Insurance

Farmboy 96 · May 28, 2015, 01:30:44 PM

I don't mean to be nosy when I ask and if you would rather not answer that's fine but I've been calling around for some liability insurance to cover me if I were to accidentally trespass and cut timber that wasn't the landowners and was wondering how much you guys usually pay who have kind of the same insurance policy. I know its not cheap. The amount I took was up to one million(the minimum offered) and thought that the monthly premium would be between 400 - 500 a month. Ive only had one company call me back and the lady said 850 per month is it me or does this seem kind of steep.

Jeff · May 28, 2015, 01:44:35 PM

The premium probably has a whole lot to do with your age if you are taking this out on yourself.

Farmboy 96 · May 28, 2015, 01:57:12 PM

ya that's true I never even thought about that.

Farmboy 96 · May 28, 2015, 02:34:23 PM

still kind of steep

LeeB · May 28, 2015, 02:45:24 PM

I don't know, but I would think it would be tax deductible.

overtime · May 28, 2015, 03:56:39 PM

I have commercial liability and I don't pay that a year. I don't know the coverage amount but im sure that it is up there because the wife did it and she is over kill with insurance probably not a bad thing

WV Sawmiller · May 28, 2015, 04:36:28 PM

How much deductible are you responsible for?

You might look into raising the deductible, if you can afford to do so, and significantly lower your monthly/annual premiums. If you can self insure the first $5K of so you may be able to avoid what the insurance company considers the bulk of their claims and they can give you a much better rate. Its worth checking out. Good luck.

SwampDonkey · May 28, 2015, 05:05:37 PM

I've had liability on a thinning crew, cutting small trees, and it was only $750 a year.

Now if your taking out errors and omissions, and I wouldn't know why you would need it for logging, then the premium was about $4000 a year. And they don't cover crop yield, in other words volumes harvested based on a timber cruise. That wouldn't apply to a logger anyway. Only the guy making the cruise and putting it out on bid. And since it's not covered, then there needs to be clarity that it's just an estimate, a snapshot in time. Which is all it is anyway.

Rick Alger · May 28, 2015, 05:48:55 PM

W j Cox was way cheaper than that for me in NH. Don't know if they cover ME, but the 800 # is 252 2502.

Corley5 · May 28, 2015, 06:46:16 PM

I've got a policy that covers my equipment and 2 million worth of liability that costs $3,000.00 annually.

Spartan · May 28, 2015, 07:29:20 PM

Good GPS - $400

its Cheaper insurance. ;)

I pay less than $700 for gen liab.

BHC · May 28, 2015, 07:52:14 PM

one to try here in Maine is united insurance, Someone should also contact them about sponsor ad on this forum i think they might do that. they have offices all over Maine, also have a office in NH.

Jhenderson · May 28, 2015, 08:10:49 PM

Quote from: LeeB on May 28, 2015, 02:45:24 PM
I don't know, but I would think it would be tax deductible.

. I don't care if it's deductible or not. It's $5k a year out of pocket.

tmarch · May 29, 2015, 08:31:20 PM

Realistically what you need to do is form a company, LLC, corporation or whatever. Some paper work and NOT as good as insurance, but it will show customers you are serious and provide some protection.

BargeMonkey · May 30, 2015, 02:34:34 AM

X2. It was 1200 for a new LLC in January for me including the lawyer, the book and all the paperwork. When and if you do it make sure everything is done right, the cheap online way sounds great till you have a problem and nothing to go on. When you pick the name and how you file be careful, if you ever plan on doing more than logging, mine went under " XYZ -enterprises llc", so I didnt have 3-4 business names, just 1 parent company. Even with basic insurance just covering you, 1 stupid person can cost you everything youve worked for, the world is full of lawyers looking to make money and its no joke, and it could be something stupid, and 3-4-5yrs down the road you get sued. We kind of learned some of this the hard way and now have a few LLC's and another one coming for the logging when we split that off shortly. I would find a decent business lawyer, and accountant and get some paperwork and a business plan written once you start getting serious.
I secretly want to know what some of these big guys are paying for insurance. My last employer had a 10 Million dollar deductable per major incident, they put a new hull on a boat that got ran on the rocks which was 8 Mil and that was the cheapest of the 3 incidents that yr.