Finding Affordable Roofing Contractor Insurance as a New Small Business Entrepreneur

Finding Affordable Roofing Contractor Insurance as a New Small Business Entrepreneur
It was extremely humiliating to realize how naive I was to the complexities of starting up my small
roof replacement business in Waukesha, Wisconsin. I suppose it was due to my presumption that
because I am a sole proprietor anticipating less than a dozen side jobs annually, that roofing liability
insurance coverage would not entail a significant investment cost to protect my business against
liability. My presumption was incorrect...
I've been employed for a roofing contractor for several years, and over the course of the past 2 years
I have completed several side jobs; consisting primarily of residential roof replacement. This not
only entailed complete tear off and roof replacement, but re-covers as well. Due to the nature of risk
involved in the roofing trade, as well as my desire to maintain and provide legitimate roofing
contractor work, I started out my business venture by conducting some research on protecting my
small roofing business from liability, and implementing a marketing scheme to attract potential
customers. After creating my business name, a webpage and several blogs, and having some
business cards printed, I began the endeavor of searching for an affordable roofing contractor
liability insurance policy.
See to : Contractors insurance
I started my search by going online to find roofing liability insurance providers. I can honestly state
that this was one search that was challenging to me because the search results were cluttered with
roofing contractor websites and advertisements that targeted insurance as part of their marketing
scheme. After sifting through the online search results and finding numerous roofing contractor
insurance providers across the United States. Although some of the insurance providers only offered
coverage to contractors in limited, specific states, the majority of the companies offered coverage in
all 50 states. Utilizing their online application process, I made several online requests for quotes --
submitting my business information to a half dozen companies -- and retiring to await for any
responses or follow-ups.
Within a couple of hours my phone began to ring as prospective insurance providers responded to
my online inquiry. I was asked to provide further information about my company and otherwise
elaborate further on the specific coverage that I was seeking. Because my business is a small, sole
proprietorship, I was looking for affordable coverage that was conducive to a smaller amount of
jobs and limited financial profits. Although I reserved some inclination that roofing insurance could
be an expensive liability with the risk involved, I certainly was not prepared to hear quotes ranging
anywhere from $4,000 to $6,000 annually! For a small business entrepreneur as me, this type of
investment was simply unfeasible and unpractical - especially when it comes to spending money
during these tough economic times! Unless I could guarantee a minimum of 10-12 jobs annually I
would not make any profit whatsoever. Waukesha, Wisconsin has a population of 67,658 and there
is a lot of competition in the roofing business; making it difficult for a new roofing business to
project a specific number of job prospects. The thought of not being able to attain a liability
coverage policy quickly discouraged my business prospects. However, eventually I received a call
from an Illinois based insurance provider who provided a quote that offered a policy which met my
needs for an annual cost of about $900. This is something I can work with as a new business.
My experience should be a model that offers hope to the person desiring to start a small roofing
business in Wisconsin; yet conversely criticizes the insurance industry in making it extremely
difficult for the small roof replacement business owner to pursue entrepreneurship by failing to
offer a broader range of liability coverage respective to the little guy.

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