I’ve got my lawn Care and pressure washing business ready to go! I haven’t bought insurance but I did get a quote from Hiscox for $722 annually. I would have to make quarterly payments of $180.50.
I’m gonna be a one man show and I will be as careful as possible doing all of my work, but should I still buy the insurance?
I thought about just waiting until I hire someone to get it and if something happens before then, I’ll just deal with it and it would be a lesson learned.
I personally would NOT ever consider running any business, whether its a one man show or a full crew without having insurance. Having insurance not only helps to protect you and your business but also helps in making a statement that you are a serious business owner. Having insurance WILL help you get business. Just use it in your pitch. Consider if you had a choice yourself, hiring a business that is insured or one that is NOT insured and is willing to “risk” NOT having it. I am confident you and anyone else would choose the business that HAS insurance !Good luck with your new venture!
Thanks Brett, I think you have me convinced. I was on the fence, but just curious if it was really necessary for me or not. I think I will buy the insurance. How’s the price I was quoted sound?
$722. and offering a payment plan in my opinion is very reasonable. All it takes is one good client to pay for and it helps keeps you and your business protected.
Plus one. Especially for your first year in business. A lot of companies like to stick newbies in an over-priced “high risk” pool. Requiring full payment up front is not uncommon, either.
$722 seems very reasonable - Plus you can mention to your prospects that you are licensed AND insured, even offer them a hard copy or email it to them. I have won a lot of business doing this. There are a lot of “Chuck and his truck” operators out there, it will set you apart from them as a pro.
Also when you bid on commercial work, and you will, attach a copy of your insurance with the bid. The payroll dept. can review your policy to make sure it meets their requirements, will save you some grief getting paid after the job is completed.
Harry
@HarryG… am also new to buisness …starting this year I am insured but still don’t understand the licensing part…is that just a buisness license as far as city or county ???
Being new is hard to make sure everything is done correctly…is think insurance is a must at least you have that to fall back on it do tons of research , take my time on jobs and try to think everything out to make sure I provide a quality end result…but I’m sure my day is coming when I make a rookie mistake …good luck on your Endeavor @Panther
YES you need to do the insurance! I’m in your shoes right now and wouldn’t dream of the risk without it. You got a good quote if it’s a standard 1m/2m and I would take it and run with it, as one of my insurance broker friends told me (3 I know couldn’t find better rate including him). I’m paying 750 annually.
I read the national average for a 1m/2m policy is $ 572, so if you get anything like that for under that price…you are blessed.I live in a fairly big city with no professional history in this field so I need to build some credit so to speak before I can have much shopping leverage
Not all states require business licenses. They are not required in NC but I have dozens of them from other out of state cities. Insurance prices will vary based on coverage needed, number of vehicles and employees, Workers Comp rates etc. No way to do an across the board comparison.
I’m getting raped in Los Angeles. $1500 with Hiscox, 2k with other companies for Liability. I am working on multi million dollar properties, but it’s still rediculous.
Mine runs about $7k for insurance and $12k for workers comp. That includes coverage on vehicles and equipment as will so it may not be apples to apples
Hiscox told us they didn’t cover pressure washing, although they had a great rate on lawn care. We went with another company and are paying aournd $1500 annually for our pressure washing/lawn care business in Savannah GA.
Just so you know, Farm Bureau will hang you out to dry if you ever have to make a claim. They don’t, and won’t, offer CCC coverage. I learned the hard way about them. My agent (who I refer to as “Lying Dirtbag Guy”) told me that anything I worked on would be covered, no matter what. I was window cleaning (only) at the time and some windows got scratched by an employee who didn’t follow directions. Farm Bureau wouldn’t even send someone out to look at the “claim” and I ended up paying 6k out of pocket to make it right.
When I switched to Power Washing I went with Joseph Walters, but started hearing some disconcerting info about them, and their customer service went from awesome to surprisingly poor. I went with Eerie on the advice of @Innocentbystander and I was very surprised at the value. I haven’t had, and hope I never do have, a claim, but I feel pretty confident in them.
