Construction Equipment Renting Insurance – Cost and Coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Construction equipment renting insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

Need General Liability Insurance for Your Construction Equipment Renting Business?
Get Your Free Quote

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 unforeseen happens.

Like any business owner, for your Construction equipment renting enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Construction equipment renting

If your Construction equipment renting business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant chance not just of losing some money but of a complete wipe-out.

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

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup businesses to explain 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 Construction equipment renting business?

What this means, for any Construction equipment renting business owner, is that if some person 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 Construction equipment renting business is not sheltered 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 Texas, 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 claimant more than they have sort.

When you are running your Construction equipment renting operations, you can’t escape responsibility for the results of your actions.

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

What does Construction equipment renting insurance protect you from?

For your Construction equipment renting business, the most important kinds of insurance are intended 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 Construction equipment renting business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your Construction equipment renting businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Construction equipment renting business is dealing directly with other people, 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 demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Construction equipment renting business protects you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Construction equipment renting business from the claims themselves and also to any associated 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 normal level of general liability insurance for your Construction equipment renting 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 Construction equipment renting insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Construction equipment renting business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Construction equipment renting business for them, you can quickly be involved in 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.

Almost all small Construction equipment renting 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 Construction equipment renting insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Construction equipment renting 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 responsible for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Construction equipment renting

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

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Construction equipment renting business

Beware! – almost all 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 designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

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

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

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 Construction equipment renting 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 unpredicted acts.

Also, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can wipe-out your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Construction equipment renting business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your Construction equipment renting business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

If you own the space, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, as well as a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

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

If your Construction equipment renting business operates in areas of high risk, like Texas or Georgia, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Construction equipment renting business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Because 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 Construction equipment renting insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Construction equipment renting business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Construction equipment renting business

Is your Construction equipment renting business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Construction equipment renting – 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 adequate risk cover.

The important feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase 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 larger 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 Construction equipment renting business

You have the option to combine a few 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 incorporating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

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

It is frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Construction equipment renting 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 cover.

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

The normal business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual revenue.

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 Construction equipment renting business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the business 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 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 can’t take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation charges are computed 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 Construction equipment renting insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of standard quotes from insurance companies for us to give appropriate 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 Construction equipment renting businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $615 – $1285
Public liability insurance $335 – $705
Commercial vehicle insurance $1880 – $3475
Equipment insurance $300 – $1135
Commercial insurance $880 – $2845
Product liability insurance $240 – $875

Cost of insurance for your Construction equipment renting operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small self-employed Construction equipment renting businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Construction equipment renting 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 searching 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 Construction equipment renting operations?

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

Does my Construction equipment renting business have to have insurance?

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

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

What does a small Construction equipment renting business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 best policies for Construction equipment renting insurance.

How much will Construction equipment renting business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, certain 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 Construction equipment renting, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

Was this helpful? Share it!
SBCoverage.com
Enable registration in settings - general