If you are thinking of starting your own lawn care business, or if you are planning to grow your existing one into a more viable and legitimate business, one of the hurdles you will need to cross is the insurance puzzle and how to solve it for your particular company.  Lawn care companies have some special insurance needs so here is a basic primer on the types of insurance policies that you should consider for your lawn service insurance program.

This guide should serve as an introductory overview of lawn care insurance.  For more detailed information on any of these policies or coverage types, please contact our office and we will be happy to give you more one on one personal help.

Liability Insurance – It won’t take long in your business before one of your commercial clients asks you to prove that you have liability insurance.  This is the most obvious coverage type and the one that lawn maintenance companies usually first purchase.  This is designed to provide you with protection for losses that you cause in the operation of your business for which you are legally obligated to pay.

Workers Compensation Insurance – This policy is often skipped because in NC the law says that you don’t have to purchase a workers compensation policy if you have less than 3 employees.  What people fail to realize however is that if you don’t purchase a policy, then your company is on the hook for paying all claims as though you were the workers compensation insurance company.  Don’t skip this coverage, one bad accident could put you out of business and ruin all that you have worked so hard for.  One last trick, if you have only workers who mow and who don’t do anything else, you may be able to classify them under a code known as parks noc and get a much lower rate.  For more information on this tip read my earlier blog here.

Equipment Coverage – This protection comes in two types.  Coverage for equipment and coverage for hand tools.  Most lawn care business purchase the equipment coverage for mowers, decks, snow blades etc but don’t often purchase any coverage for hand tools.

Business Auto Insurance – If you are titling your vehicles in the company name, then you need a commercial auto policy for those vehicles.  Don’t forget to include your trailers on this policy as well.

Bonds – In NC you will need a bond to work on irrigation systems and it is very possible that by January 2011, a landscaping bond may be required.  If you are strictly a lawn mowing service, then you may be able to avoid purchasing license bonds.

Disability Insurance – What happens if you become injured and can’t work?  Who will do the work and who will run your business?  Disability insurance is a good solution for you to solve this problem.  Most lawn care companies don’t remember to cover this exposure and the failure to do so has fun a few out of business.

It’s clear that buying insurance for a lawn care company is a complicated and specialized process.  You need an agent who specializes in landscapers insurance, and one who can help you navigate the maze of policies and underwriting rules.  At Clinard Insurance Group, in Winston Salem, NC, we specialize in helping all kinds of landscapers with their landscaping insurance all over North Carolina.  We can help you develop a plan that protects your business and saves you money on your lawn care insurance policies.  If you own a mowing service in NC, then you owe it to yourself to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us online at www.LowRatesForLandscapers.com and we will be happy to help you.

It’s Spring here in beautiful North Carolina and with the flowers comes the sudden and violent thunderstorms that produce hail.  This hail has the potential to damage your roof.  The hail also creates an opportunity for unscrupulous companies to try and take advantage of you.  This blog will put you on notice to their tricks and tell you how to avoid their scam.

If you have a standard homeowners policy in NC, then you will have protection for your losses if your roof is damaged by hail.  These claims rarely run into any difficulties and we process them quite frequently this time of year.  But lately, we have been warned by our company claims departments that there are some scammers out there creating a bit of misery for homeowners in our area.

Here’s how they operate. After a hail storm, these roofing contractors will visit your home and offer to inspect your roof for hail damage from the recent storm.  They always find that your roof has been damaged and needs to be replaced.  If there was no damage to begin with, they manufacture some evidence to convince you.  Next they assure you that your loss is covered by your home insurance policy and they tell you that they work with your insurance company already and can go ahead and get started right away.  This is important they say because water could enter your home during the next storm and then your damages are really going to sky rocket.  In order to get you started right away, they have you sign a contract which obligates you to pay for their work.  You can bet that their rates are much higher than the market will usually bear but they convince you to ignore pricing because the insurance company will pay for it anyway.

The problems that this causes for homeowners are twofold.  First of all, in many cases, there is no real damage to the roof and when the insurance company gets out there to inspect the claim, they find that there is no hail damage and thus no protection from the homeowners insurance policy.  This leaves the homeowner stuck with the bill to replace a roof that didn’t need replacement. The other problem is that even if there is damage and the roof did need replacing, the insurance company may not agree to pay for roofing rates that are above the market rates and this leaves the homeowner holding the bag on the balance of the contract costs.

So how do your protect yourself?  It’s easy really.  Just don’t sign any contracts for roofing repairs until you have filed the claim with your insurance company and an adjuster has been on your roof and inspected the damages and discussed them with you.  Don’t rush into a contract with the roofing company that knocked on your door.  Have a patient, careful discussion with the claims adjuster before you commit to anything.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we work hard to help all of our clients become informed and knowledgeable insurance consumers.  If we can help you with your home insurance, your auto insurance, your business insurance or your life insurance needs, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.ClinardInsurance.com.