Greenhouse Insurance – Cost and Coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, greenhouse 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 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 greenhouse enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for greenhouse

If your greenhouse business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant 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 upshots of their actions. 

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

What this means, for any greenhouse business owner, is that if some customer 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 greenhouse business is not protected by laws in the same way as states are, where legislation can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Montana, 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 claimant more than they have claimed.

When you are running your greenhouse operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the consequences of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent in advance the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you alone.

What does greenhouse insurance protect you from?

For your greenhouse 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 describe the most important points any greenhouse business owner should remember when negotiating the insurance needed.

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any greenhouse business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you always 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 require compensation.

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

It protects your greenhouse business from the claims themselves and also 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 require proper liability insurance.

The usual level of general liability insurance for your greenhouse business would be with a cap 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 greenhouse insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your greenhouse business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your greenhouse business for them, you can quickly face a law suit.

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

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

To cover yourself against any following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for greenhouse

Only you can know exactly how much insurance you need.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your greenhouse business

Take care! – most 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 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 van policies cover 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 covered if your van is involved in a collision.

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 declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your greenhouse business needs specific and costly equipment, you can appreciate 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 unexpected 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 must have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your greenhouse 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 greenhouse business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any greenhouse business that owns or rents space in a building should have 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.

Every physical building location should carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against criminal damages like theft and vandalism.

If your greenhouse business works in areas of high risk, like California or Georgia, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

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

Because the level of cover depends entirely 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 greenhouse insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your greenhouse business.

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

Is your greenhouse business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for greenhouse – 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 identical risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase 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 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 greenhouse business

You have the option 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 amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will shield you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized greenhouse businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will determine 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 dictate whether you are permitted to take out BOP cover.

The usual business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have less than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual turnover.

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 greenhouse business employees

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

Workers compensation insurance covers the enterprise against any costs that arise if an employee experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover 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 permit coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you may not get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

Workers compensation premiums are worked out 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 greenhouse 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 greenhouse businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $760 – $905
Equipment insurance $475 – $1310
Commercial vehicle insurance $1570 – $2825
Commercial insurance $1000 – $2705
Public liability insurance $260 – $690
Product liability insurance $260 – $690

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

We have calculated these figures for small independent greenhouse businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your greenhouse business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should discuss 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 useful source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for greenhouse operations?

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

Does my greenhouse business have to have insurance?

Some of the forms of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

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

What does a small greenhouse business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides insurance against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 greenhouse insurance.

How much will greenhouse business insurance cost?

In addition to the size of the business, several 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.

You can search for more information insurance for greenhouse , in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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