Legal Handyman jobs in California $500 or less

[Justin M.]

What's a smart and legal way work with a handyman for small jobs in California? The law says it's okay for jobs that are $500 or less (plus some other restrictions). But what happens if the person gets hurt? I've tried asking my insurance broker about this and they just say "you should never hire an unlicensed or uninsured person".  They just shut down the topic without providing any real information.

A few years ago a worker fell from the second story on my property. It was due to his own error and luckily his injuries were minor. He was working for a licensed and insured company and they took care of his medical expenses.

Another time, I had hired a handyman for a small remodeling job. He was cutting some boards with a compound miter saw when he got distracted and almost cut off a finger. Luckily, he was just a handyman on the side. He had a regular full-time day job with medical insurance. He got stitched up at the emergency room and I didn't even find out about the incident until it was settled. What if he didn't have medical insurance though? What if something worse had happened?

I'm looking for some practical advice from other California land lords. How do you balance risk while still running your rentals profitably?