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Many roofers starting with Milledgeville Roofing Company are conscious of the risk they take when stepping foot on a roof they have never been on, especially if it is old or has not been well maintained. While NWINLA aims to educate professionals on these risks and ways to practice more safely, there are other risks to consider after the fact of something happening to you. Many professionals are not educated on the types of insurance that exist for when something happens. While we wish no one will ever need to use insurance for a roofing accident, there is an inherent risk associated with climbing ladders and stepping on unknown surfaces and in the even that something tragic does happen, you want to be sure you are prepared. There are numerous types of insurance to consider getting. This may seem a bit overwhelming or confusing, but we are here to help the industry by detailing a few of those difference so you can make the best choice for yourself or your business.
General Liability Insurance- General liability insurance covers basic roofing risks. You know going into each project that there are main risks associated with each project, so consider this a bit of a catch all and a generalist for liability insurance. The general liability insurance will cover a customer who is injured from falling debris as well, so this type of insurance is not only great for the contractor himself, but it covers the customer as well. General liability insurance is best for slip-and-fall accidents, damage to the customer’s property, and libel or slander lawsuits. While it is great for individual contractors to have, it can also be best for a company to have a policy as well. General liability insurance works best bundled with property insurance to help save money for the business policy owner.
Worker’s Compensation- Worker’s compensation insurance is required for roofing businesses in almost every state in the United States if the business has employees. This type of insurance can cover medical bills for work-related accidents. It is best for employee medical expenses, injury lawsuits, and missed wages.
Commercial Auto Insurance- Commercial auto insurance covers property damage that may be caused by company vehicles, any repairs to a company vehicle caused by weather or vandalism, as well as third- party injuries. If your company has a vehicle, it is important to consider adding commercial auto insurance to have the backs of your employees and customers. It will likely save you money in the long run if you run into any issues with a company vehicle.
Contractor’s Tools and Equipment Insurance- Contractor’s tools and equipment is not just for roofers, but it is for any laborer who uses equipment or tools that would be costly to replace. This type of insurance helps to pay for repair or replacement of shingle cutters, roofing knives, and other tools. It also helps pay to replace them if they are damaged, stolen, or lost for any reason. This insurance is best for equipment which is less than five years old, mobile equipment that may be more susceptible to damage, and for small tools.
The Northwest Inter-Roofing Liability Association was founded on the principle of doing what you can to help one another. Roofers have been around for decades, if not centuries, and while roofing technology and safety features have evolved, there are still inherent risks you take on any time you choose to get on a roof. Roofers have a history of accidents and liability issues. However, the Northwest Inter-Roofing Liability Association was created to help our fellow roofers stay safe on the job and to better understand the new roofing technologies and safety features.
NWINLA was started by 3 guys, each roofers in Washington state. Each of the roofers had extensive training and experience in the industry but had each faced problems when it came to liability issues and safety measures. Together, they realized that almost every single labor industry had its own safety commission or organization- except for the roofing organization. Collectively, they banded together to create NWINLA as an organization to empower and educate fellow roofers to practice safe roofing. Over the years NWINLA had grown from three to over three hundred. This alone provides confirmation that the industry as a whole had a great need for better education about safety and liability.
Today, NWINLA is composed of more than just roofers. We are also comprised of solar technicians, pest control technicians, construction laborers, and other professionals who deal with roofs on a daily basis. We are excited that our organization has grown to include these industries because we want to ensure we are doing everything we can to make sure our members are protected and safe. If your job requires you to climb a ladder on the exterior of a home or to climb on to a roof, we have the expertise to help keep you safe. Our organizers are constantly on the lookout for the latest roofing trends and safety measures, and we pass this knowledge on to our members to help keep them safe.
So what exactly do you get out of being a NWINLA member? The Northwest Inter-Roofing Liability Association provides its members with weekly technology and safety resources. This ensures that each member is the most up to date on the up and coming safety features for roofers. NWINLA also hosts monthly safety workshops for its members to get together and brush up on the safest roofing methods. Our safety workshops are hosted from a variety of cities across the region, and we also encourage our members to volunteer to host their own during one of our monthly sessions. During each workshop, members will be paired with someone of the opposite experience level to ensure that those with the most experience are able to share it with others who may not have had that experience yet, and it also ensures that some of our newest roofers have the opportunity to learn from some of the most seasoned. So if you want to practice safer roofing, fill out or contact form or reach out over social media to get set up with a workshop.