Is Your Local Asphalt Sealcoating Company Fully Insured?
In the Las Vegas area, unprotected asphalt pavements can deteriorate quickly from constant exposure to harmful UV rays. The oil, gas, and other petrochemicals that vehicles leak while driving or parking on your pavement can also inflict substantial damage. A periodic application of a quality sealcoat can help you protect against brittle asphalt, soft spots, and faded color. However, you want to make sure that the asphalt sealcoating company you hire is fully insured.
Why Is It Important to Hire a Fully Insured Asphalt Sealcoating Company?
Simply stated, not everything in life goes according to plan. Insurance policies are not issued with the certainty that a covered event will happen; they are issued to provide financial compensation if a covered event does happen. When a contractor’s employees are applying asphalt coating, they are working in an exposed environment that is sometimes a risky place to be. A passing motorist could lose control of his car and careen into the contractor’s sealant tank, an intrusive bystander could distract a worker at a critical moment, or one of your guests could decide to take a shortcut across a freshly sealcoated pavement. Since parking lot sealcoating contractors typically work with hot asphalt when performing asphalt crackfilling or asphalt crack sealing, workers or bystanders could suffer severe burns if an intruding vehicle strikes the melt pot. Regardless of fault, if vehicle damage, a personal injury, or property damage occurs, the person suffering the loss will want compensation. If your asphalt sealcoating contractor is not fully insured, you could be the one on the financial hook.
What Policies Should a Fully Insured Asphalt Sealcoating Company Have?
There are four types of policies that most asphalt contractors carry.
1. Workers’ Comp: This type of policy provides financial support to a contractor’s employee who is injured on the job. Although there are a few exceptions, Nevada law requires all businesses with at least one employee to carry workers’ compensation insurance. It is important to remember that only employees of the asphalt company are covered, so your guests, employees, or customers will not be covered by the sealcoating contractor’s workers’ comp policy, but their personal injuries should be covered by the contractor’s general liability insurance policy.
2. General Liability: General liability insurance protects the contractor in the event that someone besides one of their employees is injured on the job site. The injured party can potentially receive payment for healthcare expenses, including hospital bills, physical or occupational therapy, prescriptions, and doctor visits. General liability policies can also cover property damage to structures or vehicles belonging to you or others. Nevada does not currently require businesses to carry general liability insurance, but many asphalt contractors do. Look for a company that carries general liability insurance with at least a $500,000 limit.
3. Vehicle Liability: Whether the vehicle is owned by a business or an individual, Nevada requires vehicle liability insurance. Currently, the minimum amount of coverage is $25,000 per person for bodily injury; $50,000 per accident for injuries to more than one person in a single accident; and $20,000 per accident for property damage. Depending on the classification of the contractor’s vehicles, higher amounts may be required. Many contractors voluntarily choose higher limits, but some choose to rely on an umbrella policy for claims that exceed their vehicle liability limits.
4. Umbrella Policies: You might say that umbrella policies go over the top of other types of insurance. In other words, if a claim exceeds the maximum limit of the other insurance policy, the umbrella policy can cover the difference, but only up to the maximum limit of the umbrella policy. Umbrella policies are optional, but contractors who carry them typically choose limits of $1 million or more.
Affordable Striping & Sealing is a fully insured, locally owned, and fully licensed company specializing in parking lot maintenance for commercial clients throughout the greater Las Vegas area. Our services include asphalt crack sealing, sealcoating, asphalt crackfilling, parking lot striping, traffic sign installation, parking lot layout, bumper block installation, road markings, and customized parking lot maintenance programs. We have earned an exemplary reputation for exceptional work, personalized attention, and honesty. If you would like to request a free quote, you can fill out the online form, call 702-222-9009, or email Estimating@AffordableStriping.com.
