Contractor license & workers compensation insurance

[sentosa]

i was trying to search for contractor license information mainly for landscaping & window treatment.
i have the following question:

1. shutters king has a license which is listed under express blinds. what does that mean ? is shutters king actaully a middle man ?

2. for some landscaping company, they have active license, but they don't have workers compensation ins. does that mean they are just using subcontractors ?

 

[qwerty]

1) it's probably a DBA, express blinds doing business as Shutters king

2) any contractor can get a workers comp exemption when they first get their license if they have no employees. Once they get employees they are supposed to update their license with the workers comp insurance info. I would doubt that your landscaper only uses subs, and if he does then you should make sure the subs have insurance. The last thing you want is these guys getting hurt on your property and you getting sued for some injury. It's not uncommon for a lot contractors to bypass workers comp - remember the folks in that industry aren't the always on the up and up. It could be that he has no employees and each member of the crew is an independent contractor but then those guys should have the insurance.

 

[Irvineshopper]

You should also make sure that they are bonded and have liability insurance in addition to the workers comp. ask for certificates for proof. Workers comp can be expense, like 10-15% or more of the wages, so many places try to avoid it. If you are an owner builder or the only one in th company then you don't have to have it, but like qwerty says, I doubt that they only use subs.

Also about the license, if it is a DBA then it needs to be listed on the license and you can check with cslb.ca.gov. The personnel of the company is also listed. I looked up express blinds and there are several some are suspended and expired. There is one in Pomona that is active but it doesn't list shutters king as a dba and I looked for shutters king and didn't find anything

It is easy for an unlicensed contractor to simply state that they have a license under someone. Ask them for a copy of the license or license number go to the website look up that number and call the number listed for that company on the state website and verify with the owner. The owners name is listed on the website. If its a DBA then make sure you have a contract with the licensed company and the contract states DBA  Then get insurance certs for workers comp and liability insurance

 

[zubs]

You can also go with people who have no insurance.  If they have an accident in your home, you will be responsible, however, they will be much cheaper. 

Know all your options before making your decision, even if some of them are illegal...then you can run it through game theory and pick the highest estimated return.

Example: A friend of mine used an uninsured worker to do some stuff for his home.  One of the Mexican Home Depot guys cut his pinky off and he had to pay $7,000 to settle it.

 

[blitzjs]

Thanks for the thread, I too was looking into going with Shutters King but still in the preliminary process of getting estimates from multiple vendors.

So without a DBA, the license is invalid and therefore they are operating without a license and insurance?

 

[JL-CG]

You can also go with people who have no insurance.  If they have an accident in your home, you will be responsible, however, they will be much cheaper. 

Know all your options before making your decision, even if some of them are illegal...then you can run it through game theory and pick the highest estimated return.

Example: A friend of mine used an uninsured worker to do some stuff for his home.  One of the Mexican Home Depot guys cut his pinky off and he had to pay $7,000 to settle it.

I just wanted to add that, even if you hired a licensed contractor, he or she may not have insurance (whether worker's comp or general liability insurance). Thus, if one of his laborers gets injured while on the job, the laborer may pursue both the contractor and the homeowner for compensation. You just don't know whether the contractor will step up and indemnify/defend you, so I would suggest that you ensure that you have homeowner's insurance to protect yourself against such possibilities.

 

[qwerty]

You can also go with people who have no insurance.  If they have an accident in your home, you will be responsible, however, they will be much cheaper. 

Know all your options before making your decision, even if some of them are illegal...then you can run it through game theory and pick the highest estimated return.

Example: A friend of mine used an uninsured worker to do some stuff for his home.  One of the Mexican Home Depot guys cut his pinky off and he had to pay $7,000 to settle it.

I just wanted to add that, even if you hired a licensed contractor, he or she may not have insurance (whether worker's comp or general liability insurance). Thus, if one of his laborers gets injured while on the job, the laborer may pursue both the contractor and the homeowner for compensation. You just don't know whether the contractor will step up and indemnify/defend you, so I would suggest that you ensure that you have homeowner's insurance to protect yourself against such possibilities.

In general this situation is easy to prevent. Most homeowners just don't ask. 1) check the license, 2) check the insurance policies.  If they don't have insurance then you have to decide if you are willing to take the chance if a worker getting hurt and him going after your home insurance.

 

[JL-CG]

In general this situation is easy to prevent. Most homeowners just don't ask. 1) check the license, 2) check the insurance policies.  If they don't have insurance then you have to decide if you are willing to take the chance if a worker getting hurt and him going after your home insurance.

Agreed - I know of someone who checked to ensure the contractor was licensed, but thought nothing of the contractor's insurance. This person also did not have homeowner's insurance. As (bad) luck would have it, one of the contractor's laborers injured himself on the job and sued the contractor and the homeowner.

I also agree that one has to weigh the added cost of hiring a contractor who not only is licensed, but also carries insurance, v. the peace of mind of knowing that, should something happen, the contractor's insurance will take care of any on-site injuries.

 

[zubs]

Some contractors get insurance, and then let it lapse.  It does cost a lot of money to keep insurance because contracting accidents do  happen a lot.  But that being said, uninsured contractors are way cheaper. 

I'd say about 8% of the jobs something bad happens.

ROLL THE DICE!