Insurance

D

danforz

New member
Hey guys, I'm thinking of expanding my operation a bit thus I'm expecting to need insurance. I was curious if you could offer any pointers, tips, anything I should know.



Furthermore, if you have any companies you've found reputable in Southern California, that would be good too :)



Thanks!
 
Just walk into an insurance place and tell them you need insurance and that is about it. Maybe go to a few places and see how other prices look. Really nothing to it. :)
 
Actually David, that is not what to do at all. Depending on the size of your biz, and independent agent might not be the way to go. Many National Brokers will provide better rates and better service. As far as Travelers, they are a good company, but not the end all be all. You should get quotes from any company where it is "WRITTEN ON A RATED PAPER".
 
I have a garage keepers type liability policy. I have $1,000,000 liability coverage while a car is in my possesion. That includes driving the car, which is important because I do a lot of pick-up and delivery. The first year I paid over $2000. The second year with no claims it dropped down to a bit under $1500.
 
joshtpa said:
Actually David, that is not what to do at all. Depending on the size of your biz, and independent agent might not be the way to go. Many National Brokers will provide better rates and better service. As far as Travelers, they are a good company, but not the end all be all. You should get quotes from any company where it is "WRITTEN ON A RATED PAPER".
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I'm pretty sure that all of the independent agents that sell Travelers policies are able to write a commercial policy in additional to all others. Yes, if you have a very large corporation (none of the detailers here), you won't want to walk into your corner agency, you'll need more specialized help. I'm not saying that Travelers is the "end all be all", but they are currently the #1 largest commercial lines insurer right now. Everyone should always shop rates with as many insurance companies possible. Kinda like what independant agents do when they get quotes for you. Can you explain "A Rated Paper" to me? Are you in the insurance business?
 
brwill2005 said:
I have a garage keepers type liability policy. I have $1,000,000 liability coverage while a car is in my possesion. That includes driving the car, which is important because I do a lot of pick-up and delivery. The first year I paid over $2000. The second year with no claims it dropped down to a bit under $1500.
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do you have to pay that $1500 all at once or is there a monthly plan?
 
The most important thing to do is shop around. I checked 3 or 4 places and they all wanted about $2,800 a year for biz insurance and a combo policy on my biz truck. the 5th place I walked into got me down to $2000 a year, with the same company I was quoted with at other agencies. By me calling one more person I saved $800 a year. My policy is through Allied Insurance, a sub-company of Nationwide and they required 25% down and I pay a bill every month. PM me if you have any other questions.
 
Try Safeco for garage insurance. I found them to be less costly than Travellers and they are a AAA company.
 
Safeco garage insurance would work, but not for all coverages. Me personally I would want your standard liability coverage for the car and my surroundings. A disability coverage because I am working with large machines (car). But the big thing, is I want an umbrella type of coverage to sit on top all of the other coverages. Just for maximum dollars. The real thing is you must figure out first how one wants to set this up. Is it a corp, llc, sp, llp, etc... Because insurance needs and alloweds are going to be different depending on how the biz is set up. Personally I would go to a top tier agency, not an independent with these coverages. Aon, Marsh, Willis, etc will not look at accounts this small. However firms like Acordia, Wachovia Insurance, USI, etc... would like at it. In FL, there are tons of good regional firms too. Lassiter Ware, Stahl, ME Wilson, etc...Ask for custom accounts or small biz unit. Then explain your biz. The experts there will not try and oversell you.
 
Congrats on your Sea Ray 310. Beautiful boat for sure in Tampa area.



My business is a LLC. I keep umbrella policies for my personal property and autos separate from the business. I insure the LLC with separate umbrella for personal liability.



For me, it got too complicated as my personal insurance carrier did not insure for commerical businesses, plus again wanted to keep all payments and insurance separate with the business.
 
You are doing things very correctly keeping them separate. You never want to "pierce the company veil". Always keep them separate. It is good to have a biz account that is not attached to personal finances. Their is a specific mastercard I like that you do not need a SSN for, just a D&B number and a Fed Tax number. Very good to keep things such as insurance and finances as separate as you can.
 
My partner and I are going to an independent agent tomorrow. they sell Traveller's. I'll post back with the results!
 
Dont pigeon hole yourself with just travelers. Make sure you are getting quotes from all major companies. AIG, etc..
 
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