Contractor COVID-19 Update

These are turbulent times to say the least. The safety and health of you and your team members, as well as our communities as a whole, must drive our decision making now more than ever.

As governments around the country introduce new Orders and restrictions on the population’s movements, contractors must complete due diligence to ensure that our industry is abiding by all applicable rules while remembering the importance of a business’ social responsibility to the communities we serve. After the team at Elite Claim Solutions researched each of the locations listed below, we learned that continuing to install and sell construction services is an approved activity under the current Orders in the places that our clients do business. Our research is not legal, and this notice is not meant to be legal advice. We strongly recommend reviewing any Orders put forth by your local government yourself before determining how to proceed.

It is important to understand that just because “construction” and “building maintenance and management” are approved business activities our industry still has a social responsibility to ensure that we are doing our part to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect our teams and the clients we serve.

Due to the nature of the construction business, specifically the exterior construction business, and the general “social distance” that naturally occurs when an install is taking place, it is reasonable to expect that crews can maintain the CDC’s suggestions for social distance and personal interaction. For example, when siding is installed most crews have one person who works on each side of the house, thereby clearly maintaining an acceptable distance from each other during the process. In addition, crews frequently wear gloves and generally all have a separate job that keeps them apart from each other during an install. All this happens during the normal course of business. However, the team at Elite Claim Solutions will produce a separate document in English and Spanish that outlines further measures to help you keep crew members, employees, and clients healthy and safe. This document will be distributed in the coming days.

While each company must research and make their own choices, we have come up with a basic set of common sense suggestions to help contractors and the communities in which we all work as safe as possible.

Sales representatives should NOT interact with any crew member unless they observe the CDC’s guidelines regarding social distance and hygiene.
No employee or sales representative should interact in a face to face manner with any client unless such interaction is suggested by the client AND all CDC guidelines are followed.
If a client needs to sign a document, use DocuSign.
If a check needs to be picked up, have the client leave the check in their door, their mailbox or somewhere else where it can be picked up.
If a client wants or needs to come outside during an install, inspection, or any other interaction, maintain the recommended distance and follow all CDC guidelines.
Use the video call capability on your phone to video chat your inspection findings and company sales presentation to your clients.

Below you will find snippets of the actual Orders in each of the markets we have researched. I suggest that you print these documents and have them with you should you be questioned regarding our industry’s exemption from the “Stay At Home” Orders. In addition, please feel free to email your market’s corresponding document to clients who ask if the construction industry is exempt or simply if they seem nervous about the process.

Together and in conjunction with these guidelines, we as an industry and our communities will get through this. And, I am certain, come out stronger on the other side.