What insurance...and how much?

[littlenick]

Ok. I have found you can usually get a whole lot better deal if:
a) you get a good broker who you trust and has your best interest in mind
b) you get a reasonably high deductable, what you can afford and feel comfortable with - after all insurance is for the really big claims.. and you should pay the small stuff yourself
c) get the broker to look for a company package - if they have them - mine included a package taylored for tree services - but had dozens of clauses and features all bundled together -- and at better price than if he built same thing from scratch
d) get more insurance vs less.. allows you to bid on larger jobs, municipal jobs, whatever and have no worries.. and if you have above 3 items in place likely not a huge cost either.

Thanks for the good post! People on this site usually dont give 2 cents for helping a fairly new tree guy...

I just had my broker look into adding insurance for some equipment i just bought and adding that on the policy, i saved about $125.

 

[Josh A.]

It's great to see this thread go in this direction! The info provided is worth a lot to new guys like myself. You've already helped a couple guys (probably more) save money and headaches.

Thanks again for sharing your experience and knowledge.

 

[TreeClimber57]

Thanks for the good post! People on this site usually dont give 2 cents for helping a fairly new tree guy...

I just had my broker look into adding insurance for some equipment i just bought and adding that on the policy, i saved about $125.

Well, I have no use for hacks and lowballers.. and the industry is full of them. Most of them are simply somebody who either could not make it in another field, thinks tree work is an easy $, wants to make some more money on side, or simply is starting out a small business but has no intrest in doing it right.

If on other hand, somebody wants to be legit, pays insurance, pays taxes, takes proper training, etc.. then who am I to think poorly of them.. after all everyone of us began somewhere.

 

[TreeClimber57]

Thanks for the good post! People on this site usually dont give 2 cents for helping a fairly new tree guy...

I just had my broker look into adding insurance for some equipment i just bought and adding that on the policy, i saved about $125.

Well, I have no use for hacks and lowballers.. and the industry is full of them. Most of them are simply somebody who either could not make it in another field, thinks tree work is an easy $, wants to make some more money on side, or simply is starting out a small business but has no interest in doing it right.

If on other hand, somebody wants to be legit, pays insurance, pays taxes, takes proper training, etc.. then who am I to think poorly of them.. after all everyone of us began somewhere.

 

[TreeClimber57]

Thanks for the good post! People on this site usually dont give 2 cents for helping a fairly new tree guy...

I just had my broker look into adding insurance for some equipment i just bought and adding that on the policy, i saved about $125.

Well, I have no use for hacks and lowballers.. and the industry is full of them. Most of them are simply somebody who either could not make it in another field, thinks tree work is an easy $, wants to make some more money on side, or simply is starting out a small business but has no interest in doing it right.

If on other hand, somebody wants to be legit, pays insurance, pays taxes, takes proper training, etc.. then who am I to think poorly of them.. after all everyone of us began somewhere.

 

[HLC03]

As said before me, thank you for all the above info. I definitely will use this post when I go to give my broker a call this spring. Right now I have a small landscaping business with around 90-100 accounts, looking to grow more this year. I have landscaping insurance, and will talk to my guy about some tree service insurance this year, as I am growing to accommodate my tree customers. Last season I only took tree jobs I knew where near nothing I could damage. I did this without a safety net and it was stupid. This year I want to hire a pro-climber, pay him good, have him help me bid and estimate, and take on some more challenging jobs. Its a great thing to be insured. I normally pay out of pocket for small sub-1000$ damages that happen in my landscaping/lawn care biz such as broken car windows, house windows, storm doors, mostly glass from employees trimming/edging in the wrong direction. Another thing to consider is when you break something, call the customer or knock on the door as soon as it happens, explain what happened, be sincere and offer immediately to pay for it cash or call someone to come fix it that day or asap. It makes you look more professional, and shows that you are serious about taking care of damages right away.

Adam

 

[Josh A.]

Well, I have no use for hacks and lowballers.. and the industry is full of them. Most of them are simply somebody who either could not make it in another field, thinks tree work is an easy $, wants to make some more money on side, or simply is starting out a small business but has no interest in doing it right.

I have been a horseshoer for going on 10 years now, a business that I am in the process of phasing out (turns out you get old fast!). It's pretty analogous to what we are talking about here. But I don't think it matters what business you are in, there are plenty of guys that are out there making money at your expense. Whether it be charging less and doing iffy work trying to take clients from your base, or charging too much and having a nice line of bs to go with it; to ones that simply fabricate information and imply that your service is sub-par to theirs to make you look bad.

Another thing to consider is when you break something, call the customer or knock on the door as soon as it happens, explain what happened, be sincere and offer immediately to pay for it cash or call someone to come fix it that day or asap. It makes you look more professional, and shows that you are serious about taking care of damages right away.

Yup, that is what not only professionals do, but what honest, hard working people do. When you do something wrong...fix it to the best of your ability. If it means doing the work over, do the work over. If it means money out of your pocket, pay it. If it means getting someone involved to fix what you cannot, hire hire them in. (In my case it's usually the vet) The hardest part is admitting what happened. If you are honest with your clients, most of them are quick to understand. No matter what business you are in, if you have never made a mistake, you have not been doing it very long.

And, to bring this back on topic; A good broker will tell you when you can find a better deal elsewhere. That was the case with my life insurance policy. I have had the same agent for a long time (he is also a client of mine). When I asked him about policies he said that his company was not the best (cheapest) out there because that was not their primary service. He then gave me a list of companies to check out, along with services to ask for. In the end, I paid MORE to have my policy with him. If something were to happen, I know that he would do all he could to make sure things were taken care of for my family. That is worth a couple hundred buck a year to me!