home inspector attorney

E&O Insurance Does NOT Paint a Target On Your Back

E&O Insurance No Target on BackMany home inspectors believe that if they tell a client and his/her lawyers that they don’t carry professional liability insurance, the claim will just disappear.

However, there are no shortage of clients making meritless claims. I see them every day. Would no insurance from which to collect on a judgment make the claim just go away? If claimants aren’t deterred by no rational basis for their case, how likely is it that they will stop in their tracks when they realize you don’t have insurance?
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Transferring Assets to Your Spouse Does NOT Protect You From Creditors

Transferring Assets to Your Spouse Does NOT Protect You From Creditors

Transferring Assets to Spouse - No Protection From CreditorsHome inspectors often observe that putting everything in their spouse’s name would make them financially insolvent and protect them against greedy, reckless clients searching for financial blood.

In these instances, inspectors consider themselves judgment-proof and find no need to carry professional liability insurance.

However, not everything is as rosy as it looks on the surface. There are potential side effects to this scheme. I go into some of those side effects in this installment of my ClaimsAcademy video training series.
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Limitation of Liability is NOT a Home Inspector’s Best Friend

Myth 2: Limitation of Liability Not Home Inspector's Best FriendHome inspectors love Limitation of Liability clauses because, in most U.S. jurisdictions, they put a cap on a home inspector’s potential liability for negligence. However, these same clauses also stifle a home inspector’s earning potential.

How?

I describe in the video below how Limitation of Liability clauses are completely unnecessary and don’t prevent clients and co-defendants from suing home inspectors.

Make sure you click the second button below to subscribe to Joe Ferry’s ClaimsAcademy and get immediate access to my complete home inspector training video library. If you are already a member, click the first button and sign in. (more…)

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3 Ways a Home Inspector Can Eliminate Anxiety and Sleepless Nights

Ways to Reduce Anxiety and Sleepless NightsAs a professional home inspector who cares about your craft, the anxiety center in your brain likely never turns off. It causes you to sit up or pace the halls at 2 a.m. unable to sleep and left wondering if you missed a leaky pipe or something else critical during a home inspection the preceding day.

A client, who is all too interested in whether you are insured, is likely to trigger this anxiety center. And this client isn’t an anomaly, but rather the type A client you see and hear from time and time again.

How can you reduce this anxiety and work without worry? Follow a few simple cardinal rules I outline in this week’s ClaimsAcademy video blog.

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E&O Insurance Is Even For The Mistake-Proof Home Inspector

E&O Insurance for the Mistake-ProofHome 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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Make Sure Your Clients Read the Inspection Report

Read Home Inspection ReportA home inspector’s friend was recently buying a home and had a home inspection completed. However, he never read the inspection report!

When he took ownership of the home, he discovered a huge crack in the kitchen’s granite countertop, a defect that was never disclosed on the seller’s disclosure, BUT was detailed in the unread home inspection report.

What recourse, if any, does the new homeowner have? I detail what happens next as well as the importance of reading a home inspection report in this week’s video blog.
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Home Inspectors: Competence Does Not Equal a Claim-Free Existence

Myth 1: Competence Equals Claim-Free ExistenceMany home inspectors believe that competence and experience guarantee a claim-free existence. They are stunned when they receive their first claim (likely a meritless one) after 20 years on the job.

As part of my home inspector training video tip series, ClaimsAcademy, the video below debunks the theory that competence equals a claim-free existence. Watch the video for further examination of the myth and how that false sense of security can hurt your business and professional reputation as a home inspector. Then make sure to sign up for my free video and case study library, which includes a robust collection of valuable information to help you, the competent home inspector, protect your business.
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Why Your Home Inspector Insurance Company MUST Defend You

Your Insurance Company Must Defend YouA claim is brought against you after inspecting a vacant house, and your insurance company wants you to (surprise, surprise) settle it quickly and claim responsibility. However, you didn’t do anything wrong and instead want to fight the claim, but you are afraid your insurance company will bail if you don’t agree to settle.

False. I explain why your insurance company must defend you in this week’s ClaimsAcademy video blog.
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Underbussing is Now a Reality TV Show!

HGTV Show Underbusses Home InspectorsThere is a current television show whose host maligns home inspectors for not discovering defects he was only able to discover through using a sledgehammer and other intrusive means.

Home inspectors were immediately taken aback by the show’s message, and rightfully so. Several asked me to watch a few episodes to gauge how the show would play in the meritless claim game.

After watching a few episodes, and switching between disbelief and comedic release at the host’s house destruction, I came to a firm conclusion.
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