Pipelayers Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Pipelayers 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 liability insurance and all the other kinds 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 Pipelayers enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

If your Pipelayers 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 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 Pipelayers business?

What this means, for any Pipelayers 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 Pipelayers 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 judge 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 person more than they have sued for.

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

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

What does Pipelayers insurance protect you from?

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

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

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

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

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Pipelayers business is dealing directly with customers, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them themselves or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

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

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

It protects your Pipelayers 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 demand proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Pipelayers business would be with a boundary 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 Pipelayers insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Pipelayers business

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

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

Most small Pipelayers 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 Pipelayers insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Pipelayers 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 what they received didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

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

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

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

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

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Pipelayers 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 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 car policies cover the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

Also, in case of any accident, the truck itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is guaranteed if your truck is involved in an accident.

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

The wanted value of the insurance is calculated on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your intended level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Pipelayers business needs unique 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 unpredicted acts.

As well, 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 unique gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy whatever needed to keep your Pipelayers 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 Pipelayers business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

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

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 deliberate damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Pipelayers business operates in areas of high risk, like Florida or Georgia, 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 Pipelayers 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 Pipelayers insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Pipelayers business.

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

Is your Pipelayers 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 Pipelayers – are special policies where you can cover a specific period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower 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 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 Pipelayers 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 integrates commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging 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 Pipelayers businesses, such as yours.

There are some limits that will dictate whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs will not cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle risks.

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

The normal business that can take out a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual sales.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your Pipelayers business employees

In most states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Pipelayers 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 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 allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you cannot obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance corporations.

Workers compensation premiums 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 Pipelayers 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 Pipelayers businesses needs.

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

We have estimated these figures for small freelance Pipelayers businesses.

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

The location and size and type of your Pipelayers 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.

As well you can let the internet do the work for you by looking for insurance companies near where your business is located.

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

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Pipelayers operations?

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

Does my Pipelayers business have to have insurance?

Some of the types of insurance are not mandatory for you to operate 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 Pipelayers 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 most common policies for Pipelayers insurance.

How much will Pipelayers 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 Pipelayers, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.