial property insurance: Protects your tools and equipment stored at your place of business from burglary or theft.
  • Builders risk insurance: Protects your tools and equipment from burglary or theft from a project site.
  • Inland marine insurance: Protects your tools and equipment from burglary or theft when you are transporting them to and from storage, project sites, or even your home.

If you’re the unfortunate victim of the most common construction crime, tool or equipment theft, these insurance policies can kick in to cover the cost of replacing them. From your favorite hand tools to your high dollar, high powered tools; to the generators and machinery that you’ve invested in; contractor insurance can cover your equipment in just about every situation.

#5: Combine Policies

Shopping around for the best price on your insurance can be a good idea to make sure you are getting the right coverage at the right price. But watch out for one of the pitfalls of price shopping; parceling out your policies to different brokers. Sometimes, the cheapest insurance can cost you big.

A better way to save money on your insurance is to combine multiple policies with the same broker or insurance provider. Often times, you can receive a discount on each policy when you combine them. Want to see even more savings? Put those risk management techniques to work, because the longer you go without an incident or claim, the lower your premiums can be. Everyone wants to save money. Combine the insurance policies you need with an insurance provider you can trust, and you can save more cash without sacrificing your coverage.

#6: Check In Regularly

When was the last time you had a chat with your favorite insurance provider? Go ahead and pick up the phone. Checking in regularly with your insurance broker can help you keep the right insurance coverage working hard to protect your business. You may have bought or sold a vehicle, fired or hired employees, or changed the scope of work that you perform. But if your broker doesn’t know about the changes that happen in your business, your policies may not adequately protect your current operations. You may even be paying more than you need to for your insurance coverage– you’ll never know unless you contact your contractor insurance specialists and check in.

#7: Advertise Your Coverage

The reason you have insurance is to protect your business and assets from unexpected surprises and financial losses. But did you know that you can put your insurance to work for you to get more customers and help bring in more income, too? Your insurance coverage is a business asset. It shows that you are serious about your business, that you are a professional, and that you can pay for an accident, injury, or unintended occurrence that happens while you’re doing your work.

Advertise your insurance coverage on your website, social media profiles, blog, truck advertising, and business cards. Let clients know that you are insured, and happy to provide a certificate of insurance as proof of your coverage. Your insurance coverage gives you a leg up on the uninsured competition, so be sure to let prospective clients know it.

Commercial Auto Insurance Just Got Easier Than Ever

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Making sure a growing business has the coverage necessary to protect against unexpected losses is an important task to any business owner. But waiting for what seems like forever to get a policy into place can be frustrating, to say the least.

Ask any business owner and they’ll tell you… time is money.

Luckily, you’re about to save some of both, because the way you get commercial auto insurance for your business just got faster (and easier) than ever.

Getting Commercial Auto: the Old Way

Until now, there was a lot of manual paperwork involved in order to get your commercial auto quote as insurance brokers and carriers sent completed applications and supplemental applications back and forth. The process was slow, redundant, and overall frustrating for everyone involved.

If you’ve ever had to wait for a commercial auto quote, you know exactly what that felt like.

Even after you received a quote, it may not have covered everything you needed it to. And if you needed to make changes, it involved additional underwriting, possibly even a change to your quote itself… and more waiting.

Ready for some good news? The old ways of getting a commercial auto quote are over.

Getting Commercial Auto Coverage: the Citizen’s General Way

Citizens can now provide instant quotes for your commercial auto coverage for up to 4 business vehicles.

If you need coverage to protect your light, medium, and heavy vehicles with local and intermediate travel radius, we can offer liability limits ranging from $300,000 to $1,000,000 combined single limit.

Here are some of the highlights of our new (faster and easier!) commercial auto insurance program:

  • New business? Certain newly acquired or formed organizations covered up to 180 days
  • Your employees are defined as an insured for autos rented in their own name (with your permission) in the conduct of your business
  • Blanket additional insured status when required by a covered contract or agreement
  • Increased supplementary payments for expenses incurred by you at our request
  • Fellow employee exclusion removed
  • Towing and labor cost covered if labor is performed at the place of disablement; limit $500 per disablement with no deductible
  • Increased temporary transportation expenses for covered theft of a private passenger auto (limits $50 per day / $1,000 maximum with 48-hour wait period)
  • Accidental airbag discharge recovery cost
  • Loss payee/lessee loan gap coverage for a covered total loss of an auto
  • Single deductible applies on multi-unit claims
  • Narrowed requirements for knowledge of loss
  • Blanket waiver of subrogation granted for an insured contract
  • Failure to disclose wording broadened for unintentional acts
  • Hired car physical damage coverage amendment of other insurance provisions as to covered autos and autos rented by individual employees in your business (you must have hired and non-owned auto coverage for this physical damage enhancement to apply)
  • Deductible waived for covered auto on glass if “repaired”
  • Limited personal effects coverage in covered auto up to $2,500 per loss with no deductible
  • Downtime loss coverage up to a maximum of $100 per day / 30 days
  • Rental Reimbursement coverage up to a maximum of $100 per day / 30 days
  • Diminishing deductible with loss-free policy periods
  • Insurance is primary and noncontributory

What Do You Need to Get a Quote?

You don’t have to spend all day digging up paperwork to receive a quote for your business vehicles. Actually, we don’t require very much from you at all.

All we need is your basic company into, your vehicle VIN numbers, and the limits you’re requesting in order to provide an instant quote.

When you request a commercial auto quote from Citizens General, you may very well be able to get same day indication, with a bind in less than 24 hours.

You just can’t get your business vehicles covered faster or easier than that.

Having coverage is half the solution; making sure you have the proper coverage is the other. Citizens General can offer you the full solution for your commercial auto needs; getting you the right coverage instantly.

The program mentioned above is available in the following States:

AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, FL, GA, ID, IL, IN, KY, LA, MD, MN, MO, MT, NC, NH, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, VT, CA, WI

Does Your General Liability Insurance Cover Faulty Workmanship?

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You take pride in your work, never cut corners, and strive for perfection in every project. But sometimes things don’t always go right: an improper installation, a defective product, or a clumsy mishap that results in damage. If something does go wrong in your work, you may find yourself asking:

Is faulty workmanship covered under your general liability policy?

Faulty Workmanship:
The flawed quality of a finished product; a flawed process.

General Liability and Faulty Workmanship: Covered or Not?

The overall purpose of a general liability policy is to pay if you are legally liable for damages because of bodily injury or property damage caused by an occurrence.

The purpose of the liability policy is to protect you from an accidental occurrence that leads to property damage, and not to protect contractors who decided to perform less-than quality work.

Which is why — in the past– most contractor generally liability (also known as CGL) policies have been written with certain exclusions in place that prevent faulty workmanship from being covered.

Common CGL exclusions against faulty workmanship include:

Damage to Property

A clause that excludes property damage that takes place while the named you (or your subcontractor) is in the process of performing work. For example, if you were performing work on a roof, and accidentally damaged the roof with a scissor lift, the property damage would not be covered because you were performing work on that part of the real property (the roof).

This clause also excludes property damage that must be fixed because your work was improperly performed. Like if you were installing flooring, and discovered halfway through the project that you had installed the wrong wood. The cost to rip it up, start over, and repair damage to the subflooring is excluded by your CGL policy.

Damage to Your Work

A clause that excludes coverage for property damage resulting from defective workmanship, including completed work that damages itself, or property that must be restored, repaired, or replaced because work was incorrectly performed on it.

If a cabinet was installed incorrectly, coming loose and damaging the wall it’s attached to, the Your Work exclusion would mean the cost of repairing the wall and re-installing the cabinet isn’t covered by your CGL policy. When damage is a result of completed work performed by you and/or your employees, you could be left paying for the mistake.

General Liability Insurance Now Offers Contractors Added Coverage for Workmanship Claims

Citizens General can now offer contractors a new option to protect themselves from faulty workmanship claims. We have a unique endorsement available for contractors which adds Contractors Faulty Workmanship Coverage to a CGL policy.

When you add Faulty Workmanship coverage to your CGL policy, you can protect yourself and your clients against claims arising out of faulty workmanship, materials, and products that would normally be excluded in your policy. The endorsement offers $10,000 worth of coverage at an extremely affordable cost.

Two Times Faulty Workmanship Coverage Saved the Day

Here are a few real-life contractors who benefitted from adding this endorsement to their CGL policy.

“Rick” is a paving contractor who was hired to cover a parking lot with asphalt. After the surface appeared to be crumbling two months after installation, the client filed a claim. Luckily, Rick had Faulty Workmanship Coverage added to his general liability policy, otherwise the claim would have been denied. The endorsement provided $10,000 for the claim that Rick would normally have had to pay himself.

“John” is an electrical contractor who was hired to install security cameras. An improper installation led to water damage to the equipment. Since John had added the endorsement to his CGL policy, he received $10,000 in damages he would have otherwise been responsible for paying.

You can increase the protection of your CGL policy by adding the Faulty Workmanship endorsement that is now available. Want to know more? Contact your Citizens General insurance specialist and find out how this specialized endorsement can benefit you.

Am I Eligible for Builders Risk Insurance?

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You know the benefits of having builders risk coverage in place to defend your project. You want to protect the structure, your materials and supplies, and your machinery and equipment during the course of construction. And if something goes wrong, you want to get back on track fast without taking a major financial loss. Not every project (or contractor) may be eligible for coverage, however. If you are wondering which factors may limit your coverage options, keep reading.

Let’s take a look at some of the eligibility requirements you may need to meet in order to get builders risk insurance.

Your Claims History

Have you had builders risk claims in the past? If so, don’t panic. A previous claim won’t necessarily exclude you from getting a new policy for your upcoming project. However, if you’ve had multiple claims in a short amount of time, like more than 3 builders risk claims in the past 3 years, you may have fewer options available, or may face higher premiums for your coverage.

Your loss ratio is another factor which may affect your ability to get coverage. A loss ratio is the amount that an insurance provider has paid out in claims divided by the amount they’ve collected from you in premiums. In other words, if you have paid $100 in insurance premiums, but your insurance company has paid out $50 in claims on your policy, you have a loss ratio of 50%.

Even if you have only had one or two claims in recent years, but they were high value claims, the result to your loss ratio could affect the insurance program options available to you. Generally, a loss ratio of more than 50% over the prior 3 years could limit the policy programs available to you, or lead to higher premiums.

Current Perils

Are you trying to get coverage for a project that is across the street from an blazing wildfire? While builders risk insurance typically covers fire damage, it may be hard to get insurance if your project is within 50 miles of an active fire. Your best course of action is to protect your project with adequate insurance coverage before the fire (or other disaster) strikes.

Of course, it’s hard to predict when an unexpected event will occur (which is why you use contractor insurance in the first place). If a flash flood, fire, or other event has suddenly occurred, you may still be able to get coverage for your project. Your contractor insurance provider can tell you if you are safely out of reach of that particular peril, or what other options coverage options you may want to consider.

Previous Damage

If you are taking on a remodel project where the structure was damaged as a result of a flood, fire, or earth movement, that project may not be eligible for coverage. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t take on a project to remodel and repair after a kitchen fire destroyed part of a home. There may be situations where you can get adequate insurance for a project involving prior property damage. However, it’s best to talk with your insurance provider to see if that particular project is eligible for coverage before you begin.

Your Experience

Are you a brand new contractor, working on your very first project? Protecting the project during the course of construction is a smart move that can preserve your assets and investment. But you may have fewer options for business risk coverage compared to a contractor with more years in the business. Contractors who have been in business as a homebuilder or remodeler for less than 2 years may not be eligible for some insurance programs. That doesn’t mean you can’t get covered, but it may give you fewer options for coverage, or come at a higher premium price.

Additional Eligibility Factors:

The factors mentioned above are some, but not all, of the things considered when you apply for builders risk coverage. Other eligibility factors are also taken into consideration when determining which program best fits your need, and what your builders risk costs may be. These include:

  • Type of project (residential vs commercial)
  • Project value
  • New construction vs remodel
  • Fire protection class code (a rating of the fire protection system, which includes fire department quality and available water supply, of cities and towns.)

Are There Exceptions?

Every insurance program has different eligibility guidelines. If you fall short of meeting a guideline, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t cover your project. Talk to your insurance provider to find out what your options are. You may be able to get an underwriting exception or have options available to you that you never considered.

Protecting your projects with builders risk coverage provides you a safety net in the event something goes wrong during construction. If a fire breaks out on site, a vehicle plows through the side of the building, or a roof collapses — builders risk is there to get you back on your feet quickly and without facing a huge financial loss. Talk to your insurance provider for more details about the eligibility requirements, to get a quote on your upcoming project, or for additional information about the policy coverage and limits.

Builders Risk vs General Liability for Workplace Damage Claims

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When something goes wrong on a project, your contractor insurance protection can help shield you from severe financial losses. But if you are covered under both a builders risk policy and a general liability policy, you may be unsure which one foots the bill for an accident or mishap, particularly if you are at fault.

Let’s say you are operating a crane, which you accidentally swing into a support column. The result? A collapsed roof on an already completed building.

You have general liability coverage, and you are included as a subcontractor on the builders risk policy taken out by the project owner. So which policy is best for covering workplace damage?

The choice is not always clear.

Builders Risk vs General Liability: Which Do You Choose for Workplace Damage?

Let’s look at both policies to better understand the best course of action when you are responsible for the loss.

The Coverage: General Liability

Your contractor general liability policy (CGL) is designed to cover damage that you cause to third-parties. That includes:

  • Property damage
  • Bodily Injury
  • Personal Injury

In this case, you are definitely the cause of the damage, and the property belongs to someone else. So it could be easy to see why you may immediately think you should bring this claim against your CGL policy. You can call up your insurance company, file a claim, and hopefully the project owner will forget the whole thing ever happened. After all, you aren’t going through his policy, so he won’t have to pay a dime for your mishap.

Before you file a claim against your CGL, however, you may want to consider what it doesn’t generally cover.

Common Exclusions to a CGL Policy:

What your CGL policy doesn’t cover is almost as important as what it does. The following exclusions are commonly found in a CGL policy:

  • Your product: property damage to your own products (not real property) which may include your materials and supplies.
  • Own property: property damage to property you own, property on which you are performing operations, or any property which needs to be repaired or replaced during the course of your work if you’ve performed it incorrectly.
  • Your work: property damage to your completed work.

Contractor general liability is meant to cover damage to other persons or property that is caused by you (or your work). But that doesn’t necessarily make it the best policy for contractor’s workplace damage claims. Which is why builders risk policies are available during construction.

The Coverage: Builders Risk

Builders risk provides coverage for direct physical loss or damage to a structure or project during construction. Builders risk insurance covers all property on a project during construction, installation or repair, including:

  • Building or structure
  • Temporary forms such as scaffolding
  • Fixtures, materials, and supplies intended to become a part of the building
  • Machinery, tools, and equipment used to service the building

Generally, a standard commercial construction contract will put the responsibility for obtaining the builders risk coverage on the project owner, developer, or general contractor. The builders risk policy then covers all of the above, plus all levels of subcontractors on the project. A builders risk policy is generally obtained for the duration of the construction project, with coverage ending when the project is complete.

Common exclusions of a builders risk policy may include:

  • Faulty workmanship, design, or materials
  • Wear and tear
  • Extreme weather events

Many builders risk policies are written on an all-peril basis, which means anything not specifically excluded is covered. And that includes your accident with the cement truck. Which means your claim would be covered by the project owner’s builders risk policy.

So which do you choose?

Many times, contractors who want to maintain a good working relationship with a project owner may be reluctant want to file a claim against the owner’s builders risk policy, and prefer to submit a claims under their own CGL policy, instead.

Here’s why that may not work out in your favor.

General Liability May Not Pay

Your general liability may not pay out if a builders risk policy is in place. Your CGL policy may have an “other insurance” clause in place that states the policy will only respond in excess of more specific coverage in place, including builders risk. In this situation, two things would have to occur for your general liability policy to pay out

  • You would have to be found negligent for the incident.
  • The loss would have to exceed the builders risk limits.

A General Liability Claim May Cost You More in the Long Run

Builders risk policies are generally project specific, so a loss will stay with that policy. But if you file a claim against your general liability, it may impact your loss ratio and premiums for future years. The more claims you file against your personal CGL policy, the higher the cost of your insurance may be as you continue to grow your business.

Best Practices for Choosing Between Builders Risk vs General Liability

  • Read and understand both policies, including exclusions. If you aren’t sure what is or what isn’t covered in your policy, ask your insurance provider for clarification.
  • When damage or injury occurs, notify the project owner and all other impacted contractors immediately. This can help you maintain a professional relationship with the project owner.
  • Contact your insurance provider promptly, and give notice under both the Builders risk and your CGL policy. The insurer will investigate the claim and help you understand your options.

Typically, it is beneficial for the subcontractor to file a claim against the project’s builders risk policy. But for the project owner, it is more beneficial if you file against your own CGL policy. Only you can decide if increased premiums and taking the loss against your CGL is worth maintaining a good working relationship with the project owner. Before you make that decision, make sure you understand the details of each policy, and contact your insurance provider to help you make this decision.

When you have two policies with overlapping coverage, the decision isn’t always clear which one gets the claim. Compared with the high cost of facing a loss without coverage, however, it’s kind of a good problem to have.

How to Get Handyman Insurance (without Breaking the Bank)

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You started your handyman business because you have a specialized skill set, an ability to repair or maintain just about anything, and an entrepreneurial spirit to build and grow your own business. And part of being a business owner is understanding how to protect your business from the risks that go along with your particular industry with the right insurance at an affordable price.

Here’s how to get the perfect handyman insurance coverage to keep your hard-earned assets where they belong.

#1: Choose Your Handyman Insurance Coverage

Your business is unique, so your insurance coverage shouldn’t be one-size-fits-all. Why should you pay the same premiums as a construction company business owner if your operation is completely different?

While you may not need the protection of every single contractor insurance policy under the sun, here are a few of the policies you should consider carrying:

General Liability

Let’s face it: every job you do is at someone else’s home. Which means your risk of causing property damage or an injury to a third-party is through the roof. If you happened to start a fire, damage a floor, cause some serious water damage, or break a brand new appliance, general liability insurance could be your answer.

General liability insurance can cover the costs of lawsuits and claims from third-party injuries and property damage. This may be the base policy for most business insurance protection plans, but for your line of work, it’s an essential tool to protect your assets from lawsuits, lawyers fees, settlements or even judgements against you.

Commercial Auto

You may use your personal vehicle as your “work truck,” but that doesn’t mean your personal auto insurance is going to protect you if you are at fault in an accident while driving for work purposes. If you want to avoid a situation where your claim is denied after you’ve been found at fault for an accident resulting in property damage or injuries, you may want to consider commercial auto coverage.

Commercial auto protects autos that you use as combination personal-work vehicles, as well as any autos that you buy or lease under your business name. And with the amount of miles you put on your auto, and the risks you face every time you get on the road, you may want to seriously consider adding commercial auto protection to your handyman insurance package.

Umbrella Insurance

You can increase your handyman insurance policy limits with umbrella insurance, so you don’t have to worry about a small accident becoming a big financial problem. Umbrella insurance gives your handyman business a larger safety net in case something goes wrong — at a very affordable price.

If you were at fault in an auto accident and the total amount of medical bills and auto repairs exceeded your commercial auto limits, you would be responsible for the remaining amount. Umbrella insurance kicks in once you’ve reached the limits of your underlying policy. Limits start at $1 million and move up from there.

Additional Handyman Insurance Policies

Depending on your business model, you may also want to consider additional policies such as:

  • Tools and Equipment
  • Cyber Liability
  • Professional Liability

#2: Get Covered

Once you’ve decided on the best policies to protect your business, it’s time to get covered. Citizens General Insurance Brokers can get you an accurate quote for your handyman insurance needs, whether it’s general liability, commercial auto, or more. Once you’ve reviewed your quote, we can help you complete an application online, or on the phone with one of our customer support specialists. In most instances, you can get a quote and be insured in the same business day.

#3: Start Saving

Want to know a secret? We know that paying for insurance isn’t as exciting as buying a new tool, investing in a new website, or even getting a new pair of work boots. So we want to make getting handyman insurance as painless and affordable as possible.

Here are some tips on how to save money on your policies; when you sign up, and as you continue with your coverage.

  • Avoid Coverage Lapses: Letting coverage lapse can cost you in the long run. When you stop and restart insurance coverage again and again, you begin to look like a risk to insurance underwriters. That can lead to fewer options and higher premiums. Many insurance companies offer premium discounts for no-lapse coverage, so keep covered to keep your premiums nice and low.
  • Combine Policies: It may take more than one policy to adequately protect your assets from the risks of your trade. But the good news is that most insurance companies will offer you a discount when you combine multiple policies, such as general liability and commercial auto.
  • Drive Safely: There’s a number of benefits to slowing down and paying more attention on the road. If you can avoid accidents, you can avoid claims. And the longer you go without an accident or commercial auto claim, the more you can save on your insurance premiums.

You’ve gotta have it if you want to successfully run a business, and find financial success as a handyman. But that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated or expensive, either. Insure your business with the right policies at the right price, and you can get back to work knowing that your assets are safe and you are protected, no matter what comes your way.