If a contractor's negligence leads to $2,000 in damages, and they have a $500 deductible policy, who is responsible for the damages?

The contractor would be responsible for paying the $500 deductible, while the insurance policy would cover the remaining amount of the damages. This is how most insurance policies operate with deductibles; the insured is required to pay a predefined amount out-of-pocket before the insurance company contributes to the rest of the claim.

In this scenario, since the total damages amount to $2,000 and the deductible is set at $500, the contractor initially incurs that deductible amount. Once that deductible is accounted for, the insurance coverage steps in to handle the remaining $1,500 of the damages. This division of payment aligns with standard practices in liability insurance, where the insured party is responsible for an initial financial commitment (the deductible) before insurance coverage applies. Thus, the total amount paid collectively would still satisfy the total damages incurred.