If you are an electrician here in Ontario or have worked with an electrician you are aware of how dangerous the job can be.
Even with the vast majority of Ontario electricians taking every safety precaution possible, accidents can still happen.
Working with electrical power, especially from heights or in confined spaces, comes with a serious risk of bodily injury and property damage.
If you’re interested in receiving a quote for contractors insurance please click here.
ELECTRICIAN INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS IN ONTARIO
Business insurance protection for an electrician is required by law in Ontario. Before an electrician can legally open their business and start taking on jobs, Ontario law says they must have contractor’s general liability insurance first. [1]
Why? The purpose of the law is to protect the customer and property owners, but commercial general liability insurance (CGL) does just as much to protect an electrician.
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WHAT DOES ELECTRICIAN INSURANCE COVER?
- Property damage
This can include something as minor as dropping a tool from a ladder that damages a customer’s floor to the severity of fire damage caused by an issue with installed wiring. - Injury
If someone on the job gets injured as a result of your work, bodily injury liability protection is necessary. - Employers liability
If an electrician has others working for them, insurance can cover any damage or injury caused by their work while on the job site as well. - Subcontractors
In many cases a contractor hired to complete a job may reach out to professionals in their trade as required from start to finish of the project. Although the hired contractor must have the proper insurance protection in place, it is also essential that each job subcontracted also ensures that the plumber, framer, or electrician carries the proper insurance coverage for the work they’ll be contributing.
DO ELECTRICIANS REQUIRE PROFESSIONAL INDEMNITY INSURANCE?
Professional Indemnity Insurance (or PI Insurance for short) can cover legal costs and expenses related to an electrician’s defence in a lawsuit as well as potential damages awarded against them.
For example, an electrician is hired to install the wiring for a business, that business has issues with their power a week after opening which forces them to close temporarily. Since the business owner lost money because of the issue they may choose to seek legal action against the electrician. In this scenario, the professional indemnity insurance policy can take effect and cover the costs.
HOW MUCH DOES ELECTRICIAN INSURANCE COST IN ONTARIO?
There’s no question that insurance can be a potentially significant expense for an independent electrical contractor.
However, there are two things to consider:
- It may not be as expensive as you think. The cost of electrician insurance varies depending on factors such as years of experience, size of business and previous claims. Not all electrician insurance policies cost the same and you can get a quote here.
- The costs of NOT having insurance can bankrupt an electrician. Besides having insurance as an electrician be mandatory in Ontario, not having insurance would leave an electrician vulnerable to costs related to lawsuits that could run into the 10’s of thousands of dollars.
Without having insurance coverage to insulate an electrician from these costs, they would have to come out of pocket which for the average electrician, would mean financial ruin.
Erie Mutual Insurance proudly serves the commercial insurance, farm insurance, home insurance and auto insurance needs of members throughout Southern Ontario including Haldimand, Niagara and Hamilton.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have about this or any other topic related to your insurance.
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SOURCES:
[1] https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/050570—————————————————————————————-
