Boat Cleaning Services Insurance – Cost and Coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, boat cleaning services insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

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

Like any business owner, for your boat cleaning services enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your boat cleaning services 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 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 boat cleaning services business?

What this means, for any boat cleaning services business owner, is that if some person 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 boat cleaning services business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where laws 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 duty of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have claimed.

When you are running your boat cleaning services operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the outcomes 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 boat cleaning services insurance protect you from?

For your boat cleaning services business, the most important sorts of insurance are meant to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any boat cleaning services business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your boat cleaning services businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any boat cleaning services business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your boat cleaning services business covers you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your boat cleaning services business from the claims themselves and also to any follow-on court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

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

The usual level of general liability insurance for your boat cleaning services business would be with a cap of $1 million for a single submission 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 boat cleaning services insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your boat cleaning services business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your boat cleaning services business for them, you can quickly have to fight a court case.

Even if the lawsuit against you is judged in your favor, the cost of defense can be high, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Almost all small boat cleaning services 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 boat cleaning services insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your boat cleaning services 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 guidance 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 culpable for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for boat cleaning services

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you must have.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your boat cleaning services business

Take care! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence 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 proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

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

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

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

The necessary value of the insurance is worked-out for the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your boat cleaning services business needs specialized and dedicated equipment, you know how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unexpected acts.

Also, 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 should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your boat cleaning services business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your boat cleaning services business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any boat cleaning services business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Every physical building location must carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your boat cleaning services business works in areas of high risk, like Texas or Georgia, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of boat cleaning services 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 boat cleaning services insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your boat cleaning services business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your boat cleaning services business

Is your boat cleaning services business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for boat cleaning services – are special policies where you can cover a specific 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 important feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a nominated 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 raised.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your boat cleaning services 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 merges commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

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

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized boat cleaning services businesses, such as yours.

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

BOPs do not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.

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

The typical business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual turnover.

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 boat cleaning services business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise 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 requirements 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 take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

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

However, you must refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every boat cleaning services 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 collected for the main types of insurance your boat cleaning services businesses needs.

Cost of insurance for your boat cleaning services operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small independent boat cleaning services businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your boat cleaning services 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.

In addition 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 suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for boat cleaning services operations?

This is a general term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect boat cleaning services business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my boat cleaning services business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to run 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 boat cleaning services business insurance policy cover?

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

The specific cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the best policies for boat cleaning services insurance.

How much will boat cleaning services 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 boat cleaning services, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

Related Industries:

Carpet Cleaning insurance – cost and coverage Dryer Vent Cleaning Insurance – Cost and Coverage House Cleaning and Maid Service insurance – cost and types of policies Window Cleaning insurance – what kind and at what cost Dry Cleaning insurance – what kind and at what cost Septic Tank System Cleaning insurance – cost and types of policies Cleaning Technician Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies Gutter Cleaning Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost Boat seller insurance – cost and coverage Boat Captain Insurance – Cost and Coverage Boat Racing Academy Insurance – Cost and Coverage Boat Sports Related Guide Insurance – Cost and Coverage