guest blog by Nila Ridings
On June 7th, I shared my gutter cleaning, police truck, firefighters and frustrating day with you now known as “Part I.”
Do you recall me saying my attorney told me to never let anyone on my roof or do work on my house or the attached neighbor’s house without showing me their Certificate of Insurance?
Once I had the name of the company with employees on my roof, I requested to see that certificate on their Facebook page. No response. I called the office of the commissioner of insurance. No records for the company. I called the county contractor’s licensing office. No records. I called the city building safety and permits office. They don’t require someone working up on the roof, other than roofing contractors to have a permit, license, and proof of insurance.
Which all boils down to this: If the guys blowing out gutters on the roof fall off, I’m liable. If they get hurt, I’m liable. If they die, I’m liable. And guess what? Every one of my neighbors is liable, too. And I doubt they even have a clue.
This is exactly why my attorney told me to always get a copy of the Certificate of Insurance. And now I’m suggesting you do it, too.
In talking to a non-CAI property manager, I learned that he never allows anyone to work on the property without seeing their Certificate of Insurance. If they are sweeping the parking lot he makes sure they have it in case they hit a car, run over a child, or knock down a light pole. If they change a drain in a pool he makes sure they have insurance. Absolutely nobody works on that property without insurance.
When and where do the risks end while living in an HOA? It seems they never do. All the risks and expense are going to fall on me and you!
