Home Inspectors: Here Are Your New Year’s Resolutions
First, let's get the "Happy New Year!" salutation out of the way. My team and I wish you the very best in 2017. I suggest you follow these New Year's…
E&O Insurance Is Even For The Mistake-Proof Home Inspector
Home inspectors often ask me, “Should I have professional liability insurance?”
Conceptually speaking, anyone who offers professional services for a fee has potential liability exposure of unknown magnitude. The genius of insurance, however, is that it converts an uncertain, potentially devastating loss into a known, small cost for which you can budget.
With that said, many inspectors still inquire about E&O insurance’s relevancy and necessity in the profession. I detail the pros of having E&O insurance as part of your liability protection in this week’s video blog.
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The Typical Home Inspection Claim Runaround
I’ve now been successfully defending home inspectors against meritless claims for a decade now, and with over 1,000 claims under my belt, I feel I’m qualified to describe the typical home inspection claim runaround competent home inspectors like yourself receive when dealing with an “issue” that really isn’t your “issue” at all.
I recently received a phone call from an inspector who was STILL dealing with an issue after two-plus years. The attorney representing him had, not surprisingly, been running up massive legal fees in the six figures without even the slightest desire to terminate the case. Why would he? His interests lied in his own billable hours driving fees as high as possible.
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All About Arbitration – Who Should Pay?
A Connecticut home inspector recently wrote to me about a “finding” he heard at a local law course, in which he has told that the American Arbitration Association (AAA) is now looking at DEFENDANTS for a substantial sum of money when a claim initiates.
This law course “professor” instructed the students to specify arbitration using an attorney qualified to arbitrate and with related experience.
He asked for my opinion – henceforth this week’s video tip!
I believe the AAA is feeling the financial pinch just like the rest of us and believes pushing the financial burden to the defendant is just what the doctor ordered to gin up a slew of new arbitration matters by removing the financial disincentive to the filing of ludicrous claims.
Home inspectors can head off this change by inserting key phrasing in their pre-inspection agreement. Watch the video tip below to find out the exact verbiage plus listen to why I believe the “professor” was wrong in saying that inspectors should demand an arbitrator have home inspection-related experience.
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