Insurance

It's important to use a professional electrician. There are many homes that have been lost, and businesses burnt to the ground due to an electrical fire. By hiring a professional electrician, you are taking one more step to keeping your home and family safe. So then, how do you go about finding an electrician that's going to help you and not just take your money and run? Here is a short list of things to look out for that should help you:

1. Is the electrician licensed and insured? Every professional electrician should be licensed. If you're talking to an electrician who isn't licensed, you may want to go with someone else. It's also important that they're insured. If they're not insured, and you encounter any major electrical damages due to their work, you could be out of luck!

2. Do they offer 24 hour emergency service? The last thing you want is to have electrical work done during the day, then have problems that night and not be able to get a hold of your electrician. Of course, if you follow step 1 and hire a licensed electrician, the odds are in your favor that you won't have any problems later when they leave. However, we're all human and make mistakes so don't risk it! Stay on the safe side and use an electric company that offers 24 hour emergency service.

3. Do they offer any type of guarantee? What's great about a guarantee is that it removes all risk from you. It is worth noting, that just because an electrician doesn't offer a guarantee, it doesn't necessarily mean they're bad. If they do offer a guarantee though, it's probably because they're good at what they do! Besides, you don't want to pay an electrician a second time to fix the work he messed up the first time do you?

4. How long have they been in business? Again, just because someone is new doesn't necessarily mean they're bad at what they do. However, if someone has managed to stay in business for many years, it's a safe bet they're going to be dependable. It's hard to keep a business running if you're not doing a good job.

5. Do they have testimonials? If someone is good at their job, they will more than likely have previous customers who will vouch for them. You will find that a few electricians actually have their testimonials posted on their website. If an electrician you're considering hiring doesn't have any posted on their website, another way to check is to do a quick search on the internet.

If you can track down an electrician that posses all of the qualities, rest assured that you've probably found a winner! If you can't seem to find an electrician in your area that has all the traits mentioned above, don't worry about it too much. Keep in mind that this is only a guide to help you select the right electrician for you.