Insurance carrier (not the broker)

[malcolmtent]

I have to obtain liability insurance in order to be able to work at a golf course. I guess it's not such a bad thing to be forced into this so early on in my saw dust career.

One of our sponsors here is Loggers Insurance Agency, and I thank them and the other sponsors for keeping this site funded. If they wrote business in New York State, I'd be calling them and this would be a done deal. But they don't.

So I have to search for a carrier in New York. One of my close friends is an exec at a big insurance agency, and I'm turning to him for help. And it would help him in his search if any of you, in NY or elsewhere, could tell me who the carrier is for your policy.

Note that I'm not asking for the agency, but  the actually underwriting company itself. There's a great post on here where many of you told us all who your broker or agency is, and I will certainly be making some calls to those agencies. But this doesn't tell me who the actual insurance carrier is.

If you could either PM me or answer here, that would be great.

And I'll take any other insurance tips, too. All welcome.....

Malcolm

[terrifictimbersllc]

Search "insurance" at the top of the page.  Recent thread by QWeaver.  Lots of tips, here's mine:  Maxum Indemnity Co, Georgia, Tel 678-987-4500  Covers me in 48 states.

[DR Buck]

Mine is underwritten by Scottsdale out of Arizona.

[SwampDonkey]

Unfortunately, my mentioning woodchuck.ca won't do you any good in the US. Woodchuck covers every province and comes out of Dartmouth, NS. They will also insure your house that everyone else will drop. The biggest hangup for house insurance in these parts is wood burning appliances.

[malcolmtent]

The biggest hangup for house insurance in these parts is wood burning appliances.

Hmm... I hadn't thought of that, and have a notion to heat my house with wood. But if I save $2000 in fuel and pay $200 more for insurance, I'm still ahead of the game.

Thanks to the guys who've sent PMs, by the way.

(This is the side of business that I really dislike. Paper, administration, insurance. I just want to go to work!)

[malcolmtent]

So far, I'm not having much luck in NY State. However, I though I'd throw this one tip out there because when you find someone that is actually willing to have a conversation, and listens (what a novel idea?), then it's worth passing on the contact info,

Farm Family
Scott Beach, Agent
Malone, NY 12953
(518) 483-9167

I encouraged Scott to sign up as a sponsor on here. And we'll see if he actually follows through tomorrow with a returned call and a quote.

[woodmills1]

I am all farm family.  House, business vehicles and personel.  could not do better

[Captain]

Right up until yor first claim, James.  They're giving me a really hard time of it.

Captain

[malcolmtent]

This whole business is annoying me. Insurance, that is, not sawmilling.

I'm thinking of telling the client that I can't or don't want to get insurance, and they can take it or leave it. I don't mind signing a waiver of theirs, if they want me to.

And I think I'm going to get a waiver of my own together. I have one in another business I own, and the waiver says 'sorry if something happens, you can't sue me but you can hire an arbitrator, and my maximum liability is $500.'

I think here I want to establish an LLC with minimal assets, and then have the client sign something that says they understand that my company carries no insurance and that they can only claim damages up to a very small amount, and that they're responsible for all legal fees. The client can sign or walk.

It's probably cheaper to pay an accountant to file LLC tax returns than it is to obtain insurance.

But the whole thing takes the fun out of it.

[terrifictimbersllc]

But the whole thing takes the fun out of it.

Hang in there, don't let it.  It's even more  satisfying, in a twisted old tired sort of way, after you conquer all the obstacles. Once you get a handle on them :P :P :P it's not so bad.  You have 1) business establishment decision (sole proprietorship or LLC) and business reporting requirements to state, county and or town, 2) Insurance (liability and business property), 3) State sales tax, 4) business property tax, 5) any applicable zoning rules for what you do on your property, 6) any environmental protection rules if you move logs or lumber, 7) DMV licensing of your vehicles, and 8) keeping financial records so you can pay SS and a chunk of your profit if any to the state and federal governments for their wise use.  8)

[Kansas]

Pennsylvania Lumberman's Mutual Insurance is what I use, and they are back east. I checked their web site and they do write in the state of New York. Any independent insurance agent should be able to write that for you. Don't know their rules on portable sawmills. They only write policies for lumberyards and sawmills that I know of.

[Kansas]

Oops. Just read your post on the other thread on this subject. Never mind.

[woodmills1]

captain you have a claim and farm family is not paying??

[Captain]

Had a claim.  They paid.  They dropped me.  They are the only company around that I could find to insure the whole package.  Now because I was dropped,  I'm paying 4x the premiums amount that I used to pay and I have to piece together policies from different sources.  State insurance commission, Attorney General, and Farm Bureau (yes I am a member) were no help.

Captain

[taw6243]

My general liability is with Acquity Insurance Company from Klinner Insurance in Wisconsin. Their number is 1-800-934-5647. The customer service agent is Barb Jacobson. I got refered to them by Woodmizer when I could not find any insurer in Michigan. It costs 250.00 Per year for $1,000,000.00 of coverage per occurance.

Timinmich

[Jeff]

I would greatly appreciate it, that any Forestry Forum member or guest that is in Wisconsin or Michigan or other covered states, contacts our Sponsor company first, because that's what they do. They work every day with Forest Products Industry clients and they support us, the previously mentioned company does not support the Forestry Forum.

I recommend you call them even if you are not in a mentioned covered state on the website and ask for Gary. He's a wealth of information, because like I said, this is what he does, and has done for many years, and he may just know exactly the best place to send you.