For lawn care and landscaping businesses in Kentucky, the winter months represent a time to play catch-up. During this period when it’s tough to find ways to make a buck, why not take the time to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table by getting a comparison quote on your business insurance. Even more important, take the time to do a complete and thorough review of your insurance coverage. While this may not have an immediate impact on your bottom line, it may someday have a very significant impact on the profitability of your operations. With that in mind we decided to take some time to share with you some of our thoughts regarding insurance and risk management for lawn care businesses.
Liability Coverage Can be purchased in various amounts. You are most likely to have a policy which provides liability limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate.
If you have anything less than this we would encourage you to reconsider. The savings associated with reducing coverage below these limits very seldom makes sense.
Property Coverage
Buildings Even if you don’t own a building you may still have exposure. Your policy should provide coverage for property that you rent from others.
Equipment Make sure that the limits for your property: mowers, trailers, etc. are in line with the current market, too low and you will pay the difference out of pocket, too high and you are already coming out of your pocket.
Scheduled Equipment Each insurance company has their own rules, but it’s worth checking to make sure that every item you want covered that has a value greater than $2,000 is scheduled and listed on your policy. This is opposed to having those items covered in the unscheduled portion. First off the rates for scheduled are lower than unscheduled. More importantly carriers have a limit which they use to cap unscheduled items, typically around $2,000.
EXAMPLE: Last year ABC Mowing purchased a used 72” Scag Turf Tiger for $12,000 The mower is being covered but is not specifically listed in their policy. The equipment was stolen and they are now dependent on the proceeds from their insurance claim to replace the lost mower. As unscheduled equipment, ABC Mowing will be limited to the $2,000 limit for unscheduled equipment, and before they get that they will be faced with whatever deductible is in place. In their case it was $1,000, leaving the company with only $1,000 to replace a $12,000 piece of equipment.
It would be one thing to find you had this coverage in place and although you are not happy about it, you were getting what you paid for. However in the scenario above ABC Mowing was actually underinsured and overpaid.
Commercial Auto Do you need a commercial auto policy or is your personal policy enough? Good luck at getting an answer on that one. Generally speaking, personal auto policies don’t cover autos while performing functions that relate to business. However commercial auto policies will cover autos while being driven for personal use.
Better Coverage Commercial auto policies generally have much higher limits than a personal policy. Given the litigious society that we live in, you must ask yourself, is my auto insurance putting my livelihood at risk?
The cost will most likely be less than you think We write a lot of first time commercial auto policies, replacing personal policies that just aren’t adequate. Almost always the customer has significantly better coverage and the prices only slightly higher or even less than where they started.
Caution: You may ask, “If I am in an accident how will anyone know I should have a commercial policy?” Do you have your business name, phone number, etc. on your vehicle? I’m not sure, but I am guessing that the attorney representing the other driver will notice that trailer with two mowers, five weed eaters, or whatever other tools you might be hauling. Maybe not! What I do know is, that unless you have actually considered a commercial quote you cannot make the decision.
TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC
6287 Taylorsville Rd.
Fisherville, KY 40023
(888) 706-5423
TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC is not licensed to practice law, nor can it provide legal counsel. This summary is not intended as a legal opinion. We cannot warrant that the opinions and representations provided in this summary are accurate. TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC has provided this summary of the Virginia Graeme Baker Act for your awareness. The summary may or may not identify your requirements as a pool or spa owner. If you own a pool or spa you are advised by TruePoint Insurance Group, LLC to refer your specific situation to legal counsel.
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