COVID-19 Best Practice for Businesses
I was talking with friends the other day (via Zoom, of course!), and we were discussing having service people come to our homes.
One friend, who hasn’t ventured out of her home for months, had an air conditioner service man come in and, even though he was wearing a mask, she wondered what her recourse would be if she were to contract COVID-19 from his visit.
Most retail businesses and restaurants are following clear guidelines from their local health authorities to keep their employees and customers as safe as possible. Just within the last couple of weeks, the ten biggest retailers in the U.S. joined other chains* in instituting mask-wearing policies for anyone entering their stores.
But going into a business is a personal choice. What if you need to have someone come into your home?
Another friend who is equally diligent about sheltering-in-place had to put her mother’s house on the market. She had inspectors, repairmen, and real estate buyers coming through her place. After every visit, she disinfected surfaces and light switches.
My friend said that every person who came to her home to provide a service did wear a mask and practiced social distancing, but not all of them believed their mask was essential. One guy flat out said he only wore it because his boss told him to. That attitude felt unsafe to my friend.
What would happen if a customer contracted the virus, and the only person they had been around was a service professional? Could they sue the service company for medical payments or other compensation?
The answer is yes, of course, a customer could sue, but whether or not the suit would have merit is difficult to say. However, no business owner needs the hassle of dealing with lawsuits, and it’s highly possible their Business Owner Policy (BOP) would not cover such occurrences.
Depending on the facts of the case, if a suit were filed, coverage for such damages could or could not be part of a BOP or General Liability policy.
For businesses that send service professionals to customers’ homes, the best thing they can do is have a clearly stated/publicized COVID-19 Policy and Procedure in place to mitigate transmission of the virus. And they must enforce the use of the policy with their employees.
Service professionals should follow the rules at all times and also demonstrate a sincere understanding of the seriousness of not transmitting the virus.
The best way to defeat the virus is to assume it is present and then act accordingly: wear gloves when needed, wear a mask, stay six feet or more from others, don’t touch doorknobs or light switches with your hands, and don’t share food or drink.
Theoretically, a business owner could be sued by a customer who believes they were infected by the company’s service person. And it’s not clear if the business’ insurance policy would cover such an occurrence. So, the best practice to prevent any lawsuits… and prevent the spread of the virus… is to follow established guidelines.
As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
If you’re a business owner, I would be honored to help you choose the right coverage at the right price to protect your business. Please give me a call (602.456.9122) or email anthonywashington@myraisinbread.com.
Anthony Washington has 30 years in the insurance industry and has now created RaisinBread, an insurance tech company that makes commercial insurance simple for business owners to understand and purchase.
* Retailers with mask requirements include (but are not limited to): Wal-mart; Whole Foods; Kroger; Costco; Walgreen’s; Home Depot; Lowe’s; CVS; Target; Albertson’s; Starbucks; Apple stores; Best Buy, Publix; Kohl’s; Aldi; Macy’s.
