There is no such thing to be over protective when it comes to your home and your finances. There are several roofing contractors out there that are willing to bend the rules to simplify things for themselves, leading to problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every once in a while. That’s why it is important to know these 4 simple methods to protect yourself whenever choosing a roofing contractor.

Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to fix a leak on your own roof. One of their employees decides never to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to cover his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your own property.

Solution: Roofers Compensation is a type of insurance covering roofing injuries. If a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees have entitlement to recover expenses for hospital bills and being unemployed. Be sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so that 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 unexpected storm. Water seeps into your house 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. summer heat protection wind 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 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 resulting from leaving a roof open.

Business License
Problem: You hire a fresh roofing company to focus on your roof. A couple of months later you see a leak. You make an effort to contact the business, but can’t find their information. You make an effort to look them up by their business license and you also find that there was never a small business license issued for that company. You are forced to cover the repairs yourself.

Solution: Check ahead of time that your roofing contractor has a business license. If they don’t possess a license, it could be a sign that they have no idea what they are doing. The company could easily disappear or go out of business.

In the state of Utah, your roofing company should have a shingle license and a general roofing license to install a pitched roof. A set roof installation only requires a general roofing license.

A general contractor is legally able to install a roof without a roofing license if they have an over-all contractor license. However, there were lots of cases of contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves if they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners along with home owners. It is perfect 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 center 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 immediately. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor because they were operating illegally. You can then find a qualified contractor to fix your roof and finish the job.

Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you pay the contractor. However, a couple weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a payment for the materials installed on your own roof. You discover your contractor didn’t pay his supplier and that you will be now responsible for that payment. This has happened and can happen to you.

Solution: Make 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 really is ultimately in place to protect the house or building owner from paying twice. In the event that you have the lien waiver before you pay, it is conditional upon your payment. However, once your payment has cleared, the lien waver becomes unconditional without any additional paperwork.