Fencing Contractor Insurance

Whether made of wood, chainlink, vinyl, or ornamental metal, fences and gates enhance properties across America.

As a professional fence contractor, you bring beauty, security, and privacy to residential and commercial settings with your installations.

However, performing fencing work also comes with substantial risks, ranging from liability claims to workplace injuries.

Proper insurance is crucial to protecting your finances and business assets if the unexpected occurs. 

This article outlines essential contractors insurance options for contractors, including:

• General liability insurance  
• Commercial auto insurance
• Workers’ compensation insurance
• Equipment coverage  
• Builders risk coverage
• Commercial Umbrella liability

Read on to learn more about how these policies defend your fencing business against risks inherent with excavation work, post-hole digging, railing fabrication, and gate installations.

With the right type of insurance, your fence company can confidently take on jobs.

General liability insurance is the first line of protection against many risks contractors face working on residential and commercial properties. It covers legal defense costs and settlements up to your policy limits if you are deemed liable for bodily injury, property damage, or other damages.

For fencing pros, general liability protects your finances in the following types of situations, including:

• A wooden fence collapses and causes injury due to improper installation 
• Electrification of a gate malfunctions and harms someone   
• Employees damage a client’s lawn or garden during fence construction
• A customer trips over tools left behind at the job site

Even with strict safety protocols, accidents, and oversights may still happen, which could prove devastating for a small business.

General liability coverage protects your assets when you are held legally liable for injuries or damages.

Most experts recommend $1 million as the minimum policy limit.

Your vehicles are always at a risk when traveling between job sites, hauling lumber/pipe, and maneuvering on occupied properties. Without commercial auto insurance, you are liable to pay for damages or injuries out of pocket after an at-fault accident. 

Commercial auto coverage protects your business vehicles and drivers by covering: 

• Liability claims against your business if an employee causes an accident
• Damage to your vehicles after collisions
• Medical payments for injured drivers
• Temporary rental vehicles, if yours are in the shop
• Properly covering your pickup trucks, trailers, and installation equipment is crucial.

Consult with an insurance pro to structure the optimal commercial auto policy.

When you are in the contracting business, your workers are at risk of injuries from physical work, such as falls, strains, sprains, and cuts, among others, due to the nature of work.

Carrying compliant workers’ compensation insurance is mandatory in most states. It covers lost wages, medical bills, rehabilitation, and long-term care for injured employees. When an accident happens, workers’ comp allows you to focus on assisting your injured worker without worrying about claim costs.

Key aspects of workers’ comp coverage include:

– State-required limits based on payroll and risk classifications

– Claim administration expertise to facilitate medical care and return to work  

– Discounted prescription drugs and access to medical networks

In addition to fulfilling state requirements, workers’ compensation prevents workplace injury claims from depleting your finances.

Partner with an insurance broker to structure the best coverage program. Discuss if you need coverage separately.

You rely on equipment like augers, pothole diggers, post drivers, saws, and welding machinery to complete installations efficiently. Having proper insurance to repair or replace these assets following losses is essential.

Options for covering fencing equipment include:

• Inland marine policy – Provides broad coverage with a blanket limit on tools and equipment. 
• Scheduled policy – Covers specific high-value items like drills and welders with selected limits per item.
• Builders risk – Can include materials/equipment stored on a work site during fence projects.  

Discuss the right insurance plan with your insurance advisor based on your tools, materials, and exposures. 

Performing major fence installation contracts means you have invested substantial money in material stacked at the job site and completed projects yet to be delivered.

 Fire, storms, floods, theft, and vandalism could strike before the customer accepts and pays for the finished job.

Builders risk insurance covers materials and contracted work against loss on a customer’s premises while the project is underway.

Having business insurance for fence safeguards your invested time and materials if a catastrophic event damages unfinished work.

A serious injury claim could exceed your policy’s limits even with general liability coverage. This poses a huge risk to your business assets unless you have adequate protection.

An umbrella liability policy provides a second layer of protection above your general liability maximum.

It provides $1 million to $5 million (or more) in additional protection to cover catastrophic claims that breach your primary policy limits.

For contractors undertaking major installation projects, umbrella insurance provides invaluable peace of mind.

It saves you from the risk of paying claim amounts beyond your normal policy limits in a worst-case incident.