REMODELING · SHELFGENIE
SHELFGENIE
FRANCHISE
INSURANCE
A ShelfGenie design consultant measures a pantry, renders it in 3D, and recommends a set of pull-out shelves rated for a certain weight. An installer drills into the cabinet boxes a few days later and mounts the glides. By the end of the day the customer is loading the shelves and the job is done.
Two different risks just happened in that one visit, and most franchisees insure for only one of them. The drilling and mounting is physical install work. The weight rating you recommended and the system you specified is a professional judgment that lives inside the customer's home long after your installer drives away.
When a loaded shelf lets go a year later, the question is not whether you did the install. It is whether your policy was built for the product you put on the wall.
That is a different question than compliance. Here is where the franchisor's requirements end before your real risk does.
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HOW TO BECOME COMPLIANT WITH SHELFGENIE
WHAT IF A SHELF I INSTALLED FAILS AND SOMEONE GETS HURT?
WHAT IF MY INSTALL DAMAGES THE CUSTOMER'S CABINETS OR WALLS?
DOES MY INSURANCE COVER THE INSTALLERS I BRING IN?
WHY A SATISFIED CUSTOMER CAN STILL COME AFTER ME A YEAR LATER
HOW IS SHELFGENIE FRANCHISE INSURANCE PREMIUM CALCULATED?
WHAT EXPERIENCED SHELFGENIE OPERATORS CARRY BEYOND THE MINIMUM
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
custom shelving design + install
TRADE
Unconfirmed
FDD
Unconfirmed
ENTITY
Unconfirmed
FDD YEAR
installed product + in-home property damage
DOMINANT EXPOSURE
ON THIS PAGE
HOW TO BECOME COMPLIANT WITH SHELFGENIE
WHAT IF A SHELF I INSTALLED FAILS AND SOMEONE GETS HURT?
WHAT IF MY INSTALL DAMAGES THE CUSTOMER'S CABINETS OR WALLS?
DOES MY INSURANCE COVER THE INSTALLERS I BRING IN?
WHY A SATISFIED CUSTOMER CAN STILL COME AFTER ME A YEAR LATER
HOW IS SHELFGENIE FRANCHISE INSURANCE PREMIUM CALCULATED?
WHAT EXPERIENCED SHELFGENIE OPERATORS CARRY BEYOND THE MINIMUM
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
SIX-POINT CHECKLIST
RELATED:
- Archadeck Franchise Insurance Requirements
- Re-Bath Franchise Insurance Requirements
FRANCHISEE QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHAT DOES THE FDD SAY ABOUT INSURANCE FOR HOME REMODELING FRANCHISES?
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We don't have a current ShelfGenie FDD on file, so we can't publish its exact requirements. The insurance section lives in Item 8 of your franchise agreement. Request the most recent FDD from your franchise consultant or ShelfGenie's franchise development team and verify the insurance section directly before binding any policy.
WHAT ENTITY NAME GOES ON MY CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE FOR A REMODELING FRANCHISE?
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Your own legal business entity is the named insured — the business the policy covers. Your franchise agreement will require the franchisor's legal entity as an additional insured. ShelfGenie is a Neighborly brand, but confirm the exact entity name from your FDD; an unverified or wrong name makes the certificate non-compliant.
DOES MY GL POLICY COVER FAULTY WORKMANSHIP IF A SHELF INSTALL FAILS SIX MONTHS LATER?
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General liability does not pay to redo your own faulty work — that is the "your work" exclusion. It does respond to bodily injury and to damage to the customer's other property from a covered incident. Financial loss from a design or specification error is the job of contractors errors and omissions coverage.
DOES MY POLICY COVER THE CUSTOMER'S BELONGINGS DAMAGED DURING A REMODEL?
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Sudden, accidental damage to the customer's other property — a cracked cabinet, a gouged wall — is generally what general liability is built for. Damage to the specific shelf system you were installing may fall under a care, custody, and control limitation. Confirm how your policy draws that line before a claim.
DOES MY INSURANCE COVER SUBCONTRACTORS I BRING IN TO COMPLETE A JOB?
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Only if your general liability includes independent contractors liability and does not carry a subcontractor exclusion. Check your policy before the next 1099 install, and collect a current certificate of insurance from every installer before work starts.
AM I EXPOSED FOR A DESIGN ERROR — IF I SPECIFY THE WRONG PRODUCT AND IT FAILS?
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Yes, and general liability usually will not cover it. When your professional specification, such as a weight rating, causes a financial loss without a covered accident, contractors errors and omissions coverage is the policy built to respond.
DOES COMPLETED OPERATIONS COVERAGE APPLY TO A JOB THAT FAILS A YEAR LATER?
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Yes, if your general liability is written on an occurrence form, which covers an incident based on when it happened rather than when the claim is filed, and your products and completed operations coverage is intact. An installed shelf that fails months later depends on both being in force.
DO I NEED WORKERS' COMPENSATION IF I USE EMPLOYEES TO COMPLETE INSTALLS?
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Yes. Most states require it, and it protects you from paying out of pocket for an injured worker. The employers liability limits on that policy, typically $1,000,000 each accident, respond when an injured worker sues you as the employer.
DOES MY STATE REQUIRE A CONTRACTOR'S LICENSE AND BOND IN ADDITION TO INSURANCE?
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Often yes, depending on the scope of work and your state. A contractor license bond is a state or local requirement to hold a trade license. It is separate from insurance and does not replace it. Confirm your state's requirement before your first job.
Protect what you built — a six-point check
Your coverage is only as good as the gaps you close before a claim, not after. Six checks will tell you whether your policy protects the business you built or just looks the part.
First, when your FDD arrives, pull the insurance section and confirm the exact franchisor legal entity that belongs on your certificates — then check that it appears, spelled correctly, on every certificate you have issued. Second, confirm you carry contractors errors and omissions coverage; you design and specify shelving systems and weight ratings, and that is the claim most likely to surface in litigation a year later. Third, verify your general liability is written on an occurrence form with products and completed operations coverage intact, because the shelf you mount today can injure someone long after you leave. Fourth, ask your agent in writing how your policy treats damage to customer property in your care, so a split cabinet does not become an uncovered kitchen. Fifth, look at whether your additional insured status extends to completed operations and not just ongoing work. Sixth, verify the employers liability limits on your workers' compensation policy are set at $1,000,000 and not left blank.
One more, on the installers you bring in: the certificate you collect from a 1099 installer is not paperwork. A current certificate before the job removes both the year-end audit bill and the risk that an uninsured installer's injury becomes your personal obligation. A free tool to track and verify those certificates is at protectmyfranchise.com.
SUBCONTRACTOR RISK
A LAPSED SUB CERTIFICATE IS INVISIBLE UNTIL YOUR CARRIER FINDS IT
Most home service franchisees use independent contractors or 1099 workers at some point. The coverage gap this creates is not obvious until a claim surfaces. When a certificate lapses, your carrier invokes the subcontractor exclusion in your general liability policy. The work was done. The damage is real. The coverage is not there.
Rikor's subcontractor compliance monitoring tool tracks subcontractor certificates in real time. When a certificate lapses, you know before the next job starts — not after the claim comes in.
WADE MILLWARD, CIC
Founder & CEO · Rikor Insurance
Wade Millward has spent 18 years specializing in franchise insurance. He holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation and has reviewed hundreds of franchise disclosure documents across home service, food service, and commercial franchise verticals. He has built coverage programs for Authority Brands franchisees across electrical, HVAC, plumbing, and restoration trades.