I am shopping for a new ins. carrier after learning of StateFarm’s getting out of the piddly ass ‘d contractor insurance.
Along with my liability I had an Inland Marine tool rider that covered replacement cost of my tools up to 10,000.00. My desire to up my liability brought me to the news that come end of June I would be in need of a new carrier. So in my hunting I’ve found 3 different prices, up to a thousand a yr diff, and all seemingly bidding on the same policy limits etc. I’ve added my van to this bus. policy also.
But the real question is on the Inland Marine. None of the 3 will cover replacement value-only “worth”, bottoming out at 50% w/ 500 deduct. I can get replacement for tools in the shop at a higher rate-but none for my traveling tool box. My SF policy was replacement-whereever-shop, job, van.
Can anyone shed more light on this to further confuse the issue. Is replacement in the van, on the job something I cannot find ?
thanks.
Replies
I have
inland marine coverage, $5000 limit, depreciated value of tools, no coverage if stolen from vehicle. It's expensive, it makes me annoyed, but I seem to renew it every year. I'm not sure why they won't write replacement value, they could just up the premium to cover the higher exposure.
not covered if swiped from the truck?
wow, there's the exposure that's the most prevalent in my case. At least this policy covers that. It's the depreciation that's the problem. I've been around a long time-my tool purchases are minimal per yr. I repair when needed rather than buy. So in reality, most of my equipment is over 5 yrs old, with much of it 10 or more. So according to their coverage-I bet all is down to the 50% value or bottom reimbursement.
And here's another beef-with the policy I'm probably going to take. Signed contracts with subcontractors. No longer just an ins. certificate or additionally insured cert. of coverage............. I'm going to see if I can find a floating contract that I could sign with a sub for work when needed. I'm sure there's a problem with that thought. Too simple-I agree to pay, they agree to do the work and are covered to the suggested limits.
Yup, gotta be too simple.
I've been doing
additionally insured certificates and signed subcontracts for many years. I don't think there's much choice about that.
New to these requirements
Up till now all I've had to do is gather ins. certificates and pass along that info come ins. audit time. All done over the phone.
Is your subcontractor.............contract more than just a means to satisfy the ins. company. The example they gave me was alot of wording besides the agreement of them having liability ins. For a guy that's worked forever on a handshake, this seems foreboding.
Do you get one signed each job from each sub or is there a year long agreement that can be signed and filed (for all work done by them for you) ?
The subcontract
is partly a means to satisfy your carrier, but it's also an important aspect of the legal picture between you and the sub. If there is a claim, and the sub caused the problem, their policy is much more easily accessed by you, your carrier, and ultimately the party suing you. It's essentially an added level of insurance for you. It might be worth a short conversation with your attorney to get their view on how this works and what the value is.
After you get used to it, getting all the subcontracts signed is easy. My subs are all used to it. I have the forms all word-processed up in my computer and I just add the job name, scope of work, cost, etc., then print them out. I keep a checklist showing who has signed and returned the contract, and who has not.
Cal take a look at Erie. They are an Ohio company and i have ALL my stuff with them. If you cant find an agent I can give you the 3 for mine, I think he can do everything on the phone. this firm knows construction.
Rob
What does their tool insurance look like.
thanks.
Update.
After taking your (Rob) advice, the agent for Erie here in Maumee met with me and put together a similar policy that I had been comparing others to.
You were right in that they do have replacement cost tool rider. And the odd thing I found, almost dollar for dollar the same cost as the others who only offered the reduced value coverage (minimum drop in value-50%-in my case most all my tools due to age).
The van insurance, now as a business and with increased coverage, was more than I had been paying-but thems the breaks.
Overall, with the same liability ins. , business coverage of the van and the full replacement tool rider-the same cost as the lowest that bid on my policies. Thanks for the tip.
Whats the cost versus the coverage? If your only going to get paid 50% with a $500 deductible how much are you paying for the coverage? If you are insuring $50,000 in tools for $1,000 with a potential recovery of $25,000 then its not so bad. But if you are paying $1,000 to cover $10,000 in tools with $5,000 potential claim then its not worth it. You might as well self insure.
It also very worthwhile to look at higher deductibles. Insurance Companies hate to pay claims. Its an expensive process for them. When you get into lower deductibles like $500 you are doing what we call trading dollars with the insurance company. You're basically paying them so they can pay you back.
If you can up your deductible and the premium savings equals the increase in the deductible over 5 years or less, you should generally up the deductible.