USA: Who do you use for business insurance?

I'm having trouble finding insurance for my Single Member LLC. I'll be a self employed field service operation. PLCs, VFDs, etc., Troubleshooting, modification, retrofits, some contract programming jobs, etc.

I've been turned away by everyone I've requested a quote from. It's as if what I'm doing is a totally abstract concept and wildly dangerous to them; they don't know how to insure it and are frankly terrified of the liability. As soon as I tell them I work on machines powerful enough to chew a man to bits if I do something wrong, they're out. But isn't that what insurance is supposed to be for? If I was opening a restaurant, there's opportunity for me to poison people if I don't cook the food right. If I open a trucking company, there is a very real possibility that at some point in 20 years of operation, at least one of my trucks will plow into the back of a line of parked cars, resulting in multiple fatalities. That's what insurance is for. But not for me, apparently.

I did get one quote, but upon close examination, it was obvious they hadn't listened to a thing I said. I told them its a mobile operation with no physical premises other than my home address, where I park my service vehicle. The quote was general liability obviously geared toward a business premises, with line items for things like asbestos coverage and mold coverage.

So I'm curious who you guys use for insurance. I want my tools covered against destruction/theft/etc. and I want $2M in liability on my work (while I'm on-site working, and for a period of time after the work is complete) for if something goes wrong and I get sued.

Any decent commercial insurance broker should be able to help you. You would think in Katy of all places, you would be able to talk to the right person.

anyway, if you cant find anyone, you can try the guy that I use, not sure if they can write along state lines but he may be able to get you in touch with a colleague. He is a really good guy and very detailed.

tslins.com

ryan thomson

strantor
from what I read in your post you are looking for liability ins
I don't think you really understand insurance very well the first thing you need to do is have set down with ins agent and get them to explain things to and don't leave until you fully understand it.
Medical coverage is simple you get what you pay for the better coverage you want the more it cost.
Liability is different a good general liability policy is not that expensive and covers accidents exp. your ladder falls and brakes 20 k window you are covered.
if you are working on the program of a machine and your program causes the machine to blow up or in your reference poisons somebody you are not covered. good luck finding an ins. co to cover that. as it was explained to me they will not cover equipment that you are actually working on. you are expected to know and understand what you are doing and would open then to liability
you can get Errors and Omissions ins. but it is on job by job bases and must be approved by your carrier. the cost the last time I priced it was about 26% of the total estimated cost of the job and the paperwork was extensive and you need a licensed PE to sign off on every part of the job. for a small operation it's not worth it.

It really pays to have a good talk to your ins agent sot both of you understand your need and coverage and get what you need.
I carry 2 million over 1 million liability the cost is not bad. most places will except 1 million but I have clients the require the 2 m as a minimum just to walk in the plant. Good Luck

The advice from the two previous posts is accurate. Any decent commercial insurance broker should be able to steer you in the right direction and find an underwriter for you.
There are three types you'll need to consider.
First is worker's compensation. That covers your medical expenses if you're injured on the job. Most clients won't let you in the door if you don't have it.
Second is general liability. That covers your clients for damage to their property in the course of your work. Again, your clients will require you to carry it. When they ask you for a certificate of insurance, it is these two types of coverage they're looking for.
Third, and most expensive is professional liability, also called errors and omissions. That covers you if your work causes injury. Your client already has to carry worker's compensation insurance to cover their employees injuries on the job. But when an employee accepts a worker's compensation settlement he gives up the right to sue his employer. He is still free to sue anyone else whose actions might have contributed to his injuries. That might be you. Professional liability insurance covers you in those situations.
My activities when my business was open were similar to what you describe. My annual cost for the three types of coverage I described was around $10k.

You want Commercial Liability(not really useful if you are running out of your house, but you will be forced to get it) and Professional Liability insurance. Professional Liability is the expensive one, and the one many integrators don't have. When I ask others what they are paying, and it is one fifth of what I pay, I then find out they only have a Commercial policy. I had a little bit of a problem getting insurance, then found a local agency. Like you, the other agents I dealt with had me fill out paperwork as if I were a general contractor putting up a building. I said that is nothing like what I do, and they said fill it out anyways.

I see Steve answered as I was putting my response together. I left out Worker's Comp, but I do have that. I was paying about $7500/yr for Commercial and Professional policy before I added company truck to the policy. I pay about $250/month for worker's comp.

GaryS said:

I don't think you really understand insurance very well

Click to expand...

That's an accurate assessment. Thanks to you, Steve Bailey, and Highland Controls for explaining. I will take what I've learned here and talk to the insurance people about it.

I don't mea to be different but do check with your ins carrier.
in my stat Pa. the owner of a business can not collect on a Workers Comp claim. the can purchases it but cannot collect. Workers comp ins managed by the state. you only need to have it if you have employees then it I required. where I am at for what I do it runs about 1 k a year. Since I have no employees I save the money and don't carry it. when a new client request it I have my ins carrier send a certificate along with a letter expanding it to then. I have never found anybody the doesn't except it that way.
every state is different that why it best to have a log talk with your agent to be sure you your needs are and what you need to meet those needs.
side note I have a distant family member that finding out now the hard way he was severely burned on a job. He was an independent contractor and thought the company he was working for paid workers comp for him, they didn't now he is stuck. He has been in the burn unit sine the last week of Oct. ( Didn't follow lock out tag out ) My guess he will have close to a million dollars to pay out of his pocket when it all settles. Not looking good for him. and then OSHA will start in on him.

you really need to talk with a good ins agent

not sure about every state but louisiana lets owners exempt themselves from carrying workers comp. we did that initially before we started hiring people, but after we started hiring we ended up getting it. its not that expensive and a good insurance policy to have.

workers comp is usually a certain dollar amount per $100 of payroll, depending on the class code that is assigned or used by the employee.

Also, if you will be working on boats or near water you will need to look at us&h and mel.