Homeowner Association Construction Specialists

Since 1982, OCBS has specialized in Homeowner Association (HOA) Construction. Our mission is to provide professional and efficient service through superior quality construction with close attention to detail. Orange Coast Building Services has built solid, long lasting relationships with building owners, community managers, board members, developers, insurance companies and homeowners throughout California. Please visit http://www.ocbsonline.com or call 1-800-834-2323 for more information on how Orange Coast Building Services, Inc. can protect, maintain and enhance your community.

Choosing the Right Contractor With the Right Insurance

Insurance certificates and endorsements can be overwhelming and confusing; which may explain why sometimes insurance is overlooked when choosing a contractor. Maybe it's due to the size of the job or the contractor's insurance seems to be in order. Sometimes the contractor's agent does not fully understand the type of work its insured is doing. Regardless of the reasons, verifying insurance is one of the most important aspects when choosing a contractor. This and future blog postings can be a useful guide to assist you with your selection process along the way.

General Liability - Covers claims against third party bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and advertising.

1. Additional Insured Endorsements are also very important; in the event of a claim the contractor must provide you with legal defense if you have the correct Additional Insured Endorsement in place.
2. Be aware of exclusions such as condominium / townhomes if working in H.O.A.'s, or earth movement exclusions if any ground work such as trenching or subterranean waterproofing is involved. Orang Coast does not have these exclusions. 
3. Umbrella policies take over where the General Liability and Auto policies coverage ends. Umbrella policies are important where there is a greater chance of a large loss, such as work in high rise buildings. OCBS carries a $3,000,000 umbrella limit which means it has $4,000,000 liability limits of coverage on General Liability, Auto, and Pollution (which includes mold).

Auto Liability

1. Beware of personal policies with low limits, a $1,000,000 limit is the industry standard on commercial policies.
2. The certificate preferably should name "any auto" or "owned, hired autos, and non-owned". OCBS has "any auto" as part of its coverage. without "any auto" a contractor's employee using his own vehicle may not have sufficient coverage. 

Workers Comp

1. $1,000,000 employer's liability limit plus $3,000,000 umbrella coverage.

Other

1. Pollution coverage that extends to microbial growth ("mold"). This is especially important for environmental / remediation contractors to have.

Orange Coast Building Services, Inc. meets and exceeds all of these requirements and also has both Pollution (including mold) and Professional Liability coverage.