Mortuary Services insurance – cost and types of policies

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Mortuary Services insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what can 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 Mortuary Services enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

If your Mortuary Services business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a giant 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 results of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for small businesses to explain 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 Mortuary Services business?

What this means, for any Mortuary Services business owner, is that if some company 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 Mortuary Services business is not harbored 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 Texas, 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 sort.

When you are running your Mortuary Services operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the results 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 alone.

What does Mortuary Services insurance protect you from?

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

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

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any Mortuary Services business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main categories of insurance for your Mortuary Services businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Mortuary 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 ruined.

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

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

It protects your Mortuary Services business from the claims themselves and in addition 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 insist on proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your Mortuary Services business would be with a boundary 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 Mortuary Services insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Mortuary Services business

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

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.

Most small Mortuary Services 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 Mortuary Services insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Mortuary Services 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 recommendation 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 following lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Mortuary Services

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you must have.

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Mortuary Services business

Beware! – most policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the car 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 proper 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 car is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, require 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 Mortuary Services business needs specialized and dedicated 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.

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 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 Mortuary Services business running.

It is impossible to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Mortuary Services business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

If you own the space, you may already 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 unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Mortuary Services business deals 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 Illinois, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Mortuary Services business premises, there is a need for more supplementary cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas 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 Mortuary Services insurance section below to give some idea of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Mortuary Services business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Mortuary Services business

Is your Mortuary Services business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes good sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Mortuary Services – 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 reduced premiums but still having identical risk cover.

The essential feature of short-term insurance is that you buy 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 better 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 Mortuary Services 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 integrates 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 frequently the right choice for small and medium-sized Mortuary Services businesses, such as yours.

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

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

Also, the size of your business will dictate whether you are allowed to take out BOP cover.

The normal business that can take out a BOP policy must have fewer than one hundred employees, and under five million dollars in annual revenue.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Mortuary Services business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Mortuary Services 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 cover 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 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 may not obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance companies.

Workers compensation premiums are calculated based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must consult the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Mortuary Services insurance need is unique, there are enough examples of standard 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 agent what’s relevant for your business.

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

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

We have calculated these figures for small independent Mortuary Services businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Mortuary Services 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.

Also you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for 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 Mortuary Services operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect Mortuary Services business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Mortuary Services business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds 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 Mortuary Services business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection 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 best policies for Mortuary Services insurance.

How much will Mortuary Services 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 discuss with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

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