New to this and need some help!

[BackWoodsHunter]

Hey guys first wanted to say awesome forum here and great info as this is my first ever post and only second time really poking around here. So much knowledge its great!

I am a student of "urban forestry" and have one semester left until I graduate with a degree in Urban Forestry/Arboriculture. I am very far from knowing it all but I have the skills and knowledge to safely prune and or remove trees of many different sizes. I am looking at starting my own "small business". By small I mean very small something I can do on my free time while away at school and something I can do this summer on weekends or nights aside from my summer job. I firmly believe that climbing and working in trees in urban settings having insurance is a must. I am in the Milwaukee, WI area for the summer. I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of an affordable company and what type of insurance I should be looking at getting? I tried using google but can't seem to come up with any companies that provide insurance for tree work. Any help would be awesome!
Thanks!

 

[RAG66]

I am unsure of the requirements in Wisconsin. You should look for what is typicaly called a commercial lines policy. The minimum I would suggest is 1 million. The going rate is somewhere below 2K/yr. Grow your company slow for cash and you can't go wrong. If you don't owe anyone the slow times are a lot easier to handle!

 

[ATH]

Just start calling agents in the area who sell business insurance and ask if they can offer a product that meets your needs. I have mine through Westfield. I think Hartford has a package that is supposed to be specifically for the industry. There is a company named ArborMax that advertises pretty heavily....I don't know anything about them. If I were shopping for new insurance (I get a quote every now and then, but kinda gave that up because I am happy with what I have), I'd look for agents selling one of these 3. I am sure there are others, but these are the names I see most often. Finding an agent who at least can start to understand your business is at least as important as the underwriting company, so don't be afraid to sit down with a few different folks before you buy on price alone.

As you price it out...I thought I'd also throw a couple of things out: The automotive insurance portion accounts for about 1/4 of the total policy cost (and the cost of that is pretty comperable if I were to get a 'regular' auto policy elsewhere). Another 15% is added because state law requires a specific piece of paper saying I am covered for pesticide applications. So, even though the policy states if covers tree spraying, because I am required to submit a specific proof of insurance, they have to put an extra rider on the policy for pesticide application.