Man Dies, Napa CALIF.-Saturday, May 15, 2004

[NeTree]

Yes, well that's the biggest problem today isn't it?

Lack of personal responsibility?

Murder 19 people, hey my mom beat me.

Rear-end a carload of kids, hey I was on drugs.

Smoke like a chimkney for forty years & get cancer, it's the tobacco company's fault.

Get mad and shoot yer ole lady, hey it's Smith n Wesson's fault.

Too focking stupid to use a cupholder & get your **** fried, hey the hot coffee I ordered was too hot.


Gimme a friggin' break.

 

[Dadatwins]

Did you hear about the busload of lawyers that accidently drove over a cliff?

Probably not, since nobody cares!

 

[xander9727]

Originally posted by Stumper
I'm sorry the man is dead. It does sound as if there were some compentency problems. You guys scare me with this sue the homeowner nonsense. No wonder some little ol' ladies are afraid to hire me without workmans comp. Yes I have a half million dolllars liability coverage. And I have health insurance. And I have an accident compensation policy. And I KNOW that the customers risk exposure is ZERO because, whether our inane justice system allows it or not, I would NEVER sue someone else for my own mistakes....But they are scared that some nincompoop will hurt himself and then blame them. What on earth are you guys thinking?

Remember, liability insurance protects you not the homeowner. If Joe the homeowner comes out to give you a drink of lemonade and gets hit with a falling branch an dies, his wife can sue you. I'd be willing to bet that a jury could grant more than 500K to her in damages. I'd recommend 5-10 million in General Liability. It wouldn't cost that much more and it could prevent some idiots spouse or children from getting everything you've worked for your whole life. In regards to WC, if you have guys working for you, pay it. Most Gen. Liab. policies won't cover subcontractors. Additionally, when Johnny no brains severs one of his legs it prevents him from taking everything you've worked so hard for.
My $.02

 

[xander9727]

It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay to little.

When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that is all.

When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do.

The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done.

If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."
John Ruskin, 1819-1900

Pass this quote on to your price shoppers.
I do not lower my prices to get work. I will however, raise them if I think someone may be a pain in the posterior.

 

[Stumper]

Xander-There are 2 ways to look at the Gen liability coverage.1. more is better 'cause if I get sued I'm covered. 2. More is bad 'cause it makes me a likely target for a lawsuit. First rule of suers and snakes: "Only sue people with assets. Insurance is an asset. Sue his assets off!". I don't know that I can even get WC as a sole proprietor. I have no employees to cover. Even if I could get WC I would not do so.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

You can, but it is an armandaleg. They wanted like 12% of my gross. Heck i already paid for my VA plan.

 

[xander9727]

Your better off getting a good life insurance policy that covers disability than paying WC on yourself. I went from 1 million to 5 million on my Gen. Liab. and my premium only went up about 10%.
There are many ways to look at insurance. I prefer to err on the side of caution. That doesn't however make it the only way to do things. I see both sides and like most people choose the one I'm most comfortable with. After the whole lift fiasco I would rather be a little over insured than under insured.