Release of liability, how to protect yourself legally?

[Cody F.]

I'm having to work with a lot of contractors while doing apartment remodels. How do I make sure I don't get sued if they get hurt or something?

They all reassure me that they have insurance and don't sue people but I'd rather make sure the business and ourselves are protected. We already have everything set up through the LLC, and I've been writing up a release of liability paper by hand, but I need to do better. What should I do?

[Greg M.]

First step is to get copies of their liability and workers compensation insurance and confirm with the carrier that they are active. Confirm their license is active with the state. That's all you can do with them.

You should have insurance on the property. Make sure you have a high liability limit (umbrella policy is highly recommended and super cheap) and that it also covers workers compensation for people you hire. Some homeowners policies are automatically including workers comp coverage, but others you have to ask for the rider and pay more.