The Mississippi State Board of Contractors has taken action that will require licensed residential contractors and remodelers to show proof of general liability insurance before receiving the license.

The new policy was adopted at the October board meeting and now must be submitted to the Secretary of State. There will also be a public comment period, so the rule change is not expected to go into effect until January 1, 2013.

After January 1, 2013, licensed contractors will have to show proof of general liability insurance upon renewing a license or receiving a new license. The new rule change is expected to provide additional protection to the consumer. The insurance will also provide additional security to the builder on items covered in the policy.

This action of the Board of Contractors was made possible by legislation supported by the Home Builders Association during the 2012 legislative session. Without a change in the licensing law, the State Board was pro-hibited from requiring general liability insurance.

In addition to the general liability language allowing the action by the Board, there were some other positive changes in the law.

The two home exemptions for anyone building a home for resale were removed. Therefore any individual, partnership, company, etc. building a home for resale must be licensed and insured.

There will also be an inactive licensee category added for those that wish to keep their license current, but are not actively building.

For additional information, please call the HBAM office at 601-969-3446.