aquarium maintenance insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, aquarium maintenance insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other sorts of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unexpected happens.

Like any business owner, for your aquarium maintenance enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your aquarium maintenance business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous chance not just of losing some money but of a total wipe-out.

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

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

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your aquarium maintenance business?

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

Your aquarium maintenance business is not harbored by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

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

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

When you are running your aquarium maintenance operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent up-front the money necessary to have your business running as a limited liability company, all of that liability belongs to you alone.

What does aquarium maintenance insurance protect you from?

For your aquarium maintenance business, the most important types of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any aquarium maintenance business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your aquarium maintenance businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any aquarium maintenance business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

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

General liability insurance policy for your aquarium maintenance business insures you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your aquarium maintenance business from the claims themselves and as well to any associated 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 average level of general liability insurance for your aquarium maintenance business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single claim 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 aquarium maintenance insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your aquarium maintenance business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your aquarium maintenance business for them, you can quickly be involved in a court case.

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

Every small aquarium maintenance business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover an individual claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of aquarium maintenance insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your aquarium maintenance operations.

Product liability insurance

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

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

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

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for aquarium maintenance

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

Best advice is to talk to experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your aquarium maintenance business

Be careful! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any happening like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle is being used for business purposes.

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

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

Also, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is guaranteed if your car is involved in a collision.

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 intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your aquarium maintenance business needs unique and costly equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

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

In addition, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized 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 aquarium maintenance business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your aquarium maintenance business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any aquarium maintenance business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the space, you probably have a substantial capital investment, as well as 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 accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your aquarium maintenance business operates in areas of high risk, like California or South Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where intense cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of aquarium maintenance business premises, there is a need for more additional cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends entirely 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 aquarium maintenance insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your aquarium maintenance business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your aquarium maintenance business

Is your aquarium maintenance 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 aquarium maintenance – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

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

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you buy 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 aquarium maintenance business

You have the choice 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 aquarium maintenance businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.

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

The typical business that can take out a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual revenue.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your aquarium maintenance business employees

In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your aquarium maintenance business has one or more employees.

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

The benefits include 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 having 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 may not obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation premiums are calculated 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 aquarium maintenance insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give rough guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

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

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your aquarium maintenance businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your aquarium maintenance operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small freelance aquarium maintenance businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like Utah, they can be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your aquarium maintenance business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

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

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

Another reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for aquarium maintenance operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe standard insurance policies designed to protect aquarium maintenance business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my aquarium maintenance 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.

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

What does a small aquarium maintenance business insurance policy cover?

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

The precise cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the most common policies for aquarium maintenance insurance.

How much will aquarium maintenance business insurance cost?

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

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

You can search for more information insurance for aquarium maintenance , in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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