Are You Insured?

[Marshy]

A few times a year I end up taking down some trees for some side cash. Some are near residential but some are on private property and used for firewood/lumber. So far the residential ones have all been straight forward and low risk. I plan to continue doing it as a hobby and it also helps justify the purchases of my saws/equipment. My wife has suggested I look at getting insured but idk where to begin. I don't make an income per-say and I imagine the cost of the insurance would far exceed the money I generate in one year. What are my options and where does one begin looking for coverage?

I don't believe I will actually get any insurance but I told my wife I would look into it. I have no issue passing on something that has more than a low risk. I may just continue with that approach but if anything happened to someone's property I could be liable which puts everything I own on the line. Thoughts?

 

[dancan]

I take on stuff that has no risk but when there is risk I explain the risks to owner and if they still want it done I have a small treeco guy that I call , we work well together but when he shows up with his truck and insurance the property owner pays what it costs to get the insured guy to show up and I'll work as the groundie .

 

[dave_dj1]

I'll bet the cost of insurance isn't as bad as you might think and I'll bet it's much cheaper than having to replace someones car, home or fence.
I would call a few agency's and ask.

 

[Marshy]

I don't do anything that needs climbing, chunked down, or limbed out. It's all straight drops and saw up. I don't do ground work either. I'm basically a hired saw operator only. That's the way I want to keep it and so far that's what the customers want, the cheapest option to get the tree down. I'm happy to oblige as long as it's relatively no risk but if anything ever happened (large or small) I'm liable regardless the verbal agreement I make with the property owner. I doubt our good faith agreement would stand in court.

 

[chucker]

$1200.00 a year for $250,000.00 coverage .. any more then that and it don't pay for the few residential jobs per year. this is just for tree service!

 

[Del_]

Insurance is a waste of money!

 

[chucker]

I don't do anything that needs climbing, chunked down, or limbed out. It's all straight drops and saw up. I don't do ground work either. I'm basically a hired saw operator only. That's the way I want to keep it and so far that's what the customers want, the cheapest option to get the tree down. I'm happy to oblige as long as it's relatively no risk but if anything ever happened (large or small) I'm liable regardless the verbal agreement I make with the property owner. I doubt our good faith agreement would stand in court.

not a chance... lol

 

[Marshy]

I'll bet the cost of insurance isn't as bad as you might think and I'll bet it's much cheaper than having to replace someones car, home or fence.
I would call a few agency's and ask.

What do I ask the agent though? What is the coverage called? Personal liability?

 

[cantoo]

We have a landscaping business but now just do grass cutting mainly. A few years ago I asked our agent about doing tree work and he said we would have to take our business elsewhere. They were not interested in even giving a quote. We can do tree work up to 15' high or something stupid like that, so maybe a 1" trunk. We do small removals once in awhile but never what there can be any damage other than holes in the lawn. I've dropped a few yard trees for friends but no money changes hands.

 

[tnflatbed]

You might be able to get a blanket policy fairly reasonable but if you mention that your doing tree work it more than likely will be a no go. If you don't have a business and you are only doing this 1-2 times a year the risk probably doesn't justify the expense. If it was me I would probably just press on, but I would also know when to say NO and if your the least bit hesitant let someone else do the job. Having personal liability may not cover you if money is changing hands but these are questions for an insurance person.

 

[muddstopper]

back when I had a hydroseeding company, I had a $1millon general liability policy. I believe the cost was around $600 a year. I also had a pesticide license and the rates where higher. Tree work would be higher even still. I believe the policy you are looking for would be a general liability policy specificly for tree work.

 

[unclemoustache]

Yes - I have a $1 mil policy, and it costs me $582/year. However, that's not for tree work but for general contracting. My agent said that if an accident ever happened because of tree work, they would pay and drop me, and I'd find it difficult to get insurance again. I take very few risks!

 

[Marshy]

I'd have to get more serious for a $500+ insurance expense.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

I don't mess with yard trees for that reason. Most people that call want to trade the labor for the wood... yeah... sure... let me do $1000 of work for $50 of wood.

 

[millalien]

What do I ask the agent though? What is the coverage called? Personal liability?

"General Liability" (aka "GL") business insurance is the usual term.

The agent will offer a bunch of add-ons (fire, business interruption...), but sounds like you're thinking about a base GL policy. You'll fill out an application which discloses the specifics of what you're doing and what you want for a deductible and liability limits., and the policy price and coverage will be based on that. The policy will also have a bunch of exclusions to keep the service being insured narrowly defined and any services outside of that won't be covered. Generally speaking the more narrow the coverage and the higher the deductible to less expensive the policy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[merc_man]

Insurance is a waste of money!

I agree. All the money we spend on insurance nuts.

Sent from my SM-J320W8 using Tapatalk

 

[Marshy]

I don't mess with yard trees for that reason. Most people that call want to trade the labor for the wood... yeah... sure... let me do $1000 of work for $50 of wood.

Im not into any jobs that would cost $1000. It's usually up to a hand full of trees and its just an hour or two worth of work to get them on the ground. I don't have a set price, depends who the person is and how technical the job is but it's not worth my time to do $50 jobs after you count the driving time etc... If they want several days of cutting done then I charge by the hour (typically non residential in that case).

 

[Marshy]

"General Liability" (aka "GL") business insurance is the usual term.

The agent will offer a bunch of add-ons (fire, business interruption...), but sounds like you're thinking about a base GL policy. You'll fill out an application which discloses the specifics of what you're doing and what you want for a deductible and liability limits., and the policy price and coverage will be based on that. The policy will also have a bunch of exclusions to keep the service being insured narrowly defined and any services outside of that won't be covered. Generally speaking the more narrow the coverage and the higher the deductible to less expensive the policy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks!

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Was just an example.

I don't normally do anything smaller than 10 acres. Not worth it.
Currently clearing 130 acres.

 

[Marshy]

Yeah, so I already defined the level of work perviously.... This is about me, not you... Thanks for weighing in I guess...?