Elevator Installation and Repair Services Insurance – Cost and Types Of Policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, elevator installation and repair services insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by liability insurance 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 elevator installation and repair services enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for elevator installation and repair services

If your elevator installation and repair services business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous 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 consequences 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 possible, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your elevator installation and repair services business?

What this means, for any elevator installation and repair services 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 elevator installation and repair services 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 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 person more than they have sued for.

When you are running your elevator installation and repair services operations, you can’t avoid 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 corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does elevator installation and repair services insurance protect you from?

For your elevator installation and repair services 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 describe the most important points any elevator installation and repair services business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your elevator installation and repair services businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any elevator installation and repair services business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

In such a case, they can require compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your elevator installation and repair services business protects you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

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

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

The normal level of general liability insurance for your elevator installation and repair services 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 elevator installation and repair services insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your elevator installation and repair services business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your elevator installation and repair services business for them, you can quickly have to fight a monetary claim.

Even if the case 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 elevator installation and repair services business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of elevator installation and repair services insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your elevator installation and repair services 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 you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

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

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

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for elevator installation and repair services

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your elevator installation and repair services business

Beware! – most 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 proper commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck 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 van is involved in a crash.

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your elevator installation and repair services business needs unique and expensive equipment, you can appreciate 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 unpredicted 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 unique 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 elevator installation and repair services business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your elevator installation and repair services business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any elevator installation and repair services business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Any 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 elevator installation and repair services 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 Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of elevator installation and repair services business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Because the level of cover depends completely 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 elevator installation and repair services insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your elevator installation and repair services business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your elevator installation and repair services business

Is your elevator installation and repair services business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business seasonal?

Using short-term insurance makes excellent sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for elevator installation and repair services – 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 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 larger 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 elevator installation and repair services 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 incorporating 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 elevator installation and repair services businesses, such as yours.

There are two 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 determine whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your elevator installation and repair services business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your elevator installation and repair services business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the operation against any costs that arise if a worker 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 requirements 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 cannot get 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 refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every elevator installation and repair services insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of average 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 insurance representative what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have researched for the main types of insurance your elevator installation and repair services businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Commercial insurance $1090 – $2835
Commercial vehicle insurance $1570 – $3390
Equipment insurance $320 – $1410
Public liability insurance $315 – $585
Product liability insurance $235 – $680
General liability insurance $580 – $1090

Cost of insurance for your elevator installation and repair services operations depends on many different factors.

We have reckoned these figures for small self-employed elevator installation and repair services businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your elevator installation and repair services business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

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

As well 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 town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for elevator installation and repair services operations?

This is a wide term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect elevator installation and repair services business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my elevator installation and repair services 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 elevator installation and repair services business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer 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 elevator installation and repair services insurance.

How much will elevator installation and repair services business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, several 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 elevator installation and repair services, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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