Another affordable option may be to form a self-insurance pool for residential painters, said Mark Vink. He suggested that a trade group like PDCA could organize such a program. An informal survey of several contractors who have done lead work found none with special insurance. A midwestern contractor is carefully following all applicable rules and regulations, choosing to bear the liability risk himself, after deciding that special insurance was too expensive. A third, San Antonio's Bill Travis, has done lead work in the past, but has stopped because the bonding companies won't bond such projects.
Residential painters are in a different situation.
Baltimore contractor and PDCA Senior Vice President Mike Miller has chosen this course. A Richmond, VA, contractor also has chosen this route, disappointing many owners of historic homes who expect her firm to continue its high-quality work. It only makes sense. Here the need to get rid of the paint is public knowledge and sometimes a requirement. But in Texas, the average customer is in the dark.