What Insurance do Bricklayers and Stone Masons Need?
Your job as a bricklayer or stone mason means lifting and long periods of standing, kneeling, and bending. It can involve dangers and injuries. You’ll need specialized masonry insurance to protect you.
If you are an independent contractor or you have a bricklaying or stone masonry business, you’ll need the right insurance whether you’re laying or repairing brick work, reinforcing a retaining wall, or laying a patio.
Does your masonry business serve commercial or residential clients in downtown Toronto?
Or are you a bricklayer who serves one of Toronto’s many neighbourhoods?
Does your bricklaying or stone masonry company serve Scarborough, Etobicoke, North York, York, East York or are you in Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Newmarket, Aurora, Orangeville, or Milton?
Wherever your brick and stone mason business is located in Toronto, Greater Toronto Area (GTA) or anywhere in Ontario, your Western business insurance expert will give you top-notch insurance advice and ways to save on your masonry insurance.
How will bricklayer’s insurance protect my business?
As a brick and stone mason, you could be putting or repairing brick on a house, building, and repairing walls, floors, fireplaces, chimneys, other structures. Each job can bring risks.
Showing proof of insurance will give your customers confidence in your masonry business.
As a bricklaying professional, you know that accidents can happen. Your business could be held liable for accidents causing third-party property damages or injuries. When you have the right bricklaying and stone masonry insurance package, it helps provide legal and financial protection when something goes wrong on the job.
A bricklayer’s and stone mason’s insurance package can help protect you from these 3 common claims:
1. You dropped a load of bricks while doing second-storey brick work and your client’s solarium is badly damaged. She sues you. Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance would help cover property damage caused by your bricklaying business and it would help cover legal costs to defend you and your business in court, regardless of the legal outcome.
2. You fail to finish residential brick work before winter and moisture infiltrates the exposed walls, damaging the interior walls of your client’s house and you get sued for the damage. Professional liability insurance can help cover defense costs and any settlement resulting from a claim of negligence.
3. A thief breaks into your storage shed and steals your masonry tools and equipment. Tools and equipment insurance could help cover the cost to replace what has been stolen.
Did you know that brick and stone masons are a skilled trade in Ontario?
Here’s an insurance checklist for masonry/bricklaying contractors:
- Do you have the best business insurance rate that suits your masonry business?
- Do you have the right amount for your deductible and regularly review it to make sure it’s the right amount for your business?
- Do you know the value of your equipment and tools and are they properly insured?
- Are you or your employees using personal vehicles for your work?
At Western, we are business insurance experts. We will save you time and money by doing the insurance shopping for you to find the right package at the right value for your bricklaying and stone masonry business.
What’s in a bricklayers/stone masons insurance package?
Commercial general liability (CGL) insurance
CGL insurance is also known as “slip-and-fall” insurance because it protects against claims alleging third-party bodily injuries, such as a client getting injured as you are doing masonry at their home or business.
It can also help protect you against third-party property damage such damaging property while you are doing brick work at a client’s home or business. It also helps protect you against allegations of false advertising, and libel or slander.
Without commercial general liability insurance, you would be responsible for paying any liability costs out of your own pocket.
It wouldn’t be uncommon for you to have $2 million of CGL insurance and $5 million if you are a large masonry contractor.
Professional liability insurance
This type of insurance is also known as errors and omission (E&0) insurance.
If you are faced with a lawsuit as a bricklayer or stone mason, professional liability insurance can help protect you against loss in the event of a lawsuit due to a negligent act, or an error or omission in the course of your services to a client.
In addition to claims of error, omission, or negligence, E and O can also protect against slander, libel, and breach of contract.
Some of the most common E & O situations that masonry contractors may face include:
- Brick work projects that are not completed according to the contract with a client, such as being over budget
- Brick work not finished on time
- Defects in your work
It helps cover legal defence costs and settlement costs.
Tools and equipment insurance
It replaces, or repairs damaged, stolen, or lost equipment and tools, accessories, or other property that you use in your bricklaying or stone masonry business.
Anything valued at less than $1,500 is considered a tool and anything above that limit is considered equipment.
This type of insurance can also be called equipment floater insurance instead of equipment and tools insurance.
Commercial Auto Insurance
Your masonry business needs commercial auto coverage as part of your insurance package. Personal car policies will not cover your drivers or your masonry business.
Commercial property insurance
This type of insurance keeps your bricklaying/stone masonry company protected from property losses, such as theft or vandalism. You can also add earthquake insurance, sewer backup or flood coverage extensions to protect your office headquarters.
Property you may need to insure:
- Buildings and other structures
- Furniture, equipment, supplies
- Computers
- Documents such as payroll, accounts receivable
Business interruption insurance
Business interruption insurance can mean the difference between closing and not reopening.
If there is an insured loss at your masonry company that’s severe enough to prevent it from being open, the expenses associated with getting your business running again will be covered.
This type of policy usually covers vandalism, fire, wind, flooding, and other risks (make sure to understand what your policy covers). Your policy will help compensate you for lost income and expenses that you will need to continue paying even while you are unable to work.
Cyber liability insurance
Do you keep client information online and take online payments? If so, your computer system could be hacked by cyberthieves.
Without cyber insurance, you will have to pay out of your pocket for the cost of restoring your system. You may also be liable for damages to third parties whose information has been stolen and you may have to pay for notification expenses to inform customers affected by a breach.
How much insurance do I need as a masonry professional?
It will depend on the size of your business and any past claims.
Ask your Western business insurance expert to determine the right level of coverage for you in this field so that your business is protected.
What do I do if my bricklaying business has an insurance claim?
- Contact your broker immediately after any business-related mishap. Waiting to file a claim can confuse insurers about the severity of the damages to your business.
- Know your policy so that when you contact your broker you are familiar with what will be covered or not.
- Document the damage. Take photos right away and write down what happened.
- Do not throw away damaged goods after taking photos. Keep the physical evidence so that your adjustor can see it.
- Do not invite lawsuits. Don’t say anything that could be used against you, especially if you aren’t sure what happened.
- Be honest about what your damaged property is worth. Damaged commercial property is generally valued according to its actual cash value or replacement value.
Western Financial Group has licensed BUSINESS INSURANCE EXPERTS to get your bricklaying or stone masonry business the right insurance package. Our experts are available now to help you navigate the business insurance journey to protect your masonry company.
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