There is not any such thing as being over protective when it comes to your home as well as your finances. There are several roofing contractors out there that are willing to bend the guidelines to simplify things for themselves, resulting in problems for you and your roof. Even honest contractors make mistakes every once in a while. That’s why it is critical to know these 4 simple methods to protect yourself when choosing a roofing contractor.

Workers Compensation
Problem: You hire a roofing contractor to repair a leak on your own roof. One of their workers decides not to use proper safety procedures and falls, breaking his leg. The employee holds you responsible to cover his medical expenses, because he was hurt on your own property.

Solution: Roofers Compensation is a kind of insurance covering roofing injuries. In case a roofing contractor has workers compensation, any injured employees are entitled to recover expenses for hospital bills and being unemployed. Make sure that your roofing contractor has workers compensation so that you are saved the difficulty and expenses of paying those bills yourself.

Liability Insurance
Problem: Your roofing contractor leaves your roof uncovered after removing your shingles. That night there’s an unexpected storm. Water seeps into your house and damages your sheet rock, carpet plus some nice furniture. Your roofing contractor has liability insurance, but there are exclusions preventing coverage of the interior of your building. You end up paying to repair the damages yourself.

Solution: If damage occurs to your home or building this is the fault of a roofing contractor, you want to be sure they have good liability insurance. This will cover anything from broken windows to damaged interiors as stated in the problem above. Some contractors have liability insurance, but their insurance company offers so many exclusions that it’s almost like there is absolutely no coverage at all. Search for coverage that doesn’t exclude water damage and mold caused by leaving a roof open.

Business License
Problem: You hire a fresh roofing company to focus on your roof. A couple of months later you see a leak. You try to contact the company, but can’t find their information. You try to look them up by their business license and you also find that there was never a small business license issued for that company. You are forced to cover the repairs yourself.

Solution: Check in advance that your roofing contractor includes a business license. If they don’t have a license, it may be a sign that they don’t know what they are doing. The business could easily disappear or go out of business.

In the state of Utah, your roofing company must have a shingle license and an over-all roofing license to set up a pitched roof. A set roof installation only requires a general roofing license.

A general contractor is legally in a position to install a roof without a roofing license if they have an over-all contractor license. However, there have been lots of cases of general contractors branching out and installing roofs themselves when they lack the correct training. This causes problems for building owners and also home owners. It is perfect for a general contractor to have a roofing license besides their general contractors license.

In Utah, the number for a general roofing licence is S280. The overall contractors license is B100.

If your roofing contractor is in the middle of working on your roof and you also find that they have given fraudulent business license information, (in Utah) you have the option to terminate their service right away. You are not required to pay anything to the contractor because they were operating illegally. After that you can find a qualified contractor to fix your roof and finish the job.

Lien Waiver
Problem: Your roof has been completed and you also pay the contractor. However, a couple weeks later, the contractor’s supplier contacts you requesting a payment for the materials installed on your roof. You discover that your contractor didn’t pay his supplier and that you are now responsible for that payment. This has happened and can happen to you.

Solution: Make sure to request a lien waiver when the job is completed and before you pay. A lien waiver simply states that when the contractor fails to make his payments to a supplier or employees, you are not responsible to cover them. asphalt shingles is ultimately in place to protect the house or building owner from paying twice. In the event that you receive the lien waiver before you pay, it is conditional upon your payment. However, once your payment has cleared, the lien waver becomes unconditional without the additional paperwork.