What's your name worth? When you are a business owner, your name is the most valuable thing you have.
Your reputation in your industry can either help you to grow your business, or it can drag you down. In today's market, potential clients will go online to check your reviews before they even dream of talking to you in person, so your reputation needs to be treated like a business asset that needs to be protected.
One of the ways that you can protect your reputation is by carrying a builders risk insurance policy for your projects. You may already know that builders risk will protect your site from unforeseen events such as floods, fires, or vandalism.
Here's how that protection extends to your name.
What Happens When You Don't Have a Builders Risk Policy
Let's say you experience one of these worst-case scenarios on a project:
An unseasonable storm rolls in one evening. High winds rip a tree out of the ground, and send it crashing into your remodel project. There's structural damage to a roof and exterior walls that you've already completed. A pipe bursts, and many of the materials you need for the rest of the project are ruined from the water damage.
If you don't have a builders risk policy, you are facing extensive costs to clear the debris, repair the damage, and replace the lost materials. In order to afford this setback, you need to complete another project that you are currently working on. You tell the homeowners that the remodel project will be delayed. Your customers are not pleased.
It used to be that an unhappy homeowner might complain about you and your company to a handful of friends. Today, an unhappy customer has a much larger captive audience online.
They post pictures of the damage on Facebook in a scathing post about you, to be seen (and shared) by hundreds of online friends. They find all of the online directories your business is listed on, and post unhappy reviews to be seen by countless potential future clients.
You've lost their confidence, any chance at profit, and the opportunity for new clients and future projects.
But here's how that scenario could play out a bit differently.
What Happens When You Do Have a Builders Risk Policy
If you do have a builders risk insurance policy, this disaster could actually work in your favor. When you step foot on the ruined site, you quickly assess the damage and pick up your phone. You call your contractor insurance provider and file a claim. Your policy covers the costs of repairing the damage from the storm, replacing your damaged materials, and even clearing the debris from the site.
When the horrified homeowners see the damage, you are able to quickly calm their fears. You explain your plan, that the damage will be cleared out immediately, and that repairs will follow. Yes, there will be a small adjustment to the estimated date of completion. But it won't be long, just enough time to clean up, clear out, and get back to work.
Your clients are impressed with your professionalism in the face of this disaster. They post pictures of the damage on Facebook in a complimentary post about you, to be seen by hundreds of their online friends.
As you quickly clear the damage and get back on track with their project, they post glowing reviews about you on numerous online directories. They even offer to write a review, complete with before and after pictures, for your own personal website.
Your builders risk policy has done more than protect your business from the financial loss of an unforeseen, worst-case situation. It has protected, and even elevated, your reputation.
