Please help!

[Razorfish]

hi,
i am a self-taught tree climber and really would like to go legit. i currently live in maine. i have been doing this for 6 years. can any of you guys tell me how to go about obtaining an insurance? do i need the insurance before going for a license? i am confused about this process and really could use some input from the pro's. i am psyched to have found this site!
thanks!!!

 

[ddhlakebound]

Most city, county, or state licensing agencys will require you to have proof of liability insurance to get a license.

Work Comp. insurance laws vary from place to place, you may need it, you may not. If you have more than a couple employees you probably will.

As far as business liability, treat it like getting quotes for your truck ins. Hit the yellow pages, and call everyone. Many places won't carry the coverage you're looking for, but you'll find several places able to give you a quote. Running a search here for "liability insurance" will probably give you several quality places to call also.

When I got licensed here, I was amazed to find that the city of Springfield had a minimum of $5000 property damage liability to get a license. Really protecting the residents and their property huh?

Ended up going w/ a million in coverage, but next year I may drop that down to 300k/600k to save a bit on the premium. The 500K/1M coverage is costing roughly 1100/yr.

 

[Razorfish]

Thanks!

thanks for all the info! right now everything seems overwhelming. i am going to take my exam in november (earliest available date). will check into the insurances. thanks again!

 

[jrizman]

my thoughts

im thinking about doing this next year myself. my idea was to cover it all, i dont want anything to happen to risk my own ass.
i think i have settled on applying for an LLC, get a contractors lic, insured and bonded. Ill get at least $500K insurance cause ive seen a tree do several hundred thousand worth of damage in on shot, luckily it wasnt me!
anyway, talk to a few local dudes, see what they have (not some hack, someone with some exp. and years of quality behind them). also contact the local contractor insurance group (or similar) and see what they recommend.
having some type of business plan is good to with expected growth and expenses, a general plan of attack.
good luck and remember, people are lawsuit happy and you dont wanna be on the short end of the stick.