What types of licenses does a HVAC Service hold?
When you schedule a call with a HVAC company you want to be sure about their credibility. Usually you undertake a variety of tasks to cross-check their reputation. You ask for the contacts of their past clients to size up their quality of services. You ask for their certifications and licenses. Yes, one of the things that need to be checked is if they hold the required insurances. This will establish their integrity. Moreover, it will protect you from unnecessary expense if they damage or unit. Let’s take a look at the types insurances that a HVAC service provider would hold:
General Liability Insurance
Most HVAC companies would have this as a protection from lawsuits that are filed against them by a third party. A third party would be anyone who does not work for their business. It could be the client, vendor, contractor, and others of the ilk. For instance, if the servicing professional ends up damaging a property of the client while repairing his HVAC and the client files a lawsuit against the company, then the general liability insurance will help the company to pay the cost associated with the legal battle. There can be other instances where this insurance can be helpful, such as if the company suffers-
• Damaged reputation
• Caused physical injury
• Caused advertising injury
In case the claim of the third party is reasonable, the insurance provider will help the HVAC Company to pay the claim and settle the dispute.
License Bonds and Permit Bonds
These insurances are just like permits that all HVAC companies would need to install a client's HVAC system. The insurances are like an agreement between the HVAC Company, the government agency, and an insurance company. The government agrees to license the HVAC contractor. The contractor agrees to abide by the government laws about installing and servicing HVAC. The insurance company agrees to pay the government money to cover their legal expenses if they get sued because of the work delivered by the HVAC Company.
Sometimes an upset client will file a lawsuit against a fault-making HVAC company and also the government agency that has licensed it. The government has to take some of the liability for the quality of service on account of the license.
Property Insurance
This is also a very important insurance that is held by reputed HVAC companies. This is a good way for their clients to ascertain if they have contemporary tools to repair and service their unit. HVAC repairing tools are quite expensive and it is not feasible for accompany to make frequent investment for buying and replacing the old one. Commercial property insurance covers the cost of replacing the old equipment with new equipment if it is lost or damaged.
This insurance types helps the company to cover the costs if its property is damaged by
• Certain weather events / natural disasters
• Fire
• Theft
• Vandalism
Business Owner's Policies
A Business Owner's Policy (BOP) usually combines General Liability Insurance and Property Insurance into one package. It is a great way for a small HVAC company to get enrolled for two insurance policies by paying one premium.
Workers' Compensation
Repairing and installing HVACs is a stressful work. Workers would often need to lift heavy unit for installations Making duct work and installing duct components, all contribute to certain physical and health risk for the workers. Injuries during installation and repair are not unusual. In such case workers can sue the company for medical claim. Without insurance, the expenses of lawsuits can make a HVAC firm bankrupt. Worker’s Compensation Insurance enables a HVAC company to cover costs associated with medical care of the injured employee, legal costs if such a claim is unreasonable, funeral cost in case of deaths, compensation to dependents of employees, wages while employees are unable to work. Lawsuits filed by employees also tarnish the reputation of a company. Worker’s Compensation insurance lets a HVAC servicing firms to keep the employees happy and reduce the chances of a lawsuit.
Umbrella Insurance
It is also referred as Excess Liability Insurance. It augments three other insurance policies held by HVAC contractors. They are General Liability Insurance, Auto Liability Insurance, and Workers Compensation Insurance. If the cost of lawsuits crosses the limit of these liability insurance, then Umbrella Insurance pays the excess cost.