I can't get insurance, what do I do?
Question:
I recently got a quote MUCH lower than previous ones, but the insurance agent, I think, doesn't understand exactly what I will be doing. He knows I have a construction business, but thats it, I didn't clue him in on hauling stuff to the dump. Is this legal? Should I get the insurance through this guy? He is ten times less than everyone else!!
Thanks!
Answer:
The problem with a business like that is you need TWO TYPES of insurance: you need auto liability, and you still need GENERAL liability to cover the "other" stuff.
What you need is commercial truck insurance, short-haul, and you will need to provide a LOT of information. For example, where you park the trucks when they're not in use, is it fenced / covered / locked / guarded, can make a difference in your premiums. As are the capacity of your vehicles, the driving history of your drivers (sounds like you'll be driving?), and so on and so forth.
I can give you my agent's number, but I can't guarantee they'll want to cover you either. Kline Transportation Insurance: (858) 675-6444
In fact, visit their website, http://www.klineinsurance.com, and download their quote kit, and fax it in, and talk to someone and see if there's something relatively cheap you can do to make you insurable.
Insurance rates should be within 10-15% of others. If this guy's MUCH cheaper than the others, something's not kosher. Either he's not covering something that needs to be, or he's squeezing some sort of bottom-line like minimum liability, maximum deductible, and so on. Make sure you're covering oranges to oranges.
If he is the only one who will insure you and he actually sells you the policy it should be legal
If you get insurance from him, make sure it covers all the liability you are legally required to have, and make sure your business is set up so that you are not personally liable for your business' liabilities. Remember, if a deal is too good to be true, it probably is. Get a lawyer to read the contract with the insurance agent as well as the papers you filed to establish the business. These things are complicated, so unless you have a law or management degree I wouldn't sign it without an attorney's OK.
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