General Liability & Worker's Comp Insurance

[LochRaven]

Can anyone suggest any insurance companies familiar with our field (PLC programming and controls hardware design) that can provide general liability and worker's comp? I'm a single-member LLC working in the Detroit Metro area. I appreciate your help!

 

[Steve Bailey]

I don't know of anyone who deals directly with the insurance carrier. I always let my local agent take care of selecting the actual underwriter.

 

[LochRaven]

I don't know of anyone who deals directly with the insurance carrier. I always let my local agent take care of selecting the actual underwriter.

Thanks, Steve. Who is your agent and who is the underwriter?

 

[Steve Bailey]

I used an agent based in the town where my business was located. I checked around with other business owners for recommendations before I selected them. I liked having someone local I could call whenever I needed to furnish a certificate of insurance to a client or to answer any questions I or a client might have.

For Worker's Comp and general business policies, the underwriter was One Beacon in 2007. For some reason, that's the only one I could readily locate in the back of a file cabinet. If there were any other carriers over the years, the details are in banker's boxes in my attic. I retired in 2016 and closed the company.

 

[diat150]

the insurance agent is one of the top 3 people you will deal with as a business owner. make sure you get one that you feel comfortable with and is asking the right questions.



insurance is basically prepaid legal. make sure you are getting coverage where you need it and dont forget about making sure you are right at the personal level. lawyers are 4-500 an hour and even the secretaries and underlings are charging 150-300 an hour. if something happens and you arent covered it adds up real quick.


also not sure about the rules in Michigan, but in Louisiana if you are a single member or 2 member llc, you can opt of the requirement for workers comp. That was a way we saved money on insurance until we built up.

 

[Steve Bailey]

also not sure about the rules in Michigan, but in Louisiana if you are a single member or 2 member llc, you can opt of the requirement for workers comp.

You may be able to opt out of buying coverage, but your clients may require you to carry it. Otherwise, if you're injured on the job, their worker's comp policy may have to cover you.

Remember, the certificate of insurance that your clients may request you provide is only for the policies you carry that cover their liability. Coverage for professional liability will be significantly more expensive.

Amen to diat150's comment about prepaid legal. Having insurance means that the insurance company has to defend you. Lawyers get a lot more per hour than you're ever going to be able to charge.

 

[KirkC]

You should contact an insurance agent who sells business policies. They will get general liability quotes from the carriers for you.

I doubt you need workers comp. If you are the business owner you will not be eligible to collect on it. Instead of a certificate, you have to write a letter to your customer stating that you are the owner and sole employee and therefore not required to carry workers comp insurance. That's the way it works here, anyway.

 

[JeffKiper]

I had a customer that required workers comp. Insurance wrote the policy that excluded owners. I was a 1 man shop at the time. So it was $2k for a policy that excluded me. They had ro rewrite it to cover me.

 

[pk_test]

I was able to get insurance through Hiscox. They have a category for control systems integration & automation. After numerous inquiries they were the only ones that seemed to understand what I was talking about.

Never had a claim though so can't say what that will be like.

 

[GaryS]

I just wanted to post a few things to think about on this subject.
I offer this just to help some of you to make the best selection for you
The first and I believe the most important is to meet with a good business attorney.
I think you will be surprised at what you will learn.
Insurance agents just want to sell you a policy even if you don’t actually need insurance, so they will often tell you need something you don’t really need.
This is what I learned from talking to my attorney and insurance agent
One thing to consider is the amount of liability insurance you need. I had clients that required 2 million coverage just to set foot on the property and then another 2 million on any vehicle that I would have on the property. They also require a certificate issued by the insurance carrier every year.
Your client will tell what their requirements are for that, you may be able to get away with much less
Then consider what liability insurance actually covers.
No insurance will cover anything you actually work on. You have to take responsibility for that alone.
That would be considered buying a claim or buying insurance after you had an accident claim
It will cover any accidental damage you may do to other things you are not actually working on.
Liability insurance is really not that expensive and worth having.

Then you have workman comp insurance. Workman’s Comp is to cover your employees should they get hurt on the job.
It will not cover non work related injuries. And you as the owner of the business are not eligible for workman’s comp. To sum up, it is to cover your employees not you, you as the owner are expected to have you own coverage and even if you had workman’s comp you cannot collect on it. And yes I have had that conversation with the state regulators as well
Last on this subject workman’s comp is required if you have employees full time or part time.
If you don’t have employees you don’t need workman’s comp
If you hire subcontractors then they are required to have their own insurance and can’t collect n your insurance but you better have a writhen signed contract to prove it. If you don’t have a signed contract with them then they are considered to be employees and you are responsible for insurance.

And last you have the big expensive insurance Errors and Omissions
This is the expensive insurance usually about 20% of the bud price.
A separate policy must be issued for each job and it must be reviewed and approved by you insurance carrier. They usually require you have a PHD before they will even talk to you about it.
So small businesses usually don’t get it as they just can’t afford it.

As I stated before each situation must be evaluated on its own and always get your advice from a good attorney.

 

[BobB]

Oh - things are different in Oz. I have to have workers comp even though I am the only employee. I have to have public liability - 20 mill is the minimum. I also have to have 20 mill product liability as I build control panels. If anyone wants professional liability I tell them to get someone else. Very expensive and you have to continue paying for it 7 years after you close your business.