Commercial Insurance for Electricians

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Electricians include anyone who installs, services, maintains and repairs electrical wiring. This can include those who work both on overhead power lines, underground cables and inside business or homes. From a carriers and an agencies’ perspective, this is a very good good industry to insure because it has different risks than say a day care center or a retail store. This is because the risk is fairly low and they are in constant supply all across the country.

A typical Business Owners Package (BOP) for electricians includes:

  • General Liability
  • Property Insurance
  • Commercial Auto
  • Inland Marine (Tools and Equipment Coverage)
  • Workers’ Compensation

Here is a brief description of the coverage and the risks related to each coverage for electricians.

General Liability

A Commercial General Liability Policy is required by law in most states. It covers exposure to the electrical contractors at their own location or on the premises of someone they are contracting for. Electrical voltage is the most obvious risk in this industry. A few other exposures to be aware of include bodily injury both to yourself and to other contractors at the work-site,  falls from heights and falling tools if you are working at heights and slips and falls around the work-site can pose a risk because the work-site is typically not occupied only by the electrical contractor.

Property Insurance

Property Coverage for an Electricians would apply to his own office and storage areas. It would not apply to the buildings he is working on off-site. That would be covered by a General Liability Policy. One of the main risks In relation to a property insurance policy is vandalism. Frequently the premises is not big and might only include an office and storage area for tools. The tools are a prime target for vandals and thieves.

Commercial Auto

Automobile liability exposure is usually limited to transporting workers, equipment and electrical cables to and from job sites. The hazards depend on the type and use of vehicles, and radius of operation with the main hazards being upsets. The radius is a big part of the exposure because the more time/distance the workers cover in the vehicle the greater the exposure.

Inland Marine (Tools and Equipment Coverage)

Inland Marine Coverage covers tools and equipment both owned and rented. It is frequently referred to as Equipment  or Floaters Coverage. Equipment coverage comes from the fact that much of what is covered under this policy is just that, Equipment. The Floaters reference comes from the fact that this is the type of coverage a business must buy for equipment that is in transit.

Workers’ Compensation

Workers’ Compensation is the other policy that is required by law in nearly every state. Workers’ Compensation might not be necessary depending on the state you work in, how many employees you have and if your general contractor requires this coverage for contract.

Workers’ Compensation is designed as the exclusive remedy when injury occur as a part of normal business operations. As part of this exclusive remedy, employees give up the ability to sue for damages, but in return the reassurance that if they are hurt they will be provided medical costs and some lost wages. Employers gain the peace of mind that they will not be sued for injuries that occur as a part of normal business operating procedures. Now this does not cover the employer when the business is negligent or if the injury was intentional.

 

Here are the most common business insurance classification for Electrical Contractors:

SIC Business Insurance Codes:

  • 1731- Electrical Work
  • 1623- Communication and Power Line Construction
  • 7629- Electrical Repair Shops

NAICS Liability Classifications:

  • 238210- Electrical Contractors and Wiring
  • 237130- Power and Communication Lines Construction
  • 811211- Electronic Repair Shop
  • 811219- Other Electronic Precision Equipment Repair

Business ISO General Liability:

  • Code: 92478- Electrical Work Inside Buildings
  • Code: 92451- Electrical Apparatus- Install, Service, Repair
  • Code: 92446- Electrical Light or Power Line Construction

Common Workers Compensation Class Codes:

  • 5190- Electrical Wiring Within Buildings
  • 3724- Machinery and Equipment Installation and Repair
  • 7538- Power Line Construction

 

NCCI 9014 (Commercial Janitorial Services)

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Breaking down NCCI workers’ compensation class code 9014, Commercial Janitorial Services.

Get answers to your commercial janitorial services company insurance questions at workerscompensationclasscodes.com

Like most workers comp class codes, code 9014 includes many different operations. NCCI workers comp codes generally include a variety of operations. This is because the classification manual is written to include specific operations, but over time, additional operations are added to classification codes by analogy.

The primary operation contemplated by code 9014 is commercial janitorial services. Janitorial services are defined as keeping a building clean by routine dusting; mopping, vacuuming, waxing, or polishing floors; emptying trash; cleaning or washing interior walls; and cleaning, sanitizing, and deodorizing restrooms.  The easiest operations to get insured (at the most favorable pricing) are office cleaning companies. It is also reasonably easy to get favorable workers comp insurance for commercial janitorial companies including those that clean at retail and other light commercial spaces. It is often difficult to get workers’ compensation insurance for commercial janitorial companies which specialize in cleaning at industrial settings which often leads to assigned risk solutions.

Certain operations can also make it more difficult to get favorable workers comp insurance for typical commercial janitorial companies. Code 9014 allows for maintenance and minor repair work. Most insurance carriers will allow up to 10% or so of operations to fall into this arena. Floor waxing is another operation which underwriters consider. Some carriers allow as much as 25% of floor waxing and will still quote accounts in that situation. Power washing is disfavored, and most carriers will decline to quote companies offering power washing (although it is an operation included in code 9014, at least if performed at ground level).

Code 9014 allows for residential cleaning if it is less than 50% of operations (a different NCCI code is used for primarily cleaning companies, 0917). However, the majority of workers comp carriers will decline any account which does any residential cleaning as it is a less controlled work environment.   With that said, at least in some states, The Hartford will still quote commercial janitorial companies with some level of residential cleaning (several years in business is generally an eligibility requirement in this case).

Interior operations are greatly favored to exterior operations by most insurance carriers. A small amount of exterior operations can be allowed, but work from heights or power washing usually lead to declines from insurance carriers.   While ground level window cleaning is allowed under code 9014, any window washing above ground level must use workers comp code 9170 (and is much more difficult to get quoted by insurance carriers).

Other operations which are included in NCCI workers comp code 9014 include:

  • Exterminators (a few carriers will quote these while others will not, but almost none of the carriers will provide workers comp insurance if there is any live animal trapping performed)
  • Chimney Cleaning (if performed using the vacuum suction method at ground level — this is difficult to get quoted as it is mostly performed in residences and there is still concern of work at heights for any chimney cleaning operations)
  • Residential boiler cleaning using vacuum suction equipment (any work involving boilers is difficult to get quoted)
  • Swimming pool maintenance (a few carriers will quote swimming pool maintenance companies; however swimming pool construction would generally lead to declines)
  • Pet waste removal services (with sufficient payroll, there is some possibility to get this quoted by voluntary market insurance carriers)

NCCI workers comp code 9014 includes many different operations. Hopefully, this article has provided additional insight into which operations within code 9014 are viewed favorably or unfavorably by workers comp insurance carriers.