I don’t see any options for farm bureau business insurance for Alabama. I do see auto insurance though
I don’t see how the national average is $572/yr. I was quoted $1,700 for hilcox and $1,600/yr from Joseph Walters. Dammit man.
Who is your insurance through? also is pressure washing your primary form of business? I’m seeing where people have cheaper rates by having a lawncare business and also offering pressure washing.
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…
Before I even start a job, or when I do an initial estimate, I always ask myself…" what COULD go wrong" if I don’t do this right the first time (over spray, chemicals leaking to a lower floor, painted shudders damaged, etc…). Always be proactive, NOT reactive to a mistake or doing something irreversible. Remember, there’s never time to do it right, BUT, there’s plenty of time to do it over. Good luck.
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I’m paying $750.00 annual through a Met Life subsidiary called Starr. I
went through four brokers’ searches before landing there. I’ve read that
Joe Walters isn’t all that cheap either, but the previous quotes I received
from the other three brokers I mentioned were about 3k plus!
My broker placed me under a painting contractor’s type category, since they had no specific PW category. That’s all I’m into is PW. I don’t do other work, nor do I have such history. Maybe ask around and see who is working with Starr insurance/Met Life would be my suggestion.
Try Hunters’ Ins. They are sending me email ads with very low premiums. Don’t know about them, though other than my own, which is Starr Ins.
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I found coverage locally. 1mil general liability for $674/yr. signing up for it tomorrow
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My annual premium with Burns & Wilcox is around $1100. Joseph D. Walters sent me a quote from Liberty Mutual for $1300 yesterday, as a matter of fact, I asked where the 25% discount they supposedly offered us is and haven’t heard a peep. They were incredibly fast to respond when I was looking for prices.
I’m going to look into Erie and Starr though… it sounds like I’m getting raked over the coals by the others
Anyone booked insurance through CoverWallet? They seem to have their act together and seem to be making a splash in the small business insurance world with a number of underwriting partners.
I know the feeling! I’m at $6,600 for vehicles and commercial and I think 4K year work Comp.
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Don’t touch anything until you have insurance. I don’t care if it’s your neighbors next door.
Let’s say you dent their A/C unit. Guess what? You’re paying up to $3,000 for a repair. How about $500 for a car paint job because a flying rock chipped it? Or say it hits a window, that’s $250 right there. Oops the security cameras got wet, there’s another. $1,000 for replacement.
Can you afford to spend $5,000 to fix a single mistake on a $200 cleaning job?
Get insurance!!!
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Great points. But I just want to point out, that the way business insurance is, you’re probably best to pay out of pocket on anything you possibly can afford. Your company will cancel your insurance for too many claims. And you never know when something really bad will happen. Like burning down a house because of faulty wiring. Or a little old lady breaking a hip when she trips over your hose on her morning power walk.
(I’m pretty sure) your insurance carrier won’t drop you for a single catastrophic event like that, but they might decide you’re too risky if you’ve made one or two smaller claims recently, as well.
For me, the threshold for making a claim would probably be over $1,000. But I’ve heard other business owners say they won’t make a claim for anything under $5,000.
Last winter I paid out of pocket for damage to someone’s car that was parked below a deck I had shoveled. Most likely wasn’t even me that caused the damage, but some ice coming off the roof. But I paid out the $377 to protect our reputation, and made sure cars were no longer parked in that spot.
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Remember to check on care,custody and control insurance. If you don’t have that you may be in for a surprise of you file a claim for damages you caused.
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I’ve read about Care, Custody, and Control and how it is a possible “out” from having to pay on a claim for damages cause by the contractor. Seems like it could be hit and miss if not included. It seems as though it is for one-off instances when a property has been legally shifted to the contractor for a period of time and is his/hers to deal with as he/she pleases effectively making it “personal property” which is a standard exclusion (I think) for obvious reasons.
Do you have any experience with it or know someone who has? Underwriting companies involved who used a courts loose interpretation at the contractors expense? Anyone can jump in here, not just IBS.
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If you spray acid by mistake on siding and it all has to be replaced, care custody and control takes care of that. Regular business insurance policy does not.
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If you’re a vet I would check out The Hartford via USAA. Their client services department is second to none and their rates are outstanding.
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They don’t not cover power washing. If you have a policy through them check to make sure it is classified correctly
Hi, I just spoke with The Hartford and was told by my rep they that they do still cover for pressure washing. However, they do not cover gutters on new policies.
I.B is right. The only time I put a claim in was last year and was denied. My policy is for painting & pressure washing. I was paint spraying a billboard and got overspray on 3 vehicles. My insurance doesn’t cover anything that could have been prevented. Although I dropped them and found a policy that does. Ok
