Check your inspection agreement and E&O coverage. Dept. of Agriculture is suspending SPI/ Structural Pest Inspector/ WDO licenses if your inspection agreement contract limits your liability to a monetary value less then whats required by law. ($25,000) Even if client agrees to sign said contract.
The issue as I interpret it:
Inspectors inspection agreement contract that have a clause that limits all responsibility to a refund of the inspection fee or any other nominal amount less then $25,000.
I just got the letter announcement in the mail. Is my interpretation correct?
Joe,
I’ve used that form, but I typically use the WSPCA form and have integrated it into my inspection software. There is no “right” form or one that WA. State requires us to use…
My understanding, after talking to Dan Soumi, is that only the spi part of your contract has to follow the state rules. You can still limit liability for the rest of the inspection. Allen Insurance okayed a phrase stating “exept where prohibited by law”
Ahhhhhhhhhh good one David. Stephen Stanczyk has submitted a phrase to Cliff Weed for approval,… still waiting on the Attorney Generals “OK” He said. Stay tuned.
I received that letter also. And you are right in that your WDO inspection report contract can not have a limitation of liability below the 25K insurance level.
I am not sure that this will matter much for some inspectors, after the HI licensing goes into effect. I don’t see much value in having an SPI license, if the new HI law allows me to report on wood rot decay and conducive conditions.
For the occasional home I find with Anobiids, Carpenter or Moisture ants, and dampwoods, I do not believe it is worth my time and money to continue to hold an SPI license. (just refer the buyer to a pest control operator for an additional inspection, etc)
My main reason for having this license was never really to report on bugs, but to report on wood rot decay and its’ conducive conditions. (Because 95% of the time that is the one WDO I do come across.) The new HI law will allow us to do so, without an SPI license (as I understand).
I don’t know about you guys, but I rarely have a buyer who’s lender requests a pest inspection report. Definitely less than 5% of my inspections fit this category.
Ya, and for now that is what I am doing. Really to see how things are going to work. I am not sure what will happen as the HI Board implements the new law, and what they can change.
If I have to spend several hundred on an HI license, I am not crazy about having to also pay for an SPI license and related insurance.
I need to look into what dropping the SPI license would do to my insurance and bonding premiums, for the portion that is related to those. By getting rid of the insurance with a 3 year tail for SPI, it seems that would drop premiums pretty good.
Received an answer back from Cliff Weed this morning. If you add this line at the end of your limitation of liability clause, you are good to go.
“This paragraph does not apply to items that are part of a WSDA Structural Pest Inspector’s Report. Those items are covered by my required financial responsibility insurance coverage.”