"THE HOME INSPECTOR INSURANCE PRIMER"

Why do I need both Professional Liability and General Liability Insurance?
General Liability provides coverage while you are performing the inspection and at your office. You have two exposures while you are performing the inspection:
(1) Property Damage -- your ladder falls over and breaks the windshield of the homeowner's auto
(2) Bodily Injury -- your ladder falls over and hits the homeowner's child on the head and the child suffers a permanent injury, this is the exposure for which you really purchase insurance.

Professional Liability provides coverage for actual or alleged errors & omissions in your Inspection Report. Again, you have two exposures:
(1) Property Damage - - you miss or allegedly miss a leaking roof
(2) Bodily Injury -- a basement stair riser is several inches different than the rest and you did not note this in your report -- the buyer's child falls down the steps and suffers a serious injury. As you can see, the Bodily Injury exposure is the one with the greatest potential for large claim settlements.

Are separate limits for Professional Liability and General Liability important?
When you have one limit for both types of insurance, you expose yourself to using up your policy aggregate, a large Professional Liability settlement, for one claim, and you have no insurance for another serious General Liability claim.
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The common law of Business Balance

It's unwise to pay too much,
but it's worse to pay too little.
When you pay too much
you lose a little - that is all.

When you pay too little
you sometimes lose everything,
because the thing you bought was incapable
of doing the things it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance
prohibits paying a little and getting a lot,
it can't be done.

If you deal with the lowest bidder,
it is well to add something for the risk you run,
and if you do that you will have enough
to pay for something better.

Author Unknown

Dear Home Inspector,

You are faced with a difficult decision when purchasing insurance for your home inspection business.

Here at Allen Insurance Group, we have two different policies available:

Standard Program - a basic claims made policy
Preferred Program - a comprehensive claims made policy

I strongly recommend as a former home inspector that you consider our "Preferred Program".

I understand that cost is a significant factor when making your insurance decision, especially in
today's marketplace. However, by choosing the Standard Program now, you may save a few
dollars today, only to find later you want to expand and offer additional services that are only
available under the Preferred Program. Under the Standard Program, you could also find
yourself in a lawsuit involving a situation where you have no coverage because of specific
exclusions under the Standard Program, such as carbon monoxide. Picture yourself in front of a
jury defending a lawsuit where a child died due to a cracked heat exchanger (carbon monoxide)
- would you want to be on your own?

With that information in mind, please review the comparison of each program on the following
page and look carefully at the coverages before making your insurance decision.

For details please read the complete document Once you understand the programs, print the application, fill it out and fax it to Allen Insurance Group at the number on the forms.  Or you may scan and email the form to AIG at the address provided.  Questions - call 800-474-4472.

For Pay Per Inspection Insurance Click Here