Farm Labor Contractors Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, farm labor 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 general insurance and all the other sorts of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unexpected happens.

Like any business owner, for your farm labor contractors enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.

If your farm labor contractors business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant chance not just of losing some money but of a total wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the upshots 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 available, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your farm labor contractors business?

What this means, for any farm labor contractors business owner, is that if some company 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 farm labor contractors 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 a judge 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 person more than they have sued for.

When you are running your farm labor 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 farm labor contractors insurance protect you from?

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

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any farm labor contractors business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any farm labor contractors 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 farm labor contractors business covers you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your farm labor contractors business from the claims themselves and also to any resulting 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 require proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your farm labor contractors business would be with a upper limit 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 farm labor contractors insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your farm labor contractors business

In the event where a client alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your farm labor contractors business for them, you can quickly have to fight a monetary claim.

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

Every small farm labor contractors 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 farm labor contractors insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your farm labor contractors 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 the results didn’t meet your description of function, or that your guidance 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 farm labor contractors

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your farm labor contractors business

Beware! – practically all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any event like theft or accidental damage when the car 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 designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies cover 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 guaranteed if your car is involved in a collision.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, require 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 farm labor contractors business needs specific and expensive equipment, you can appreciate how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The tools may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

As well, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate 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 farm labor contractors business running.

It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your farm labor contractors business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

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

Every physical building location should 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 farm labor contractors business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or North Carolina, supplementary coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Illinois, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of farm labor contractors business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Because 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 farm labor contractors insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your farm labor contractors business.

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

Is your farm labor contractors 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 farm labor 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 reduced 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 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 farm labor contractors 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 combines commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating 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 farm labor contractors businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will rule whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not 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 maximum five million dollars in annual sales.

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 farm labor contractors business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your farm labor contractors business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business 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 required 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 get 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 farm labor contractors insurance requirement is unique, there are enough examples of usual 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 collected for the main types of insurance your farm labor contractors businesses needs.

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

We have reckoned these figures for small independent farm labor contractors businesses.

In larger states like Texas, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, while in smaller states like Utah, they can be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your farm labor 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 enquiring about insurance companies near where your business is located.

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for farm labor contractors operations?

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

Does my farm labor contractors 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.

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

What does a small farm labor contractors business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The exact cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the recommended policies for farm labor contractors insurance.

How much will farm labor contractors business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, certain 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 farm labor contractors, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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