Hi Guys,
Ok I tried to call this E and O insurance but it won’t let me soooo…
Fairly new qualified inspector here looking to get going in Florida and setting up everything. I’ve just been hit with quotes for E and O insurance and I’m thankful i was sitting down when I got them. Coming from the UK, I’m having to get used to the extortionate insurance premiums you guys pay for, but starting out a new business I was a little taken aback by the upwards of $2000 for the year asked for. It sort of means that the first 7 jobs pay for the insurance lol. That’s an uphill battle for a newbie to get established
I’ve spoken to a few brokers and been told that HI is a litigious business and thats why the rates are high and it got me thinking.
In the UK, our building industry is not as regulated as here in FLorida re licensing and such yet the build quality of the housing here is very much poorer than Britain. Products used are low quality, consistently outlets break, stop valves fail, sanitary fittings cause flooding and houses that are only 5 year old have problems that in the UK we would still consider new.
And that got me thinking more about our industry of inspections that we are supposed to catch everything wrong with a property whether it be a new house, or 60 yr old.
How about the construction industry tighten up on the products, standards and codes it uses so that when a client buys a house they are getting a worthy value for money product that isn’t full of potentially expensive failures built into it. That way insurance companies would need less premiums and less get out clauses ie. inspectors.
We’d then all be out of work, looking to move to UK to inspect Here in the states we like our houses just like fast food – fast & cheap, don’t expect quality unless you pay a high premium.
When I started out I was paying $3500. Over the years I got down to $1600. Then two years ago my carrier stopped providing E&O for home inspectors and the best quote I could find for $1m coverage was $3000. Never a claim.
My agent said it’s because there are too many unqualified inspectors with too many claims and insurance companies are dropping that line of coverage. The ones that offer E&O are jacking the rates.
…and for another small fee & some internet logged hours you can get your license, tell the world you are just as good as everyone else, start your own business & be a millionaire entrepreneur.
Easy peasy.
Thats never going to happen. It would cut into the builders profit too much. That why they hire the cheapest labor they can find also. Typically if you see something in a new build labeled “contractor grade” it’s crap not quality. LOL.
Yes join Nachi for $50 a month, then take the minimum number of courses to get their CPI.
Lately, more than ever, we get the question “what do I need to do to pass the NHIE exam so I can get my license?”
Which only shows they’ve taken very few courses so far and are only interested in one thing, getting their license and start charging strangers to inspect their future home, without really knowing enough to do a qualified job.
Here in the states we like our houses just like fast food – fast & cheap, don’t expect quality unless you pay a high premium.
