Automotive Glass Installer Insurance – Cost and Coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, automotive glass installer insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by general insurance and all the other types of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unwanted happens.

Like any business owner, for your automotive glass installer enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

Business Insurance for automotive glass installer

If your automotive glass installer business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to outline what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your automotive glass installer business?

What this means, for any automotive glass installer business owner, is that if some customer claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your automotive glass installer business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where edicts can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount an adjudicator can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have sued for.

When you are running your automotive glass installer operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent in advance the money necessary to have your business running as a limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does automotive glass installer insurance protect you from?

For your automotive glass installer business, the most important sorts of insurance are intended to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

Also there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any automotive glass installer business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your automotive glass installer businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any automotive glass installer business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can sue you for compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your automotive glass installer business covers you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your automotive glass installer business from the claims themselves and as well to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it will even help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts demand proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your automotive glass installer business would be with a boundary of $1 million for a single event and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your automotive glass installer insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your automotive glass installer business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your automotive glass installer business for them, you can quickly have to fight a law suit.

Even if the case against you is decided in your favor, the cost of defense can be substantial, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Most small automotive glass installer business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a single claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of automotive glass installer insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your automotive glass installer operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that buyers may claim that what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to understand the particular laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held responsible for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for automotive glass installer

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you should get.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for help.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your automotive glass installer business

Beware! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the van is being used for business purposes.

The best way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is guaranteed if your car is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, require this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your requested level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your automotive glass installer business needs specific and costly equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The equipment may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unpredicted acts.

As well, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can destroy your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your automotive glass installer business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your automotive glass installer business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any automotive glass installer business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you may already have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your automotive glass installer business deals in areas of high risk, like Florida or South Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of automotive glass installer business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Although the level of cover depends mainly on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of automotive glass installer insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your automotive glass installer business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your automotive glass installer business

Is your automotive glass installer business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for automotive glass installer – are special policies where you can cover a designated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you pay for the cover for a defined period – a designated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover increased.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your automotive glass installer business

You have the option to combine several of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP combines commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will protect you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized automotive glass installer businesses, such as yours.

There are a few limits that will dictate whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual sales.

In addition, you must separately take out the required worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your automotive glass installer business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your automotive glass installer business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if any hired hand experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws in this regard can leave you as the employer obliged to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you cannot take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation premiums are worked out based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every automotive glass installer insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with a broker what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your automotive glass installer businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Public liability insurance $255 – $575
Equipment insurance $385 – $1420
Commercial insurance $1155 – $2775
Product liability insurance $295 – $595
Commercial vehicle insurance $1545 – $2535
General liability insurance $605 – $855

Cost of insurance for your automotive glass installer operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small freelance automotive glass installer businesses.

In larger states like California, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like Oregon, they usually are about 20%-30% less.

The location and size and type of your automotive glass installer business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by looking for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another useful source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for automotive glass installer operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe basic insurance policies designed to protect automotive glass installer business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my automotive glass installer business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Certain other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small automotive glass installer business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for automotive glass installer insurance.

How much will automotive glass installer business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, certain other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for automotive glass installer, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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