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Contractors Insurance Agency Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Contractors Insurance Agency

Aug 12
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3 Tips for Working Outside in the Summer

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Summer is in full swing and that can mean a higher risk while working outside.   Here are 3 tips to keep you safe while you get all your jobs completed.

Beat the heat  

Over 600 people in the U.S. die from hecanat related issues each year. These include heat stroke and heat exhaustion.  It is important to stay cool especially if you have a pre-existing medical condition. Stay cool, hydrate, and stay informed of changes in the weather. If you can, find a place with AC that you can take your breaks in during the hottest times of the day, work in the shade, if possible, wear a hat or something to provide shade over your face, drink plenty of liquids and wear clothing that will help your body cool down.

You also want to be aware of the sun’s strength. Sunburn is not only painful, but it is damaging to your skin. Without sunscreen on you can get burned in as little as 15 minutes, but it can take up to 12 hours for your skin to show the damage.  Depending on the weather, if it is possible, you may want to have your crew work at different times of day such as early morning until 10am and from 4pm until 9 pm so that you can avoid the sun as much as possible.

Food safety

When the weather is warm, it is more common to experience food poisoning if food is not stored properly. Be sure you have your lunch on ice in a cooler if you are bringing it with you and leaving it outside or in your car until your break.

Insect protection

Protect yourself from insect bites by applying insect repellent. Apply repellents only to exposed skin or clothing, as directed on the product label.

If we can help you in any way here at Contractors Insurance Agency, please let us know.  We are here to make sure you are confident that your business is fully protected for any circumstances that may arise.

 

Jul 08
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5 Tips to Prevent Overwhelm and Recover from Burnout

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When you are a business owner, it can be overwhelming at times. If you are not careful, that overwhelm can turn into burnout.

Burnout doesn’t just happen if you are struggling, it can also happen when you are successful.  Especially if you don’t have the right support.

When you are a contractor, it can feel like your business is draining your energy.  You provide quotes, sell yourself and your services to new customers, deal with vendors and unexpected problems and by the end of the day you are exhausted and don’t have anything left for your family.

To avoid burnout, we have some tips for you that we think will help:

  1. Get the right support – you can’t do it all yourself. There is only one of you and many places to be. You need to look for the right support and hire people that are experts in the areas that you are not. This enables you to focus your time and energy on the things that only you can do. Be ready to delegate to them also.  You can’t hire them and then still do it all yourself.  Have confidence in your team and let them take some of the weight off your shoulders.
  2. Get Organized – If you don’t have control of your business administration activities, files, and other data, it can be a major source of anxiety. Take time to get organized and then take time to train someone to take over these areas for you. This new person will be organized and a self-starter. He or she can take on what you need them to and keep things running smoothly whether you are in the office or not.
  3. Set Priorities – It can seem like there is an overwhelming amount of things that have to get done each day. We often give ourselves more than we can handle and tasks that don’t have to be done that day. Look at your list and choose the top 3 items that have to take priority and be done that day. Then organize the rest in order of priority if there is still time left over.  If you don’t get it all done you can then easily switch that second list over to the next day and start the process all over again.
  4. Make sure you have down time – You can’t pack your schedule and not leave yourself any time to think. Schedule in breaks for eating and block off family time or time for activities you enjoy. Then hold those times the same as you would any other appointment and don’t block something else over it. Remember that you are your number one asset, and you need to take care of yourself too.
  5. No is a complete sentence – No one likes to say No but it needs to be done sometimes. If you are at capacity and there is a new job, you need to let the person know that you would have to schedule it out a bit as you don’t have capacity to start on it right away. If you are asked to volunteer or do something that you don’t really want to, you can say no in a nice way. Thank the person for thinking of you but let them know that you are at capacity and just can’t put in the time that would be required.  Most people will understand this and there will be no hard feelings.

Protecting your time and energy, taking care of your health and wellbeing, and focusing on your priorities so you don’t overload yourself are all ways that you can begin the process of recovering from burnout or avoiding it all together.

If we can help you with any of your insurance needs, please reach out to us here at Contractors Insurance Agency.

Jun 10
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3 Tips for Contractor Safety this Summer

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wePutting safety policies in place and making sure everyone that works with you is aware of them is key to your growth, keeping your employees happy and making sure everyone gets home safely at the end of the workday.

If you haven’t put these safety policies into place yet, now is the time to do that. These policies will ensure you streamline your company’s safety goals, system for evaluation, and training and on-boarding.

Workplace injuries and illnesses have steadily declined in the US over the past decade, but there were still 2.8 million incidents reported in 2019.  That breaks down to being almost 3 cases per 100 workers with about .9 days out of work per case.

The responsibility for safety is always on the employers and contractors to maintain safety on the worksite and eliminate as many hazards as possible.

When you have your safety policy in place, your employees will be compliant when they are on the job.  There are no excuses that they didn’t know.

Here are our 3 tips for you to help you get these policies in place:  

  1. Create policies – Before contractors set foot on a worksite, they will be aware of safety policies and sign off on them.
  2. Create standard safety requirements and training – Whether you have seasonal, part time or full-time employees, they are all on the same page and have received identical training.

Training will include detailed instructions of any task required, what to do in case of an emergency, and hazard protocols. Require completion of the training before work begins to ensure your employees learn what they need to.

  1. Monitor and Evaluate Regularly – It is important to perform a fair evaluation of anyone that works for you. Make sure you are performing on the job walkthrough inspections and annual performance reviews for your employees.

Workplace safety needs to be your top priority as a contractor.  You also want to make sure your insurance coverage is up to par.  Contact us at Contractors Insurance Agency for a policy review. This will ensure you get the correct coverage for unexpected issues that occur on a job site, even when you have safety policies in place.

Mar 11
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11 Tips for Growing a Successful Contractor Business

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Building a business is so rewarding.  You have the privilege of working in an area you love, and you have the accomplishment of growing something you are proud of. You provide a service that is widely needed by many people.

Here are 11 tips to build or grow a successful contracting business:

  1. Best business practices are important. Implement systems to handle bookkeeping, scheduling, invoicing, training, and project management.

Teach your employees what they need to know (step by step) to use these systems efficiently. Having systems in place allows you to maintain your current level of success and scale in the right way when you are ready to expand.

  1. Assess your business. Things that you want to take into account are whether or not your business is stable financially, if you are getting repeat sales and referrals, how your ratings and reviews are showing up and what your employee turnover rate is.

To accurately assess these, you want to review your books, pay attention to reviews people are posting online, talk with employees and customers. If you need to make improvements, be sure to do that before attempting to grow your business further.

  1. Customer Support is key to growth. Your prospective customers want to talk to a person during normal business hours. You can hire someone to handle phone calls or you can send calls to your cell phone or promise to return calls on your voicemail within a certain time frame.

Also, be sure to set up automated email and social media messages during off-hours. A simple message informing customers that their message was received, and they’ll receive a response within 24 hours should be enough to keep them satisfied.

Be sure to follow up, return calls, and handle any issues in a timely manner.  Don’t make your customers have to do the follow up.

  1. Join an association. Industry associations, such as the Associated General Contractors, aren’t just great for networking. They can also help you develop essential business skills and recommend products you should use for different jobs as well as other resources you may need.

A quick Google search in your particular area will let you know local and national associations you may want to check out or join.

  1. Always be marketing. Marketing isn’t just to land a few new customers. It is how you get the high paying jobs and how you keep customers happy.

Marketing isn’t just sending out a postcard in the mail.  It means having an online presence, interacting with your audience through email, social media and blog posts and sharing your expertise in valuable ways.

Make sure your address, phone number and hours are available online and easily searchable. Network in your community both online and offline by attending chamber of commerce meetings or answering questions in a local forum.

  1. Be flexible. When you go above and beyond for a customer, you will most likely have earned a customer for life, as well as many referrals to their friends and family.
  2. Have a mentor. A mentor is someone that has already reached the goal you are striving for and can guide you. They will help you to not make the same mistakes they did and can teach you how to manage all the different aspects you need to such as managing money and customers and introducing you to vendors or investors.
  3. Hire people that know more than you. By hiring people who are smarter and more talented than you are, you can rest assured that they can handle assignments without your supervision. This frees up your time to do the things that only you can, in order to grow your business.
  4. Watch your finances. Don’t become a statistic because you couldn’t cover your overhead expenses. When sending out bids, be sure you factor in all the costs involved with the project and give the customer a ballpark estimate. Make sure you are invoicing regularly and staying on top of what is coming into your business and what is going back out.
  5. Outsource. There are only 24 hours in a day so you can’t do it all yourself. What can you delegate to someone else, so you free up more of your time? Consider delegating admin and accounting tasks first. That way you will ensure they are getting done and you don’t have to spend hours of your time doing them yourself.
  6. Staying small is OK. Don’t feel like you have to expand if you don’t want to. If things are working well as they are and you are happy with the workload and the income you are making, stay small. This will help you to continue to have a positive cash flow and low expenses.  It is also much less stressful since the workload is easier to manage.

If you would like to review your insurance policies to make sure they are covering what your business needs, the Contractors Insurance Agency would love to help.  Just give us a call and let’s make sure you are covered for anything that may come up.

 

Jan 14
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Are Your Insurance Policies Working For You?

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You spend a lot of time and effort working on your client’s projects and putting your all into them so the results are great.  It’s time for your insurance policies to put in that same effort for you!

Here are 5 tips to get the most out of your insurance policies:

Choose the Right Policy

When multiple policies offer overlapping coverage, choosing the right one can be tricky. Let’s say you are at fault for an incident that results in structural damage. You are covered under the builders risk policy for unexpected events that occur during the course of construction. You also have a contractor general liability (CGL) policy that covers you for property damage that you cause.

You may think that you should use your CGL policy for this, but that could end up costing you a lot more money. Talk to your insurance provider to determine the best route to take so you can keep your premiums affordable in the future.

Know What Your Policy Covers (and doesn’t)

Do you know what your insurance policies cover and what they don’t? By spending a little time reviewing the policies and asking questions about items you are unsure of, you can ensure that there are no gaps in your coverage.

If you see some obvious gaps in our protection, you can reach out right away to make sure that is covered.  You may need to add an umbrella policy in order to increase coverage in the event of a large claim.

On the other hand, if you notice coverages or endorsements built into your policy for risks that don’t pertain to you, give us a call at Contractors Insurance Agency and let us help you get that removed and reduce your premiums.

Protect Yourself from Theft

A high percentage of insurance claims come in due to theft or burglary. More than 75% of stolen equipment is less than 5 years old.  Make sure your equipment is covered adequately with the following coverage:

  • Commercial property insurance: Protects your tools and equipment stored at your place of business from burglary or theft.
  • Builders risk insurance: Protects your tools and equipment from burglary or theft from a project site.
  • Inland marine insurance: Protects your tools and equipment from burglary or theft when you are transporting them to and from storage, project sites, or even your home.

In the event your equipment does get stolen, the above policies can help you cover the cost of replacing what you need to.

Review your Policy Annually

When was the last time you sat down and had a conversation with your insurance agent? If it has been awhile, you want to be sure to have that talk now. Checking in regularly with your insurance agent can help you ensure you always have the correct coverage in place to protect you and your business at all times.

Some changes that could affect your coverage would be if you bought or sold a vehicle, fired or hired employees, or changed the scope of work that you perform.

Advertise Your Coverage

Did you know your insurance policies also add to your marketing efforts?

When you are promoting your business, be sure to always say that you have insurance coverage. It shows that you are serious about your business, that you are a professional, and that you can pay for an accident, injury, or unintended occurrence that happens while you’re doing your work.

Make sure you mention it on your website, social media, blog, advertising, business cards, and any other marketing you do throughout the year. Let clients know that you are insured, and happy to provide a certificate of insurance as proof of your coverage. Your insurance coverage gives you a leg up on the uninsured competition.

Those tips should help you to ensure that you are always protecting your business fully and getting the most out of the premiums you are paying.

If you have any questions on your coverage or would like to talk to us about putting some in place, we would love to chat.  Call Contractors Insurance Agency today!

 

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