I want to put a new roof on my house. I know of a crew of school teachers that do roofs on the side. They do not carry insurance. Would I then become the general contractor and be liable for any damages or leaks? Can I ask them to fix the problem if I knew up front that they didn't carry insurance?

Actually the crew you're hiring are the Contractors. If they are hurt while working on your property then yes, your policy will cover their injuries under the Medical Payments section.

As for faulty labor such as leaks or damage to your home, your homeowner's policy will not cover this. You can ask them nicely to come back and make the repairs. But since they are not an actual business you will have to go after the individuals. Again, asking nicely works sometimes.

So basically, good luck with collecting as it sounds like a nice group of people doing you a favor. The thing is-- this is the risk you take when you choose to have buddies do the jobs of professionals- you have no guarantee of the craftsmanship. So if you suffer further damage to your home because the work wasn't done properly, you're looking at having to cover that cost out-of-pocket.

Sorry but they are not contractors but rather day laborers. If you hire them to work and they get injured your insurance may cover them but does not insure the quality of their work. If you had a licenced and insured contractor his insurance covers his people, your property and the quality of his work. If you hire a teacher to be a roofer then you know up front they are not professional. You have lowered your standard to save money but you can not hold them to the higher standard of a pro, won't that be nice. Hope that covers you concerns.