# Liability Insurance Quotes



## YUKON 659

I know there has been plenty of discussion about liability insurance before and I've looked at what some of you guys are paying. Seems like some of your premiums are reasonable and yet others are paying quite a bit more. I'm assuming these prices are dertermined by which part of the country and/or who your insurance company is. Right? The reason I'm asking is, first I had a hard time finding an insurance company to get it from and second, when I did find someone to cover me the premium seemed kind of expensive. They quoted me approx. $2,000/$300,000...up to $2,500/1,000,000 with a $1000 deductible. Is this what I should expect to pay or could I do better?

Thanks, Jeff


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## treeman82

Jeff, I was paying like $2,700 a year for liability of $1,000,000 with a $500 deductable. However I had several years of experience, and had been insured for 2 years already. This also depends on how much payroll you have. I believe they do it by payroll. I was with a few companies which figured it out by gross reciepts, but I believe payroll is standard.


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## mikecross23

I just happened to be at an insurance agent's office the other day w/ a buddy and next year will be looking to up my policy so I got a quote. $782.11 for a $500,000 w/ a $1,000 deductible. $939.14 for a $100,000 w/ a $1,000 deductible. Judging by the name of the company, it's kind of scary. Atlantic Casualty. Sounds like a death sentence to me. 

Keep in mind that these quotes are for a simple service. 

-Mike-


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## Menchhofer

Ours is 850.00 per year, 2 million coverage.


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## Jock

Any of you guys do rail contracts? Minimum cover by law is 25.000.000 and that comes in at a cost of £5400.00 per annum, plus employers liability and personal insurance at a cost of 1800.00 per annum. If you do work here for local authorities minimum cover is £5.000.000 at a cost of £750.00 per annum but its based on business turnover......you need a degree in mathematics, law, and blatent theft, in this country to understand insurance companies and there methods.


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## YUKON 659

treeman82, you mentioned you had 2 yrs. of experience...if I was just getting started would this have a bearing on what I could expect to pay?

Mike, when you refer to simple service...what do you mean?

Jeff


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## Toddppm

Ours is about $1650.00 for the tree service part, 2 mil @ $57 per 1000 of payroll.


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## treeman82

Jeff, yeah. they should have asked you what kind of experience you have doing this type of work. (past schooling / employers / etc.) The more experience you have, and clean at that.... the lower the amount you should expect to pay. On top of that... if you have a good safety program in place you can get a lower rate.


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## Matt Follett

Yes and projected revenue, as this sort of signifies how much possiblility there is for a mishap, (amount of work you do)
I pay about 1800 for 1,000,000 with gross sales at 150,000, but my first year I think I paid less the 1000, claiming my revenue would be less the 50,000

yes I know the feeling of the insurance name, we are coverd by York Fire & Casualty, they also cover high risk drivers etc. It's just because they are the companies that specilize in what are considered high liabilty clients.

It also pays to use the same company for your vehicle as your General Liablity, as this way if there is an accident involving a vehicle, it makes life easier.


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## treeclimber165

I just picked up liability insurance for myself as a sole proprietor- contract climber. The companies I climb for are ultimately responsible for any liability, but having my own insurance makes it easier to sell myself to them. I have $300K with $500 deductable and 15 years experience in tree work. My cost is $826.51 this year. 
I got my insurance through a local agency that caters to businesses. Look in the yellow pages under Insurance- Business.


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## YUKON 659

Hey Matt, my revenue is going to be WAY less than $50,000 (part-time only) would it be worth contacting my insurer and talk to them about this?

Brian, I looked into insurance companies that specialize in commercial insurance.....one of them ask me to let him know if I was able to find someone to insure me because he said he was unable to find anybody to provide tree service insurance!!!  I don't understand why it is so hard to find this type of insurance around here.

Jeff


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## treeclimber165

Jeff- call other tree services and ask them who they use. Keep calling until you get 3 different company names or the same name 3 times.
Or you could call tree companies asking for a bid on an imaginary job. Then ask each bidder to provide an insurance certificate. The insurance company names will be on the certificates.


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## Pgtree

Yeah, finding liability insurance is a pain. I finally found a reasonable company, for 1 million coverage it cost me 1,150 per year. If I decline the optional terrorist insurance it brings it down to 1,000 per year. From what I learned, the premium is based on experience, and amount of employees. If you have not had prior liability insurance they do not have a loss record on you, so you have to pay a little more.

Being a ceritfied arborist helped me. I got the following quotes from the following companies(all are for 1 mil coverage):

H*rtf*rd took four weeks and they never gave me a quote, even after multiple phone inquiries.

Sm*ll bu*sn*ss insurance $4500 per year

Tr** Pr* arborist insurance would not cover me because I am a new company and dont have prior insurance.

B*rlingt*n is the company I went with, it took them 30 minutes to provide me a quote, and the same day they faxed me my binder.

Goin


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## treeman82

Jeff, try calling Farm Family. They seem to have reasonable rates.


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## YUKON 659

Thanks for the help. Hopefully I'll be able to find it a little cheaper with your suggestions.

Jeff


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## mikecross23

> _Originally posted by YUKON 659 _
> *Mike, when you refer to simple service...what do you mean?
> *



Prunning & Removing and that's it. Just me w/ no major equipment.


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## mikecross23

Can anyone give me any tips on the worker's comp thing. How the whole thing works is a mystery to me. Sound nasty though. 

-Mike-


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## treeguy347

Farm Bureau quoted me at $850/yr. for million/million coverage for liability and property damage and $33 per $100 of payroll for comp. The way they work it is you estimate your annual payroll, then they tell you the monthly amount you have to pay (based on $33 per $100). At the year-end, they do an audit, and if you paid less out than your estimate, they issue a refund, if you paid more out, you have to pay them more.


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## treeclimber165

Well, I just wasted a second trip to the Federal building downtown trying to get a Worker's Comp. exempt card. I had all my ducks in a row from the instructions I got last time, but now the law has changed and they require a Federal Employer ID number! And I do not even have any employees! I'm a Sole Proprietorship subbing myself out to other tree companies. 
I'll try again next week to address this. I certainly am not going to pay outrageous WC rates for only myself. I HATE THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE!!!


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## tophopper

Brian,
if your a sole prop. your Fed ID # is your social security number. 
They should have accepted that.


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## treeclimber165

Nope, the guy gave me the form to apply for a FEID number and said that the new law required it. My SS number was unsatisfactory. Now I get my name and ID numbers punched into 57 new computers belonging to many more pencil pushers with nothing better to do than to find errors in my records. I'm afraid if I actually follow through and apply to be 100% legit, I will end up getting audited and screwed in the end.


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## tophopper

since your jumping through hoops anyway, take one more step and incorporate yourself. 
It cost around 300.00 bucks, you can do it online, it can protect you in the long run, and you may save on taxes. 

I incorporated last June. The savings I saw in last years taxes were significant. That alone made it worth my while.

I am not sure though at what annual income figure it is best to consider incorporating. There may not be a tax benefit to it if your income is below a certain number. Im not sure.
If you have a good accountant, they should be able to explain this better than I.


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## treeclimber165

First, I do not think it would be profitable for me to incorporate. Second, just the thought of all that paperwork causes me to freeze up in fear. I'm not a corporation, I'm not an employer, I'm a tree climber trying to pay my bills! WHY must it be SO difficult for me to simply be LEGAL?! I only want to do what is legally required so I can go back out and climb a tree and get paid for it. 

I do not even have an accountant. The last two kept getting snotty when I brought them my receipts without categorizing them and totalling them first, then they would b!tch about how busy they were because it was tax season. What I need is a wife who can handle the paperwork! NOT incorporating. 

See what a mess is created when someone tries to comply with the WC laws?  I'm simply trying to comply without getting my name into the top list of EVERY computer in IRS.


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## tophopper

Get an accountant, even a sub contracting climber needs a good accountant. 
How do you handle your tax reportings? You are reporting your income yes? 

If you are a sub contracter, you will be paying taxes on your earned income. You do not recieve a paycheck with witholding taxes so when do you pay? do you prepare at the end of a year and then just pay whats due?

A good accountant can take care of everything for you. I meet my accountant every other month or so. He prepares all the returns and he manages other legal BS throughout the year. 

Even doing business as a sub i could not imagine NOT having an accountant. I would fear of overlooking something or making a mistake which would draw attention to me asking for an audit.
If your looking to stay on the straighten arrow and run your business legitimatly you need a good accountant!!

i agree with you 100% Brian, the gov. has all kinds of hoops for small business persons to jump through in order to be legit. 
Im just a simple tree guy, Im not an accountant or business major--just a tree guy. 

i can tell you this though, I would be lost without an accountant.


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## treeguy347

went to buy this year's insurance, and my agent said "I have some kinda bad news and some real good news..." Bad news- Liability/property damage went up to 925 per year. Good news is comp is down from 33 per 100 to 21 per 100. I like that!!!


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## Newfie

*"What I need is a wife who can handle the paperwork!"* 

Brian,

I am pretty sure that an accountant would be cheaper.


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## treeclimber165

*LMAO Mike*

Actually, I've taken one step closer to getting all my ducks in a row. I hired a bookkeeper last week to keep me up to date with taxes, quarterly estimated tax payments, which receipts I need, etc. I'm going to let her do what she does best so I can go do what I do best. She promised not to trim any trees if I promised not to try and figure out income taxes.


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## mikecross23

Is she reasonably priced? Does she make house calls, errr uh, I mean. . . never mind.


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