BENJAMIN FRANKLIN PLUMBING

Submit a Certificate of Insurance on ACORD 25 form naming the correct Authority Brands franchisor entity as additional insured — confirm the exact legal entity name from your franchise agreement. The policy must show general liability at $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate on occurrence form, commercial auto at $1 million combined single limit any auto, workers' comp at statutory limits with $1 million employers' liability, and umbrella at $1 million per occurrence. 

Primary and non-contributory language and waiver of subrogation are required on the general liability and auto. That satisfies the franchise agreement.

The exact legal entity is in your franchise agreement — look for the franchisor identification section. It is typically an Authority Brands subsidiary entity. The name on your certificate must match exactly. "Benjamin Franklin Plumbing" or "Authority Brands" alone is not sufficient. A certificate with the wrong entity name fails compliance review regardless of the limits it shows.

The FDD establishes the minimum Authority Brands needs you to carry to protect their system. It was not written to ensure your personal investment is fully protected. For a franchisee doing standard residential repair work with employed technicians, the minimum is a reasonable starting point. For franchisees doing water heater installation, repiping, or 24/7 emergency work, the minimum leaves real gaps open.

Standard general liability covers the water damage. It does not cover bodily injury or property damage caused by mold that grows from that water. Mold is a pollutant under most general liability policy language. Contractors Pollution Liability fills this gap. Without it, any claim where water damage leads to mold — including from repiping jobs that disturb existing wall conditions — is a personal exposure, not a covered claim.

Your completed operations coverage handles this — but only if it has no sunset clause. A sunset clause limits the window during which completed operations claims can be filed. If your installed fitting fails fourteen months after the job and your policy has a one-year sunset clause, coverage is gone. Confirm in writing from the carrier — not verbally from your agent — that your completed operations coverage has no time limitation.

Standard general liability does not cover professional advice errors. If your technician instructs a customer to take an action that worsens their loss, the resulting claim falls under professional liability — not general liability. Contractors Errors and Omissions insurance covers that exposure. For a franchise with an emergency dispatch model and a "punctuality guarantee" brand promise, professional liability is not a peripheral concern.

Standard general liability does not cover employee theft. Commercial crime insurance — sometimes called employee dishonesty coverage — covers it. A background check is an operational screening tool. It is not an insurance substitute. One theft incident at a customer's home creates both a financial loss and a customer relationship problem. Commercial crime coverage handles the financial portion.

A complete stack — general liability, auto, workers' comp, umbrella, Contractors Pollution Liability, Contractors Errors and Omissions, tools and equipment, and commercial crime — typically runs $11,000 to $18,000 annually for a single territory with two vehicles and three to five technicians. The FDD estimate understates this. The cost difference between a compliant policy and a complete one is typically $2,000 to $3,500 per year.

General liability covers water heater installation as a completed operation — but only if the policy has no sunset clause on completed operations and the products liability aggregate is intact. If the water heater itself was defective, the claim falls under products liability. If the installation work was flawed, it falls under completed operations. Both need to be in your policy with no time limitation. Confirm both with your carrier in writing.

Standard residential plumbing work is classified under NCCI 5183. Your workers' comp policy is audited at the end of every policy year. Your carrier looks at what your technicians actually did — not just what was listed at inception. If your operations change, notify your carrier before the audit. An audit true-up for unannounced service additions can generate a bill for premium difference that you were not expecting.