Bricklayer insurance – cost and types of policies

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

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With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other kinds 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 Bricklayer enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Bricklayer

If your Bricklayer 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 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 Bricklayer business?

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

Your Bricklayer business is not sheltered 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 a court 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 claimant more than they have claimed.

When you are running your Bricklayer operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the outcomes 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 an individual.

What does Bricklayer insurance protect you from?

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

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

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

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Bricklayer business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be ruined.

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

General liability insurance policy for your Bricklayer business protects you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your Bricklayer 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 require proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your Bricklayer 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 Bricklayer insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Bricklayer business

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

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

Every small Bricklayer 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 Bricklayer insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Bricklayer 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 you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to know the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

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

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

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Bricklayer business

Beware! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the vehicle 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 car policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

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

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Bricklayer business needs specific and costly equipment, you know 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 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 everything needed to keep your Bricklayer business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s really dependent on how much you have invested in your Bricklayer business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

If you own the space, you probably have a substantial capital investment, in addition to a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Any physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against natural occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Bricklayer business works in areas of high risk, like Florida or South Carolina, supplementary 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 Bricklayer business premises, there is a need for more supplementary 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 Bricklayer insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Bricklayer business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Bricklayer business

Is your Bricklayer 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 Bricklayer – 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 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 specific 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 higher business activity, get the existing cover improved.

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

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Bricklayer business

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

A BOP integrates 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 mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Bricklayer businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will determine 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 eligible to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that can take out a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Bricklayer business employees

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

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

The benefits provide for 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 allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you can’t get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

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

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

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Bricklayer insurance need is unique, there are enough examples of usual quotes from insurance companies for us to give approximate guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

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

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your Bricklayer businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Commercial vehicle insurance $1580 – $3305
General liability insurance $665 – $995
Public liability insurance $275 – $630
Product liability insurance $305 – $670
Commercial insurance $845 – $2495
Equipment insurance $405 – $1370

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

We have reckoned these figures for small independent Bricklayer businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Bricklayer 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.

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

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Bricklayer operations?

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

Does my Bricklayer business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to operate 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 Bricklayer business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party 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 most common policies for Bricklayer insurance.

How much will Bricklayer business insurance cost?

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

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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

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