Framing Insurance for Construction Professionals in Ontario

Those who aren’t familiar with the construction industry and have never seen a building built might have a pretty vague idea of precisely what a framing contractor does—but those in the know know that the work you make impacts all of our lives daily. Framers are crucial to give us the comfortable indoor lifestyles we’ve come to expect. Still, your work also leaves you vulnerable to liability and property damage issues that could result in severe financial losses without the financial protection afforded by the right Framers insurance policy.

Don’t leave yourself and your business unprotected against the many things that could go wrong, both on and off the job. The experienced brokers at Morison Insurance will work with you to find the ideal Framers insurance coverage to suit your unique needs, so you can get the peace of mind that comes with knowing you’ll be able to get your business back on track quickly and without financial hardship, if something does go wrong.

What is Framers Insurance?

Framers insurance is a type of contractor insurance coverage that offers financial protection if you or the products you have constructed cause bodily injury or property damage to others, and you are sued by a plaintiff who wants compensation for medical bills, replacement costs and so on. It also protects you against financial loss if your tools, equipment or commercial property are damaged, stolen or destroyed, so you can get them replaced or repaired and get back to work without suffering a major disruption or being forced to close up your business altogether.

Who Needs to Have Framers Insurance?

Anyone who does framing work, whether heavy-frame construction or light-frame construction and whether they’re an independent contractor or work for a framing company, must be protected by the right combination of Framers insurance for their specific needs. Without it, you could be forced to pay out of pocket for astronomically high costs that could spell the end of the business and your financial security.

What Types of Coverage are Included With Framers Insurance in Ontario?

There’s no such thing as standard business insurance coverage, regardless of what type of work you do, and Framers insurance is no exception. While there are some basic types of coverage that everyone needs, like commercial general liability and commercial property coverage, even those need to be tailored to meet your particular needs for Framers insurance coverage, according to how you operate your business and professional life. You may need or want a wide range of coverages for your insurance package, including the following.

Commercial General Liability (CGL)

As a necessary part of any business insurance policy, commercial general liability is significant for Framers because they can’t do the bulk of their jobs at their own commercial properties—they have to travel to their client’s properties and perform most of their work there. While it’s true that business professionals who do work at their own properties still need CGL coverage, it’s even more crucial for Framers to have CGL as part of their Framers insurance because working on a client’s property exposes you to additional risk of being liable for third-party property damage, third-party bodily injury.

When understanding types of Framers insurance coverage in Ontario, such as CGL, it can be helpful to hear some examples illustrating why it’s so important. Imagine you’re working at a client’s property, and they come to the building site to see how it’s progressing and trip over a tool you left lying out. If the client is injured, they can sue you to recover the expense of their medical costs and recovery period. Or, suppose you’re working on an addition to an existing residential building and are carrying some materials through to the work site when you drop them and cause severe damage to expensive flooring material. Your general liability insurance may cover the cost of replacing the destroyed items or materials up to the limit on your Framers insurance policy. This is, however, subject to standard policy conditions and exclusions.

Products and Completed Operations Coverage

This is a particular type of commercial general liability coverage that can (and in most cases, should) be added to your Ontario Framers insurance policy. Unlike basic CGL coverage, products and completed operations coverage gives you financial protection against liability costs if you are sued because your work allegedly caused injury or damage after it was completed. Or, in the case of a manufactured product, after it was distributed to the consumer. For example, you frame a house for a client, and a year after construction is complete, part of the framing structure collapses and causes severe damage to the home and its contents. If the client alleges that the collapse was due to faulty or negligent work on your part, they could sue you to recover the cost of repairing the damage and replacing destroyed items. Suppose you have products and completed operations coverage as part of your Framers insurance. In that case, your insurance carrier will provide funds up to your coverage limit to cover legal defence fees, settlement costs and other expenses associated with the lawsuit.

Professional Liability Insurance

A professional liability policy, which is also sometimes called errors and omissions or E&O, is a variety of Framers insurance that gives Framers financial protection should they have legal action brought against them due to claims that they allegedly caused financial losses for the plaintiff that were based on misconduct, bad advice, professional negligence, breach of contract or failure to deliver a promised service. As a result, your professional liability risk exposure increases the more parts of the process you are involved with. If you’re merely providing general Framers services under the supervision of a separate building management company, your professional liability risk is relatively low. Suppose you provide design and build services that involve framing based on your designs. In that case, your risk exposure will be much higher because there’s so much potential for a faulty design that could result in liability issues.

Tools and Equipment Coverage

Framing is skilled, specialized labour that involves using expensive tools and equipment absolutely essential to your work’s success. If you arrived on the job site one morning to find your tools stolen and your equipment vandalized, you wouldn’t be able to work that day or any day afterward until your tools were replaced and your equipment was restored to normal function. That would seriously damage your ability to meet your contractual obligations, which could lead to liability issues. Your tools and mobile equipment are also at greater risk of having something happen to them because you don’t just keep them on your property—by necessity, you have to take them with you to your clients’ properties so you can complete your work there. 

A standard business insurance policy usually does not include tools, equipment and materials coverage. That’s why it’s essential to speak with a broker about tools and equipment insurance for your Framers insurance, a type of inland marine insurance sometimes referred to as an installation floater. Tools and equipment coverage is a significant part of a complete policy. It protects you against paying out of pocket to repair or replace materials, equipment and tools damaged, vandalized, or stolen during transit or at job sites. 

What Other Coverages Are Available for Framers Insurance?

Other types of Framers insurance to consider are Commercial Property Insurance, Cyber Crime Insurance, Commercial Umbrella Coverage and much more. Speak to a licenced Morison Insurance broker for more information on other coverages or to begin a Framers insurance quote today.

Is Ontario Framers Insurance Legally Required?

Most business professionals are not legally obligated to have business insurance coverage in Ontario except commercial auto insurance. But just because the government does not mandate it, it doesn’t mean you don’t need it. It’s easy to think that you’ll probably never need to make a Framers insurance claim anyway because you’ll be extra careful and do everything correctly, but that’s not a realistic long-term plan.

Accidents happen, uncontrollable events like natural disasters occur, and you can even be accused of causing damage or injury you weren’t responsible for and be forced to defend yourself in court. The expenses resulting from those scenarios can end up well into the millions of dollars, and that’s different than the kind of bill an average person can pay without experiencing extreme financial difficulties. Save yourself the pain and uncertainty of financial loss by ensuring you have the right Framers insurance to provide the monetary support your business needs to recover quickly from major unexpected expenses.

What Information Needs to Be Disclosed to Framers Insurance Providers?

When assessing your application for Framers insurance, the insurance provider will assess your risk exposures to determine how much of that risk they are willing to take on and what your premiums will be. Framers insurance providers will want to know information such as:

• Gross revenues
• Work history
• Claims history
• Types of projects you take on (Example: Do you only do new construction builds or work on additions and repair post-construction framing?)
• Types of materials you work with include wood, steel, concrete, etc.
• Commercial property location – if any
• Number of employees
• Use of subcontractors

They’ll also want to know which coverage options you’re looking for and determine the necessary policy limits. If you’d like to learn more, or to start a Framers insurance quote, give us a call to speak with your licensed Morison Insurance broker. We know which questions to ask to learn about your unique business and how you like to operate. We’ll use that information to track down the suitable coverage options for your particular risk exposures.

What Are the Recommended Coverage Limits for Framers Insurance?

The coverage limits necessary for your Framers insurance policy will vary based on the types of coverage you need, your risk exposures and other factors. Because Framers have more risk exposures than other professions that aren’t involved in building structures, they may need higher coverage limits than the standard recommendations. For example, most business insurance policies need at least two million dollars in commercial general liability insurance. Still, Framers may need to consider three million or five million dollar limits for CGL coverage due to a higher probability of liability concerns.

Where Can I Get a Framers Insurance Quote?

That’s simple—call 1-800-463-8074 for more information or to start a Framers insurance quote with a friendly, knowledgeable insurance broker at Morison Insurance. We work for you, not the insurance companies. That means you can count on us to search high and low for suitable insurance coverage options, and we’ll always keep your best interests in mind. Get in touch with us today to learn more about the Framers insurance policy you need and how to get it at a competitive rate so you can sleep easily at night knowing the financial protection of Framers insurance backs you and your business.