Workmans Comp

[Treecutr]

Wondering if anyone in Ma can give me an idea of what workmans comp insurance would cost for 1-2 part time employees. Now that I'm not going to Afghanistan, I have to start looking to expand my 1 man show ( I use 1-2 guys that I trust with my life, just want to protect them if something goes wrong )

 

[jefflovstrom]

Wondering if anyone in Ma can give me an idea of what workmans comp insurance would cost for 1-2 part time employees. Now that I'm not going to Afghanistan, I have to start looking to expand my 1 man show ( I use 1-2 guys that I trust with my life, just want to protect them if something goes wrong )

Maybe I should not jump in, but it has been 2 days with no response. Can I jump start this with saying , in California, looking at 50%
Jeff

 

[Ghillie]

Maybe I should not jump in, but it has been 2 days with no response. Can I jump start this with saying , in California, looking at 50%
Jeff

I was looking at 54% untill I contacted the local chamber of commerce here in ohio. They had group rates with membership and it dropped my start-up business below 20%.

 

[jefflovstrom]

I was looking at 54% untill I contacted the local chamber of commerce here in ohio. They had group rates with membership and it dropped my start-up business below 20%.

What! Are you serious? How?
Jeff

 

[Ghillie]

What! Are you serious? How?
Jeff

My business became part of the group of businesses that are members of the chamber. I am not sure exactly how to describe it in any better detail.

 

[treemandan]

What! Are you serious? How?
Jeff

They do not make it cheap or easy for one man. Now a bigger corp like yours has a better chance.
Think about it. The ins co's aren't stupid but if you think you are gonna start up a tree company and get some WC then maybe you are stupid. You just can't go out and get it and all is fine. No sir! You need some credibilty first. The bank don't loan people money who need it.

 

[treemandan]

My business became part of the group of businesses that are members of the chamber. I am not sure exactly how to describe it in any better detail.

I don't need a better explaination.

 

[ducaticorse]

Wondering if anyone in Ma can give me an idea of what workmans comp insurance would cost for 1-2 part time employees. Now that I'm not going to Afghanistan, I have to start looking to expand my 1 man show ( I use 1-2 guys that I trust with my life, just want to protect them if something goes wrong )

You're looking at 13.5 percent of payroll. Your insurance will be from the "assigned risk pool" basically a group of insurers that will charge you the highest rate they can. After you're in operation for a cpl years, your rates will drop providing your records are clear. Your min workers comp premium for MA is about $2800 a year. You will be audited at the end of every year, so if you're on books for more than you stated to the ins co, you will be billed for whatever the difference is before your renewal is issued. If you get caught by the department of industrial accidents without comp, you can be fined upwards of $500 per man per day until you bind a policy.

 

[jefflovstrom]

I am pausing my music to say this, then un-pausing. Depending where you live and all, still, your CL is different than a landscaper and I think this is in the mix here.
Jeff
(ie) C27 , C61,D49,

 

[ducaticorse]

I am pausing my music to say this, then un-pausing. Depending where you live and all, still, your CL is different than a landscaper and I think this is in the mix here.
Jeff
(ie) C27 , C61,D49, [/QUOTE

The info I provided above applies to MA Arborist WC insurance, and not landscaping, or anything else, (except the fines from DIA, those go for everyone).

 

[ATH]

They do not make it cheap or easy for one man. Now a bigger corp like yours has a better chance.
Think about it. The ins co's aren't stupid but if you think you are gonna start up a tree company and get some WC then maybe you are stupid. You just can't go out and get it and all is fine. No sir! You need some credibilty first. The bank don't loan people money who need it.

Not the part I bolded for you: This does not apply to Ghillie (or any of us in Ohio), there are no insurance companies offering workmans comp in Ohio because we all HAVE to buy it from the state. Meaning...they are stupid.

But what Ghillie is talking about is "group rating". Essentially, this puts you in a different pool. You need to have a year or rating before qualifying for most groups and (as I understand it, but I might be wrong here) the group will kick you out if your claims exceed a certain $.

I used to be about 10-12%, but then the State changed the amount they will allow a group to discount off of the base rate, so the lowest any tree care firm in Ohio can have is quite a bit higher as of July 1, 2010 (I thought it was mid 20%s...but Ghillie said he is below 20% - I wonder if that was last month's rate?).

 

[Treecutr]

You're looking at 13.5 percent of payroll. Your insurance will be from the "assigned risk pool" basically a group of insurers that will charge you the highest rate they can. After you're in operation for a cpl years, your rates will drop providing your records are clear. Your min workers comp premium for MA is about $2800 a year. You will be audited at the end of every year, so if you're on books for more than you stated to the ins co, you will be billed for whatever the difference is before your renewal is issued. If you get caught by the department of industrial accidents without comp, you can be fined upwards of $500 per man per day until you bind a policy.

Thank you. I do as much work myself as I can, simply because I havn't found too many people that are either:
A: Reliable
B: Know what hard work is, and how to actually do it ( lA ot of guy fade and just don't have any stamina )
c: Trustworthy

My partner is heading to Afghanistan as was I until a few weeks ago ( Issues with me from tour in Iraq so I can't go again, oh darn, LOL )

If anyone near Pittsfield wants an extra grunt one day on a weekend, let me know, LOL

 

[StephanieD]

Have you looked into professional employer organizations for Arborists? They can get even lower rates the whatever insurance companies are quoting on your work comp. Don't just call up the first PEO service you find in a search or yellow book, you might end up calling one that's more beneficial for white collar employers and not be able to give you the best rate..

For high risk professions like tree service, get in touch with a PEO broker. Brokers go through their list of PEO companies find the best match for the profession, then they get proposals from whatever are the best PEO's for the profession. Best way to save money on administrative, work comp (40% or so savings), and payroll costs.

There's a few PEO brokers out there and you might want to do some research and ask whatever PEO brokers you find what they can generally save companies like yours before starting the process. I always recommend Employee Leasing Quotes to the business owners I'm in contact with as I'm familiar with their business ethics and integrity. If you want to check them out you can go to their arborists PEO page. Other wise, just do a Google search for Arborists PEO and make a few phone calls till you find someone that you like.