Fruit Marketing Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, fruit marketing insurance must be high on 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 fruit marketing enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for fruit marketing

If your fruit marketing 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 results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for growing 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 fruit marketing business?

What this means, for any fruit marketing 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 fruit marketing 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 New Jersey, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court 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 plaintiff more than they have sued for.

When you are running your fruit marketing operations, you can’t avoid 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 corporation, all of that liability belongs to you alone.

What does fruit marketing insurance protect you from?

For your fruit marketing business, the most important kinds 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 explain the most important points any fruit marketing business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your fruit marketing businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any fruit marketing business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you usually have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be damaged.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

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

It protects your fruit marketing business from the claims themselves and as well to any resulting 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 demand proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your fruit marketing business would be with a upper limit of $1 million for a single claim 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 fruit marketing insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your fruit marketing business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your fruit marketing business for them, you can quickly face a court case.

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

Most small fruit marketing 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 fruit marketing insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your fruit marketing 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 recommendation was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the particular laws of product liability in your own state.

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

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for fruit marketing

Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you should get.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your fruit marketing business

Take care! – 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 right 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 van policies guarantee the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the van itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is covered if your truck is involved in a crash.

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

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your fruit marketing 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 unforeseen 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 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 fruit marketing 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 fruit marketing business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any fruit marketing business that owns or rents space in a building must have a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Any physical building location needs to 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 fruit marketing business deals in areas of high risk, like California or North 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 fruit marketing business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Although 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 fruit marketing insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your fruit marketing business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your fruit marketing business

Is your fruit marketing 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 fruit marketing – 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 less 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 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 improved.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your fruit marketing 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 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 fruit marketing businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will rule 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 determine whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that can take out a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual turnover.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your fruit marketing business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise against any costs that arise if any hired hand 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 may not obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation rates are worked out 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 fruit marketing insurance need 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 agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your fruit marketing businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
Equipment insurance $335 – $1390
Commercial insurance $970 – $2715
Product liability insurance $280 – $625
Commercial vehicle insurance $1695 – $3170
Public liability insurance $370 – $785
General liability insurance $660 – $960

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

We have estimated these figures for small self-employed fruit marketing businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like Utah, they usually are about 20%-30% cheaper.

The location and size and type of your fruit marketing 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.

In addition you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another good source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for fruit marketing operations?

This is a wide term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect fruit marketing business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my fruit marketing business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to operate 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 fruit marketing business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party 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 fruit marketing insurance.

How much will fruit marketing business insurance cost?

In addition to 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 fruit marketing , in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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