Many contractors provide a variety of services but are they a handyperson or an artisan contractor is a question that we are discussing on a regular basis. According to the Insurance Service Office, a handyperson who provides a variety of maintenance-type services to their clients. However, the service must involve minor repair work including but not limited to small painting work, minor drywall repair, minor carpentry patching a roof, cleaning gutters installing ceiling fans or caulking windows and doors.

A handyperson who did the framing of a single-family home should be rated as a carpenter, not a handyperson. But a handyperson could repair framing work or hang a door, jobs that a carpenter may do as well. By now you can see how confusing this can be in selecting the proper general liability classification that is used in calculating the final premium. As a general statement the insurance premiums for a handyperson are a little higher than for an artisan contractor who performs a specific task. In many instances the artisan contractor has special training and is licensed by a state or other governmental body, so their skills have been verified. While a handyperson may have to register with a governmental body there is no licensing requirements in Ohio.

On the coverage side of the insurance equation both a handyperson and an artisan contractor have very similar needs. Both need liability insurance, coverage for their tools, auto insurance, workers compensation, installation floater and inland marine coverage for larger equipment. A coverage that may not be available for the handyperson is errors and omissions insurance (E & O). E & O traditionally has only been available to professionals who have had special training and are licensed. As discussed earlier the handyperson is not required to have special training or be licensed with the state of Ohio.

While not every coverage that a handyperson or artisan contractor needs has been discussed here, you can see why youneed to contact the Trusted Choice Agents at Richey-Barrett Insurance before you purchase or renew your insurance.