California Insurance Investigators Conduct Contractor Sweep

A multi-agency task force led by the California Department of Insurance, consisting of more than 100 detectives and investigators focused on curbing California’s underground economy, conducted a sweep across major metropolitan areas statewide issuing more than 60 citations for various violations and six work stop-orders. Investigators also took the opportunity to educate homeowners about their responsibility to verify contractors have a license and workers’ compensation insurance before they hire them.

Homeowners who hire contractors or vendors that do not have proper licenses or workers’ compensation insurance may risk their home and assets if someone is injured on their property or shoddy work results in damage to their home.

Many homeowner policies have a criminal activity clause that means the insurance company may not cover damage caused by shoddy work performed by an unlicensed contractor or liability coverage if a worker is injured and the contractor does not have workers’ compensation insurance.

At a private home in the Los Angele area investigators found a subcontractor working on the job site without workers’ compensation insurance. According to detectives, the homeowner was surprised to learn he was responsible for verifying not only the general contractor’s workers’ compensation insurance, which he had done, but also for all subcontractors.

Other violations found among the nearly 100 businesses contacted included no workers’ compensation insurance, no valid contractor’s license, serious safety violations cited by the Division of Occupational Safety and Health, including one with an estimated $20,000 regulatory fine. The Contractors State License Board found six violations, ranging from advertising to safety issues. The Employment Development Department identified 15 possible administrative violations.

Source: California Department of Insurance