There is not any such thing to be over protective with regards to your home as well as your finances. There are many roofing contractors out there that are willing to bend the guidelines to simplify things for themselves, leading to problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every occasionally. That’s why it is important to know these 4 simple ways to protect yourself when choosing a roofing contractor.

Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to repair a leak on your roof. One of their workers decides not to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to pay his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your own property.

Solution: Roofers Compensation is really a kind of insurance covering roofing injuries. In case a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees are entitled to recover expenses for hospital bills and being out of work. Make sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so you are saved the difficulty and expenses of paying those bills yourself.

Liability Insurance
Problem: Your roofing contractor leaves your roof uncovered after removing your shingles. That night there’s an urgent storm. Water seeps into your home and damages your sheet rock, carpet and some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but there are exclusions preventing coverage of the interior of your building. You end up paying to repair the damages yourself.

Solution: If damage occurs to your house or building this is the fault of a roofing contractor, you intend to be sure they will have good liability insurance. This will cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as stated in the situation above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance company offers so many exclusions that it is almost like there is no coverage at all. Look for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage caused by leaving a roof open.

Business License
Problem: You hire a new roofing company to focus on your roof. A few months later you see a leak. You try to contact the business, but can’t find their information. You try to look them up by their business license and you also find that there is never a small business license issued for that company. Avon Business Roof are forced to cover the repairs yourself.

Solution: Check ahead of time that your roofing contractor has a business license. If they don’t have a license, it may be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The business could easily disappear or go out of business.

In hawaii of Utah, your roofing company should have a shingle license and a general roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A flat roof installation only requires a general roofing license.

An over-all contractor is legally able to install a roof without a roofing license should they have an over-all contractor license. However, there have been many cases of general contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves when they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners along with home owners. It is ideal for a general contractor to get a roofing license along with their general contractors license.

In Utah, the quantity for a general roofing licence is S280. The general contractors license is B100.

If your roofing contractor is in the middle of working on your roof and you find that they will have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the option to terminate their service right away. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor since they were operating illegally. After that you can find a qualified contractor to repair your roof and finish the work.

Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you also pay the contractor. However, a few weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a fee for the materials installed on your own roof. You discover that your contractor didn’t pay his supplier and that you are now in charge of that payment. This has happened and can eventually you.

Solution: Be sure to request a lien waiver when the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that if the contractor does not make his payments to a supplier or employees, you are not responsible to cover them. It is ultimately in place to protect the house or building owner from paying twice. If you receive the lien waiver before you pay, it really is conditional upon your payment. However, once your payment has cleared, the lien waver becomes unconditional without the additional paperwork.