Questions to ask your potential remodeling contractor

Five good ones, five better ones, and one best one (by Thorn Jarvis)

Good question #1: Are you insured? You know you should ask this. You may not know why. The “why,” in short, is if something bad happens on your job such as an injury or accidental damage to your home, and your builder is not properly insured, the liability could fall on you.

Better question #1: May I see a current copy of your certificate of insurance? If you don’t know what you’re looking at, ask the builder to explain it. It should show evidence of coverage for both worker’s compensation insurance (covering injuries to workers on the job) and commercial liability insurance (covering other hazards such as the risk of damage to your home in the course of doing the work). The certificate may also show automobile coverage or “umbrella” coverage. Look for a large dollar amount of coverage between general liability and umbrella, such as $2 million or more. (Ken Spears Construction carries $4 million.) And don’t compare the value of your project, or your house for that matter, to the coverage limit – there are hazards covered by general liability insurance that could far exceed the value of the project or your house. Coverage limits for workers compensation insurance, however, are set by law, so as long as that coverage is in place, you can consider yourself protected on that front.

Make sure the contractor's coverage is current. In these hard times, some contractors who carried proper insurance in years past have let their policies lapse; and some of these may unscrupulously claim to still have coverage.

(This is the first installment in a six-part series. Stay in touch for the next "good" and "better" questions.)