Article Reviewed by a licensed insurance professional: Sam Meenasian (CA dept of insurance license #0F75955).
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
No matter what kind of business you own and operate, you need to have insurance in place to protect both your workers and your customers. Operating a high-risk operation like a roofing company without liability insurance is not advised for a whole host of reasons. Roofing businesses often face high costs when it comes to securing liability insurance, which can make it tempting to avoid this business fee altogether.
There are many reasons why roofing businesses have to pay high prices for their insurance, and it’s important that you, as a business owner, understand the reasons for these costs. You also need to be aware of the reasons that you absolutely must have this kind of insurance in place to protect your business, your customers, and the people who work for you.
Why Are Roofing Companies Considered to Be High Risk?
1. High Heights Mean Dangerous Falls
There are limited occasions where a roofing job doesn’t lead to the necessity to work all day high up in the air. While roofing companies almost always talk to their employees about safety and taking care to use these protocols, falls are common. According to OSHA, in 2023 alone, there were 421 fatal falls on construction sites.
To make matters worse, there are always going to be companies out there that don’t make safety a necessity, don’t talk to their staff about safe practices, and don’t provide the right safety gear and supplies to their teams of roofing experts. These oversights lead to serious injury and death on many occasions, and thus, higher insurance premiums.
It is an unfortunate reality that the irresponsible behavior of other roofing businesses leads to higher premiums for everyone, even those who are following all the rules and who have limited safety incidents to report each year.
2. Property Damage
Working on top of a roof doesn’t mean that all of the materials and tools that roofers are using will stay on the roof. There are many, many instances each year when falling tools and debris damage personal property. If the vehicles parked around the building that is getting a new roof are Teslas or Mercedes, the repair bill isn’t cheap.
Property damage can also happen when roofing materials are brought onto the property. Dropping heavy materials against the siding of a home, for example, can cause a claim that is thousands of dollars. These kinds of property damage incidents are commonplace, but they are also expensive for insurance companies, and by extension, roofing business owners.
3. Fire Hazards
Roofing processes utilize torches and hot tar, as well as many flammable materials. These products can create fires that move fast, torching entire buildings rapidly. The NFPA has collected data that shows that between 2017 and 2021, local fire departments responded to an estimated average of 4,440 fires in structures under construction per year. While the severity of these fires will vary, fire damage of any kind is not cheap to make right.
When a fire claim has to be made against your roofing liability insurance, the insurer has to come up with thousands of dollars in most cases to make your wrong into a right. This is spendy for everyone, and insured businesses under the umbrella of the business paying out on the claim take the brunt of these mistakes, even if they are not their own.
4. Tough Weather
As if all of these other risks were not enough, Mother Nature can take a toll on roofing companies as well. Roofers work on exposed building surfaces in the pouring rain, the heat, or even winter storms in some cases. These weather-related difficulties can lead to falls, illnesses, project delays, and many other issues. Insurers around the US report an increase from $30 billion to $60 billion in storm damage related to hail last year alone. Insurance for roofing companies needs to cover these kinds of problems, as well as things like falls and fires.
The Risks of Operating Without Insurance
Due to the high cost of insurance premiums for roofing industry businesses, it is tempting to operate without insurance. However, the rewards of this false economy are rarely worth taking this chance. Imagine trying to come up with thousands of dollars out of pocket to cover damages that were caused by mistakes made by your roofing team. Imagine trying to figure out how to pay to replace someone’s home after a fire, or trying to figure out how to pay for days in the ICU for your staff member who fell off the roof.
Unless you have very, very deep pockets, operating without insurance is not even remotely practical. You should also be aware that your customers are usually savvy enough to check on things like insurance when they are hiring a roofing company. The best customers will make sure that you are licensed, bonded, and insured, and they will not hire a business that isn’t properly protected against risk.
Your business can only thrive if you take the time to protect it to the best of your ability. It’s not a matter of if your business will need to deal with accidents and injuries. It’s a matter of when. Having liability insurance in place to protect your business will allow you to handle these kinds of issues the smart way, increasing consumer confidence and helping promote a workplace that focuses on safety and caring for employees properly.
Choosing the Right Insurance Partner Matters
When it comes time to pick an insurance partner for your roofing company’s insurance needs, you need to work with an insurance team that has the right experience. USA Business Insurance can help you to protect your roofing company with quality policies that will protect it from all of the most common kinds of accidents and injuries that can happen during roofing jobs.
Don’t leave the safety and security of your business or your customers up to chance. Work with an insurance business with a proven track record of keeping roofers and roofing companies safe and secure. Get a quote today and find out what we can do for your business.
