Rhode Island General Laws 5-65.1-10. Insurance requirements
(a) Every licensed home inspector and associate home inspector shall secure, maintain, and file with the board a certificate of insurance for an errors and omissions policy and a certificate of insurance for a general liability policy; both shall be for a minimum amount of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) in the aggregate. These certificates must be valid from the date a license is issued until the license expires. This proof shall be deemed satisfactory if the policy is carried by the corporation, partnership, or franchise for which the home inspector is a contracted employee and the home inspector or associate home inspector is specifically covered by such policy.
Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-65.1-10
- Associate home inspector: means a person who is employed by a licensed home inspector to conduct a home inspection of a residential building on behalf of a client for a fee under the direct supervision of the licensed home inspector and is licensed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-65.1-2
- Board: means the contractors' registration and licensing board. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-65.1-2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Home inspection: means an inspection and a written evaluation of the following readily visible and accessible components of a residential building: heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems, structural components, foundation, roof, masonry structure, exterior and interior components, and any other related residential housing components, unless the scope of the inspection is otherwise clearly limited, in writing, in the inspection report. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-65.1-2
- Home inspector: means any person licensed as a home inspector to conduct a home inspection of a residential building on behalf of a client for a fee pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-65.1-2
- in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
(b) Every proof of an errors and omissions or general liability policy required to be filed with the board shall not be effective unless it provides that the insurance may not be canceled until at least ten (10) days’ notice of intention to cancel or to not renew has been received in writing by the board.
(c) No contract provided by any licensed home inspector or associate home inspector shall contractually limit the liability of any such inspector to any amount less than the limits of insurance specified in subsection (a). Any such limitation provision in any home inspection contract issued on or after September 1, 2016, shall be void.
(d) Failure of the licensee or corporation or partnership to maintain this insurance will result in the immediate loss of his or her license.
History of Section.
P.L. 2000, ch. 140, § 1; P.L. 2003, ch. 282, § 2; P.L. 2007, ch. 228, § 3; P.L. 2016, ch. 513, § 1.