Would a commercial policy cover losses due to inability to oversee work if a contractor became terminally ill while working on an addition?

Answer 1

More than likely the contractor's insurance policy would not respond as his inability to complete the job is not a covered cause of loss on his liability form. There is a way to protect this exposure, however. Prior to awarding a contract to perform work by a contractor you can require a performance and payment bond. The insurance company will pay the money necessary to hire an alternative contractor(s) in his place to guarantee that the job will be completed. It is important to note, however, that a bond does not work the same way as a traditional liability policy. Where a traditional liability policy will indemnify the injured party subject to any applicable deductibles, a perfomance and payment bond requires the bonded entity to indemnify the insurer once they have met their obligation to the party holding the bond. In other words, the contractor will have to pay back the bond company any money paid to to insure the job is completed. This requires stringent underwriting and the disclosure of much financial information and the contractor's work load, often times requiring the contractor and spouse to individually indemnify the insurance company.