Florist insurance – cost and coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Florist insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what is going to happen in the future.

With the protection provided by liability insurance and all the other types 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 Florist enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your Florist business runs without proper insurance, you are taking an enormous 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 Florist business?

What this means, for any Florist 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 Florist 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 plaintiff more than they have sued for.

When you are running your Florist operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as an LLC, all of that liability belongs to you as an individual.

What does Florist insurance protect you from?

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

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will outline the most important points any Florist business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Florist 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 spoiled.

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

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

It protects your Florist business from the claims themselves and also to any follow-on 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 insist on proper liability insurance.

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

Professional liability insurance for your Florist business

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

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

Almost all small Florist 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 Florist insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Florist 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 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 injuries caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any possible lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Florist

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 Florist business

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

The right 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 insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, 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, mandate this type of insurance.

The required 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 Florist business needs specific and dedicated 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 unforeseen 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 unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Florist 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 Florist business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

If you own the building, you may already have a substantial capital investment, along with 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 man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Florist business deals in areas of high risk, like Florida or North Carolina, additional coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where unlimited cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Florist business premises, there is a need for more extra 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 Florist insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Florist business.

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

Is your Florist 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 Florist – 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 nominated 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 Florist business

You have the chance 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 packaging 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 Florist businesses, such as yours.

There are a few limits that will determine 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 dictate whether you are eligible to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that can take out a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual revenue.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Florist business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if a worker 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 companies.

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 Florist insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of standard 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 agent what’s relevant for your business.

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

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

We have estimated these figures for small freelance Florist businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Florist 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.

Also 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 suburb.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Florist operations?

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

Does my Florist business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to open 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 Florist business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides coverage against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 best policies for Florist insurance.

How much will Florist business insurance cost?

On top of the size of the business, some 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.

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