Do I really need insurance?

[cheyenne]

With over 50 yrs. in business here's the best advice I can give. The best Corporate Attorney money can buy. The best CPA money can buy. The best Insurance money can buy. Hire the best people & give them the finest tools money can buy & let them do their jobs. Concentrate on one thing & do it better than anyone else & you'll be successful. Don't get into price wars, it's not worth it. Most important (have fun) doing it. I wish you all the best. Cheyenne

[NewEnglandTreeSvc]

You mentioned owning:

a new truck, trailer, and a four wheeler to assist with the business.  Also a ton of other smaller stuff. I've got three saws: from a 14" poulan to a MS 460.  I also bought an HT131 stihl chainsaw on a stick. 

You risk losing these items at a forced sale if you have an incident and a decision against you.  Also your home, if you own that. 

Get the insurance. 

Ditto!

[Splinter]

Cheyenne,

Ya had to show you were from Warrensburg didn't you.
I'll be thinking about counter cheese and Bratwurst from Oscar's now.
Just finished the cheese from our last trip up there.


D

[rebocardo]

> Tree felling
> I'm good at directional felling

imho, With or without insurance you should not drop trees around houses without using safety/anchor ropes. Myself, I use steel cables.

> trimming ... I won't get any jobs because my work is limited to 15ft.

I do not do trimming, when people call for just that I tell them I trim trees by dropping them and do it on the ground.

On the other hand, I have trimmed trees once I am on the job when the home owner has asked to have branches taken care of over the garage, over their roof, everything trimmed away from the gutters, etc. Some when they look around the new open space, then decide they want a few branches off this or that tree to open up their view more from a window or porch. Or ones hanging over a fence line.

Plus, pole saws make excellent brush clearers when you have to hack your way through wild roses (or whatever they are called).

You will not get trimming work if you do not have a pole saw. Now that you have it, use it :-)

If you have the cash, get the insurance. Just make plans to never use it.

[Sawyerfortyish]

You said you have became a LLC. Good luck there. We were an LLC (were not anymore)until we found out that you become an employee of your corperation and by law must carry workmens comp on yourself and if hurt you can't use it. Just ask your insurance agent but beware you may open a can of expensive worms.
  At 70 some dollers a month for insurance thats dirt cheap. If it's any good. I wish I could get good insurance at a grand a month(I'm paying much more than that)I've had one claim since 1981. A cow got in between some logs I had skidded to a landing in a pasture and couldnt get itself turned around to get out got it's legs twisted up and broke and died. Of course it was the farmers best highest priced cow about 3 grand. Insurance didn't want to pay. So my brother asked the question what if it were a kid instead of a cow they shut up and payed the claim. But thats just one example of things that can happen that you would never think of.