I just purchased an ASV RC-85 and plan on doing some excavating work with it. What kind of insurance do you usually get for something like this and what are the prices you are paying for the insurance and what does it cover?
From my experience Scoot, public liability would be your main priority. Pricing totally depends on what kind of excavation work you'd be doing. Pricing may also depend on your track history with insurance companies. I imagine you'd want the unit covered against fire, theft as well. You'll save money if you get everything bundled from the one insurer. Ring up some of the big name insurance companies in your area. Get at least three different quotes. Ray
You may be amazed at how much it costs. I bought a backhoe for my personal use. Insured it for $32,000 for $300 at year. I thought about doing a little outside work with it and was advised that due to the liability problems my insurance would increase to $2700.00 a year. I decided it was not worthwhile to me and will just use it for my own projects.
Greetings Scoot! It's funny you ask this question because I just spent most of the day going through my insurance policies. In regards to your question, you need to decide what kind of excavation you want to do. I ask this question because there is a big difference in how you will be classified by an insurer depending on the type of work you are doing/ intending to do. If your work will mainly consist of light excavation and no trenching (including digging deeper than 3' in the ground) then you might be able to get away with getting a landscaper's general liability policy with a light earthmoving endorsement. This option is usually thousands of dollars cheaper than getting a general liability policy for an "excavating" company. If you decide to go the route of an excavation contractor, then you will need to get a commerical general liability policy with an excavation endorsement. You should talk with an insurance broker about your specific needs and what kind of policy you are eligible for. Usually an excavation policy will run in the several thousand dollar range and will increase exponentially as you add employees. As a final note, make sure you shop/ask around for good excavation insurance brokers. Not all brokers are created equally, and to give you an example I went to three brokers and got a range of quotations from $2000 to $10000. I ended up going with a company called Selective Insurance and got a policy with excellent coverage and low deductibles at a very reasonable price. Good luck!
Hi guys.
Hi, I'm new here myself.
Good question, I was wondering myself/
It really depends on a lot of things. I do a lot of work for major contractors. If thats the case for you, you will most likely need a million/2 coverage. Big companies won't deal with you if you don't have good insurance. what is your idea of excavating? Here in Long Island, NY you can get whats called landscape/grading insurance which basically means don't go deeper than 18" The next step up would be light excavtion and than the full blown we install drainage and knock down house etc. sounds like you might be in the landscape/grading area? around here with a perfect track record, its about $3500 a year light excavation is $7200 keep in mind that these numbers are for a million/2 you may not need that much coverage.
wow thanks for all the great info