Best Business Insurance for Painters

As a painter, you face a number of unique risks that come with your line of work. Though some painters assume they may not need insurance because they don’t operate from a physical commercial space, the truth is that business insurance coverage is just as necessary for painters as it is for any other realm of expertise. Read on to explore some of the painters insurance policy options you might want to purchase to protect your business. 

Compare Painters Insurance Policies

As a business owner, you have dozens of insurance companies offering comprehensive insurance policy options for painters and owners of painting businesses. Benzinga offers insights and reviews on the following painters insurance providers. You may want to consider beginning your search for the right contractors insurance using the links below. 

What is Painters Insurance?

Painters insurance is a contractor’s insurance policy that provides unique protections specific to the painting industry. You can add a variety of insurance protections to a painters insurance policy, ranging from liability insurance to insurance that protects the equipment you need to work. Like other contractors insurance policies, you can connect with a local insurance representative to curate an ideal set of coverages that fit the exact needs of your business structure. 

What Should Painters Insurance Cover?

The specific items you should expect your painters insurance to cover vary depending on the structure of your business and how you operate. The following are some of the most common types of coverage you may want to purchase when you invest in a business insurance policy as a painter or the manager of a painting company. 

Liability coverage: Liability insurance is protection that compensates you in the event that you’re sued by a client after causing some type of damage. For example, imagine a client visits a property you’re working on and one of your team members drops and destroys the client’s laptop. If the client sues you for the cost of a new laptop, your property liability insurance will help you pay for the cost of legal representation and any court-ordered judgements.

Similar to auto insurance policies, you can also purchase bodily injury liability insurance that helps you pay for legal expenses if you’re responsible for a client or customer being injured. For example, imagine a client visits a property that you’re working on, trips over a roller left on the ground and sprains their ankle. If that client sues you for the cost of their medical bills, your bodily injury liability insurance would help pay for legal expenses and judgements. Most business owners’ policies (BOPs) include both bodily injury and property damage liability coverages along with commercial property coverage. 

Business interruption insurance: As a small-business owner, you might run into a situation that requires you to temporarily shut down your business. Business interruption insurance helps you replace lost income when you’re forced to stop operating for a temporary period of time. Business interruption insurance covers things like revenue, operating expenses, taxes and loan payments while you cannot earn money through your business. 

Commercial auto: If you have a vehicle you use for work (even if this vehicle is both your personal and professional vehicle) you may not be covered under a standard auto insurance policy. Commercial auto insurance allows you to legally operate any vehicle that you use for business. Like standard auto insurance policies, most states require that you have both bodily injury liability coverage and property damage liability coverage on your commercial vehicle policy. The specific coverage levels you need to maintain vary depending on the state you live in. 

Umbrella coverage: Umbrella insurance is coverage you can purchase that extends the limitations of your liability insurance. Like most other types of insurance, business liability insurance policies have an upper limit in the total amount of money your insurance will pay toward a claim. If your legal fees or judgements go above this limit, you’ll need to cover the remaining balance out of pocket. Umbrella insurance policies increase this limit, which means you’ll be less likely to need to contribute to claims made against you. 

Workers’ compensation: Workers’ compensation insurance is protection that helps your employees cover the cost of their medical bills or lost wages if they are injured while working. Depending on where you live and operate your business in, you may be required to purchase workers’ compensation insurance as soon as you hire your first employee. Like commercial auto insurance policies, the specific level of coverage you’ll be legally required to maintain if you must purchase workers’ compensation insurance will vary depending on local laws.

Business equipment coverage: Business equipment insurance helps pay for the costs of repairs or replacements in the event the tools you use to complete your work are damaged. Business equipment insurance is not the same thing as property damage liability coverage that comes with most BOPs. While liability insurance that’s included on a BOP will cover damage to your client’s property, it will not provide you with compensation for damage that occurs to your tools or tools that you rent.

Business equipment insurance can cover damage to both equipment you own and that you rent or borrow. So long as you use a tool over the course of your work, your business equipment insurance may provide coverage. The price you’ll pay for this type of coverage largely depends on the value of the equipment you use on a day-to-day basis. 

Benefits of Painters Insurance

Investing in a comprehensive business insurance policy for your painting business comes with a number of benefits. Some of the biggest reasons to painters purchase insurance policies include the following.  

Customizable: Worried about overpaying for insurance coverages you won’t use? Painters insurance policies are completely customizable, allowing you to adjust your coverage limits and protections to fit the unique needs of your business. An insurance representative can help you select coverages based on the structure of your business, where you live and the number of employees you have. 

Selling point for customers: Put yourself in your customers’ shoes for a moment — would you rather work with a business that maintains a comprehensive set of insurance coverages or one that has not invested in a policy? If you’re like most customers, you would probably choose the company that’s insured. Maintaining insurance can be a major selling point when attracting new customers because it tells customers you’ve actively invested in your business and you take your work seriously. 

Protection for homeowners or property owners: Homeowners and property owners often worry about the quality of work they’ll receive when they hire a contractor. This causes many homeowners to forgo professional assistance and attempt to tackle their own home improvements. As a painting company with business insurance, you can use your insurance policy to put potential customers’ minds at ease when explaining your services and why they should choose your business.  

Getting the Insurance Your Business Needs

Have you been operating your business without painters insurance? If you have been, you might be putting both your business and future livelihood at risk. Though painting may not be as high of a risk profession when compared to marketing agencies and construction projects with million-dollar budgets, you may still be held financially responsible for damage you cause during the course of your work if you operate without insurance. Getting coverage helps you sleep with the peace of mind that comes with knowing you won’t be left without financial assistance in the event a client sues you or your company. 

Frequently Asked Questions