Dredging Contractors Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, dredging contractors insurance must be high on 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 kinds 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 dredging contractors enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your dredging contractors 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 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 dredging contractors business?

What this means, for any dredging contractors 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 dredging contractors 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 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 right of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a plaintiff more than they have sort.

When you are running your dredging contractors operations, you can’t escape 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 dredging contractors insurance protect you from?

For your dredging contractors business, the most important sorts 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 dredging contractors business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any dredging contractors business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you usually 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 dredging contractors business covers you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.

It protects your dredging contractors 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 dredging contractors 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 dredging contractors insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your dredging contractors business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your dredging contractors business for them, you can quickly be involved in a monetary claim.

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

Most small dredging contractors 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 dredging contractors insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your dredging contractors operations.

Product liability insurance

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

You need to know the particular 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 dredging contractors

Only you can estimate 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 dredging contractors business

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

The proper 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 cover 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 covered if your car is involved in a crash.

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

The required value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your dredging contractors 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 gear 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 specialized 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 dredging contractors 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 dredging contractors business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any dredging contractors business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Your physical building location must 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 dredging contractors 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 Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of dredging contractors 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 dredging contractors insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your dredging contractors business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your dredging contractors business

Is your dredging contractors business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for dredging contractors – 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 adequate risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase 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 higher 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 dredging contractors business

You have the chance 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 merges commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging 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 mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized dredging contractors businesses, such as yours.

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

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

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

The typical business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual revenue.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your dredging contractors business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your dredging contractors 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 regulations in this regard can leave you as the employer required to pay penalties levied by the states.

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

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

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 consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every dredging contractors insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of average 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 dredging contractors businesses needs.

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

We have reckoned these figures for small independent dredging contractors businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your dredging contractors 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.

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 dredging contractors operations?

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

Does my dredging contractors 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.

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

What does a small dredging contractors 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 dredging contractors insurance.

How much will dredging contractors business insurance cost?

In addition to the size of the business, some 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 dredging contractors, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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