I’m Inspector just outside of Atlanta Georgia. From time to time I do new home construction inspections. Regardless of being a certified inspector through Nachi I was a homebuilder for 20 years and owned a remodeling company for almost 40 years. I believe I am well qualified to inspect new construction And maintain current local code Frequency.
During a routine inspection request from a familiar builder, I’ve been asked now to submit a certificate of Worker’s Compensation as well as a liability insurance. I do not carry Worker’s Compensation. I am the only inspector in my company and find it unnecessary in the grand scheme of things.
I would like to hear your opinions, advice, and or suggestions regarding this, and if it’s something I should maintain. Recognizing that it comes at great expense and does not justify the expense based on the number of new home inspections that I do.
This is a scheme builders have implemented to make it harder to inspect their homes. I steer people toward an 11 month inspection. At that time they can document everything while the builders warranty is still in effect.
I am in Atlanta, and this comes up occasionally. I present my case, and if they reject me, I move on. There is no way to justify the expense unless you live off of new construction.
I’m not even sure you can get worker’s comp insurance if you don’t have any employees. The forms I have submitted for builders in my area, I just leave that section blank and they have never asked about it.
Here in Texas we are not required to have Workers Comp insurance and that is never an issue with Builders even if they ask for proof.
As for liability insurance it is very cheap for a $2M policy and am happy to provide a proof of coverage if a Builder asks. Be very careful though if they want to be named as an “Additional Insured” as that can cause issues. For those cases I just pass on the inspection.
This has become common with many builders. We have a file we send them that has pretty much everything they are asking for. I bet 75% of the time it is never looked at! As for Workers Comp, you should be able to get a waiver through your state since you are a solo owner opperator/inspector.
I have seen many builders in the NW have bumped up the G/L requirement to a $1,000,000 level. I kind of balked as I was carrying a $500k amount. For the year, my insurance jumped up on $60 or so dollars to go from 500K to 1 Mil. Just worth biting the bullet to have it in my eyes.
A sole proprietor would not need workers comp in WA, but not so sure in other states.
My insurance is usually back to me within 2 business hours for any additionally insured endorsements. I have never had any issues on that.
It is a pain to be compliant with the Builder requests, but once you work through a few…it makes it easy, and new construction is pretty easy to work through with no items in the way. I do a decent amount of them and with no regrets.I have even found a few of the builders have me on a referral list as I can and do meet their basic requirements.
We are also in the NG/ATL area. Most builders will accept an exemption form for Work Comp. But unfortunately in regards to the other contractual stipulations between the buyer and builder, well its their playground and their rules.
Imo insurance coverage is a reasonable ask. But several of these builders put conditions in contracts that are just plain goofy at best. I should dig some previous builder requirements up in my files and post them. They would be comical if they were not actually binding contracts between the buyer and builder.
Sometimes they ask us the fill their form out and agree to the terms. Sometimes we sign as is, sometimes we hand write modifications or stike out line items. Sometimes we can’t agree and just pass on the work. Most often you have to submit your credentials and insurance. We make a fike packet each new year, ready to email upon an ask.