When hiring a contractor many people gamble with massive risk and don’t even realize what they’re putting at stake. They think, “Since nothing has gone wrong in the past, then this time should go smoothly too,” or, “Everything will work out fine, after all, what are the chances?“
I’ll be honest with you… this is not a subject I like talking about, but it is so critical I feel compelled to share it with you so you might be prepared to make the best decision when hiring a contractor to work on your home.
When it comes to my home, I am guilty of thinking the very same casual thoughts about risk, and yet some of the horror stories I’ve heard over the years still give me goosebumps today… Like the roof cleaning contractor friend of mine that slipped on a loose roof tile, fell 2 stories and smashed through a glass patio table, or the power washing contractor who was cleaning an aggregate driveway and had a rock chip fly into his eye at incredible speed. Still another… the owner of the first window cleaning company I worked for, who’s ladder slipped off the end of a third-story gutter and dropped him onto a parked car where he hit his head and died.
When hiring a contractor, what most homeowners don’t take into consideration is this: Once the injury occurs, it’s too late, and what happens next is completely out of your hands… Here’s why: We know that, medical treatments being as expensive as they are, almost everyone relies on insurance as protection from pending financial catastrophe. This is why securing personal health insurance became a federal law in March, 2010. However, when there is bodily injury reported on the job, a whole different system of loss assessment kicks into gear.
Immediately, Washington State steps in to protect the contractor’s rights and (if the contractor is insured) insurance companies look for fault to assess loss and explore limitations of coverage. At the end of it all, it is your homeowners insurance and personal umbrella policies (if you have one) that may be your last shield against paying the medical bills and attorney’s fees of the injured contractor. If your policy is not sufficient (and in most cases of major trauma, it’s not), even your home and other assets may be at stake.
The worst part is that it doesn’t matter if the injured party is a family friend who would never sue you for any reason. The hammer that comes down may not be from the contractor himself, or the family gathered around his hospital bed. It will be the work of the medical, insurance and legal entities involved in “making the injured party whole”. It is their determination to collect payment, however inflated it may be, that drives the engine following a work related injury on your property.
How then does hiring the kid down the street, or the company with the cheapest bid sound now? That idea should cause us to reconsider the process of how these decisions are made, and why I feel the need to share this with you.
After 20 years in this business, I am convinced that homeowners need to do their research BEFORE inviting a contractor onto their property. So, to make things really simple for you, I have provided some helpful links below where you can research my company, DAPrDAN, and any other companies you may be considering for your project.
In all of DAPrDAN’s proposals, we provide you with copies of our business license, current liability insurance certificate and general contractor’s bond. These represent the basic legal structure every contracting company like DAPrDAN must have to operate in Washington state. Beyond this, DAPrDAN has taken additional steps to ensure that every driver on our payroll, and every one of our vehicles is insured properly through our commercial auto policies. We also contract with a third-party research firm to run national background checks on all our staff (field technicians and administrative). Add to these our uniformed, professionally trained technicians with QC coded ID badges, and our 100% Happiness Guarantee. Now you may begin to have an idea how much we care to provide you with exceptional service.
In combination with the resources below, here’s the BIG takeaway: While we can’t eliminate every risk, you can be confident that DAPrDAN is among the safest residential contractors you can allow on your property. We’ve got the experience, the training, the systems and the documentation behind us that take the guesswork out of what happens in an emergency, should one occur. Because, when it comes to all you’ve sacrificed to accomplish you shouldn’t gamble with assumptions. In my experience, that’s the best advice I can give you.
Here some resources that will assist you in verifying our legitimacy…
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Research on our Company:
DAPrDAN Website (daprdan.com)
Google Search “DAPrDAN”
DAPrDAN at Yelp
DAPrDAN at Houzz
DAPrDAN at Facebook
Customer Reviews
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Research on our Credentials:
License, Bond & Insurance are displayed in our proposal. UBI: 604374335
Secretary of State (Search: “SAVI BRANDS LLC”. DAPrDAN is a DBA of SAVI BRANDS LLC)
WA State Dept. of Revenue
Labor & Industries
