Hey guys, Mike here.
Let’s be honest — no matter how careful we are, every contractor has had a job that didn’t go exactly as planned. Maybe a pipe fitting leaked after install, a roof started dripping a month later, or some paint peeled right after the job was done. It happens.
That got me wondering: if the damage was caused by my mistake or bad workmanship, does my insurance cover it?
Here’s what I found out.
General liability doesn’t cover your own work.
If the damage comes from your own faulty work or installation, most general liability policies won’t pay to redo it. For example, if I install a water heater wrong and it leaks, the policy might pay for the water damage to the floor — but not to replace the heater or fix my work.It covers damage caused by your work, not the work itself.
This is where a lot of contractors get tripped up. If my mistake damages someone else’s property (say, a ceiling collapses because of a plumbing leak I caused), that’s covered. But fixing the actual leak — that’s on me.Completed operations coverage helps.
This part of your liability policy kicks in after the job is done. It protects you if a customer files a claim months later for damage that happened because of your finished work.Professional liability (E&O) can fill the gap.
My broker mentioned that if I start taking on bigger or more technical jobs — like HVAC design or large commercial projects — adding an Errors & Omissions policy can protect against mistakes in planning or workmanship that regular liability won’t cover.
At the end of the day, the lesson is simple: insurance is there to protect you from accidents, not redo your work. But with the right mix of coverage — general liability, completed operations, and maybe E&O — you can make sure one mistake doesn’t take your business down.
If you want to make sure your policy actually covers what you think it does, give The Sarrica Insurance Group a call at 516-277-0812 or fill out the quick online form here: Get a Quote.
— Mike