When we hire a plumber, electrician or general contractor we make sure they are properly insured to protect ourselves and the investment we have made in our property. The same should go for Sign installers. What happens if a sign falls down or heaven forbid, hurts someone. Just because someone says they can install a sign doesn’t mean they are qualified to or adequately insured to do so. Insurance is expensive. Next to payroll it is probably every business owners biggest expense. And for good reason. It’s not just the general public or our employees who need to be protected. We need to protect ourselves as well.
Workers comp expenses can be the highest of the insurances. Small business owners are not required to cover themselves under workers comp but consider this: If the sign guy is injured on your property, doing work for you and he is not covered by workers comp, he can go after YOURS. Most people are not aware of this but most personal injury lawyers are.
Many small sign shops carry a minimum of liability insurance and worse yet may not be covered as installers at all, let alone may have heavy restrictions in place.
Before a ladder is set in front of your store make sure you request a certificate of insurance from your sign guy. Make sure also that it comes directly from the insurance carrier or broker (anyone can take someone else’s insurance certificate, use a little white-out and make it their own….it happens more often than you think). If the information you are seeking isn’t stated on the certificate you have the right to ask any contractor permission to contact the insurance company for verification – I have done it and was glad I did.
So keep insurance in mind when someone gives you a ridiculously low cost for your next sign. You may save a few bucks, but is it worth risking the business you worked so hard to build?
