Building this little round house in the woods is risky business.  Running out of money, overbuilding, water scarcity, a dog rolling in cactus are all possibilities.  These things are mostly manageable for us either through planning and by acceptance.  Where there is high risk there is high reward.  The risk of personal injury to our family and friends who come out to help us is one we haven’t quite dealt with yet.  Construction projects can be dangerous.  We have no liability insurance.

Liability insurance is normally included in a standard homeowner’s policy.  It protects the property owners and visitors from financial disaster in the case of a serious injury.  The problem with getting a policy that provides this for us right now is that there is no house.  No certificate of occupancy, no homeowner’s insurance.  Contractors and professional builders have this insurance through worker’s compensation.

There are two solutions to this problem:  get some insurance or ask our friends and family to sign a release document.  We are working both angles right now.  Insurance for this situation might be too expensive or non-existent.  We’ve struck out with one agent.  A second was supposed to get me a quote today but I have yet to hear back from him.  A lawyer can write up a “Release of Liability” document for $125 that I can ask anyone who picks up a hammer on our property to sign.

I’m leaning toward the release approach.  The reason I like it is that it puts the risks and responsibilities right out front.  I think it will help make our job site a safer one.  I don’t like this approach because it’s very selfish on our part.  How can I ask people to come out and help us but also to be financially responsible for any injury they might incur while on our property?  It may just be a fact of life.