Insurance to get mill home from awoodMizer?

[Magicman]

@vratarnel,  There is no need to quote the the above reply.  Long unnecessary quotes only serve to clutter the conversation up.

[Stephen1]

Remember in a lot places the sawmill is not a trailer but a piece of equipment that is just pulled by vehicle. My Buisness insurance states my 24' trailer and what's on it, my sawmill, my bobcat, my forklift. All separately listed 

[Brad_bb]

MAKE SURE you have a spare tire for the mill and have it with you, with tools to change a tire before you tow it.  Never tow it without those things.  Ask me how I know.....

[Mr. Buck]

Update:  GA Farm Bureau said they would only insure the mill if they insured my entire property (home + buildings + mill)

I contacted the Hudson Group who (on their website) say they insure sawmills and etc. They referred me to the "Pennsylvania Lumbermens Insurance co"

I contacted them but have not yet heard back. Have any of you heard of / used them? 

[WV Sawmiller]

  BTW -who does your vehicle insurance? I'd sure check with them and see if you are covered or if they could offer a one time rider.

[Mr. Buck]

BTW -who does your vehicle insurance? I'd sure check with them and see if you are covered or if they could offer a one time rider.

State Farm - They are my last option as word on the street is they like to drop people who even mention sawmills

[WV Sawmiller]

If you are just worried about insurance during transport have you checked the cost of WM delivery? That way they would be responsible until l it was in your hands. I don't know what the cost difference between you picking it up and them delivering and how much/little your expenses would be to go get it. Is that an option?

[Magicman]

Member @redbeard had a hotshot service to haul his new Cooks from Alabama to Washington.  You can't get much further than diagonally across the USA.

[burdman_22]

Sorry I'm lazy and didn't read through the entire post, have you tried liberty mutual? That's who I have for my sawmill. It's $720 per year for my lt35 HD, and it's the only insurance I have through that company

[Mr. Buck]

If you are just worried about insurance during transport have you checked the cost of WM delivery? That way they would be responsible until l it was in your hands.

Yes sir that is an option. It's $500. I'll do that if I can't insure it. I have to go there for training. I'm not certain if they will do the 4hr training if they deliver it. I'll have to call and ask. 

[Mr. Buck]

have you tried liberty mutual? 

Not yet - thanks for the tip. I'll ask for a quote! 

[WV Sawmiller]

  I had mine delivered and Tyler did my training here at home so I am confident you will still get your training. You just need to have a good test log to start. I'd recommend a 12-14 inch, 8' - 10' long pine or poplar if available and whatever else you have if not.

    It was 0 degrees when Tyler left NC with my mill and the lube tank froze solid on the trip up. It had warmed up to 5 degrees by the time he got here. We towed it out into my pasture with my ATV because of the snow. The oil was thick and the engine backfired and blew the spark arrestor off and we lost it in 6" deep snow but I found it later when the snow melted.

   The problem with the training no matter where it is will be that you don't know what questions to ask until you have actually started to run the mill a while but the WM help desk were very patient and helpful in answering questions after I got started. The guys here will help too.

   Good luck.

[blackhawk]

When I got insurance for my sawmill business, the big carriers like Farm Bureau and State Farm didn't even really understand what a portable sawmill was.  They turned me down on the initial phone call.  Basically, felt like they didn't want to help because it was too much of a hassle for them to investigate it.  A local independent insurance agent that deals with multiple companies is your best bet to contact.  I contacted three local companies like that and 2 of them offered similar deals at about the same cost.  The other one never called me back

[Mr. Buck]

Update: I got a call back from Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual but I missed him. I'll call him Monday morning and let you all know what I find out.

Liberty Mutual advertizes inland marine on their website - i left a message with the local contact. Hopefully I can report back on them Monday as well. 

[YellowHammer]

I've had Pennsylvania Lumberman's for a long time.  In my opinion, they are the only insurance company that actually is a real sawmill and lumber insurance company I've dealt with, and I worked with pretty much every out there.  They insure the biggest mills in the country, such as Ga Pacific, and in the world of pro sawmills, they are arguably the gold standard.

That being said, they do not play, I had a yearly site visit audit from them this week.  Two guys showed up on two days notice, and walked through my entire facility for a couple hours looking at everything from fire extinguishers, to exits signs, to scanning for warm electrical breakers.  They are a member of the Hartford, so any local independent insurance company that works with them can help you get to them.

Did I say they don't play games?  If you get insurance with them, they will make their presence known, which includes random spot checks, which is a pain, but is actually refreshing that they have people who actually know what a sawmill is will tell you what you need to do to become at the same level as a "pro" mill.

Don't get them involved unless you want them "involved." 

   

[WDFL]

Update:  GA Farm Bureau said they would only insure the mill if they insured my entire property (home + buildings + mill)

I contacted the Hudson Group who (on their website) say they insure sawmills and etc. They referred me to the "Pennsylvania Lumbermens Insurance co"

I contacted them but have not yet heard back. Have any of you heard of / used them?

I got a quote for my sawmill from PLMINS.   They were thorough and competitive.   As Yellowhammer said, they gave me 15 days to come out and see my pole barn (which I don't yet have built!!!).  There is a hole in the market for hobbyists.   I am so frustrated with the FL Farm Bureau it took them over a month to get me a quote on the sawmill, and the best they could do was liability only.   Working alone I don't need liability I only want property coverage.  

In the same boat as you, if I decide to go to Newnan and get my LT-40 I'll be self-insured on the way home.  

[Mr. Buck]

Update:  PLM has been helpful and responsive. It turns out that my needs for the short term (asset protection, not liability) and make the process very easy.  Since initially, i will only be milling for myself, on my property, with no employees, I don't need business liability. 

When I get around to doing it for others, I can upgrade the policy with the usual caveats. 

Pricing is ok given the value of the mill.  I just can't "leave it parked in the woods" which is an easy bar to meet for me. 

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread, hope it helps other new people. If anyone has experience outside of PLM or Liberty Mutual, I'd be interested - options and competition are always good.