Home Inspector Insurance in Massachusetts

What is Home Inspector Insurance?

Home inspectors are responsible for ensuring the integrity of a home’s structure, systems and features, and that’s no small amount of responsibility. With the responsibility comes a certain amount of risk which inspectors ought to protect themselves from. Home inspector insurance helps home inspectors in Massachusetts shield themselves from much of the risk that they’re exposed to.

Home inspector insurance policies are specially designed commercial policies that meet the unique insurance needs of home inspectors. In order to protect against multiple risks, most policies are crafted as package policies and combine several coverages together.

Does Residential Home Inspector Insurance Cover Commercial Building Inspections?

Residential home inspector insurance is generally designed to protect inspectors who perform inspections on residential dwellings. These policies often don’t provide all of the additional protections that inspectors who check commercial buildings need and frequently exclude commercial building inspections from their coverages.

Inspectors who check commercial buildings are usually better protected with a building inspector policy that covers larger and different types of buildings. An insurance agent who specializes in residential home inspector insurance can likely also assist with this type of commercial policy.

What Coverages Do Home Inspector Policies Make Available?

The exact coverages that any one home inspector policy offers can vary, but there are many coverages that policies frequently offer. Some of these common ones include:

General Liability Coverage, which may protect against common accidents and defamation lawsuits
Commercial Property Coverage, which may protect owned or leased property
Tools and Equipment Coverage, which may be necessary to protect specialized tools
Equipment Breakdown Coverage, which may protect essential equipment in the event that it breaks
Errors and Omissions Coverage, which may protect against mistakes made during inspections

Tools and equipment coverage is sometimes added onto property coverage as a floater.

Can Home Inspectors Save Money with Pay-Per-Inspection Policies?

Pay-per-inspection home inspector policies may seem like an affordable insurance option for inspectors who don’t have a lot of work yet, but these policies frequently offer less coverage than standard home inspector policies where coverage remains uninterrupted for the duration of the policy’s effective period.

Before purchasing a pay-per-inspection policy, inspectors should talk with a knowledgeable insurance agent. Often an agent can help inspectors find a standard policy that provides more extensive protection at a still-affordable rate.

What Errors and Omissions Coverage Should Home Inspectors Look For?

Generally speaking, home inspectors should have a policy that provides robust errors and omissions coverage. Precisely what the coverage ought to protect depends on what types of inspections a home inspector does and how much risk they’re exposed to, but this is often one of the most important coverages in a home inspector policy.

As a starting point, errors and omissions coverage normally should cover all of the different kinds of inspections that a home inspector performs. For example, inspectors might need coverage for:

Septic and Sewer Inspections

Radon Inspections

Lead Paint Inspections

Mold Inspections

Water Purification Inspections

Pool and Spa Inspections

Termite Inspections

For more detailed guidance, inspectors should speak with an insurance agent who specializes in this type of commercial insurance. A specialized agent can review an inspector’s particular situation and make informed recommendations regarding what deductibles, limits, terms, conditions and exclusions the inspector should look for,