expensive insurance

[terry elliott]

how can i afford the insurance when i am just starting out or what should i carry to start out , if any

[Rick Hurst]

If you can't afford it maybe you should reconsider entering the business at this time.

I can't imagine working in CA. without E&O.

[Nick Ostrowski]

What Rick said....... If you can't afford it maybe you should reconsider entering the business at this time.

Plus, if you can't afford to pay for insurance, how will you be able to afford to pay out on a judgement against you if you miss something big during an inspection and do not have the financial safety net insurance provides? Keep in mind that when you start out in the home inspection profession, you will miss things.

[Scott Patterson]

how can i afford the insurance when i am just starting out or what should i carry to start out , if any

I'll must agree with Rick and Nick, but don't have a fit because to a degree it might be a trick to see if you are ready to stick with it.

[Jon Randolph]

Check to see what your state requires. Some (most) states do not require errors and omissions, that is where the biggest expense is. If GL is all that is required, you may consider starting out with that and adding e&o as soon as possible. I personally would not suggest being in this business without e&o, but many are.

SHOP AROUND:
There are some carriers that offer e&o insurance on a pay per inspection basis. It is not cheap, but can offer some relief and comfort to yourself knowing that you are insurred as much as you possibly can be (within reason). I think that they sell it in blocks of 10 inspections. I have mine through BRP out of Atlanta, GA. I pay something like $2500/year for $250,000 and that includes GL, WDI and radon. BRP does have a payment plan with 25% down and the remainder spread out over 10 months. Many will say that you need more insurance that that, and a separate umbrella policy would be a good idea, but realistically you would have to miss something major to exceed that limit. I'm not saying that it is impossible to meet that amount as it could be easily met if you are a poor inspector, but I think that it is a good starting point.


As others have said if this is not something that you can do especially with the options that are available, I would re-consider until a later time.