Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, real estate appraisers insurance must be included in the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.
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With the protection provided by insurance against accidents 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 real estate appraisers enterprise, you must consider how much financial liability you are taking on.
If your real estate appraisers 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 upshots of their actions.
In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup 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 real estate appraisers business?
What this means, for any real estate appraisers business owner, is that if some person claims that your work caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.
Your real estate appraisers business is not sheltered 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 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 privilege of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a claimant more than they have sort.
When you are running your real estate appraisers operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the outcomes 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 as a person.
What does real estate appraisers insurance protect you from?
For your real estate appraisers 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 legal kinds of insurance that various states require.
In the next few paragraphs, we will describe the most important points any real estate appraisers business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.
The main headings of insurance for your real estate appraisers businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.
Liability insurance
General liability insurance
Any real estate appraisers business is dealing directly with other people, 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 real estate appraisers business covers you against claims coming from injury to clients or damage to their property.
It protects your real estate appraisers business from the claims themselves and in addition to any follow-on 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 normal level of general liability insurance for your real estate appraisers 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 real estate appraisers insurance operations.
Professional liability insurance for your real estate appraisers business
In the event where a buyer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your real estate appraisers business for them, you can quickly have to fight a law suit.
Even if the matter 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 real estate appraisers 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 real estate appraisers insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your real estate appraisers 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 specific laws of product liability in your own state.
For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held responsible for damages caused by products claimed to be defective.
To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for real estate appraisers
Only you can determine exactly how much insurance you should get.
Best advice is to consult with experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for guidance.
Commercial insurance
Commercial vehicle insurance for your real estate appraisers business
Take care! – 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 best 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 truck policies cover the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.
In addition, in case of any accident, the car 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, insist on this type of insurance.
The required 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 real estate appraisers business needs unique and costly 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 eliminate your whole business in one stroke.
Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specialized gear quickly out of your own pocket, you need full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy everything needed to keep your real estate appraisers business running.
It is difficult to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s essentially dependent on how much you have invested in your real estate appraisers business’ equipment.
Commercial Property insurance
Any real estate appraisers business that owns or rents space in a building needs a commercial property insurance policy.
If you own the building, you certainly have a substantial capital investment, along with a big liability if there’s a mortgage.
Any physical building location should 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 real estate appraisers business works in areas of high risk, like California 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 real estate appraisers business premises, there is a need for more supplementary 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 real estate appraisers insurance section below to give some estimate of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your real estate appraisers business.
Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your real estate appraisers business
Is your real estate appraisers business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business variable?
Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for real estate appraisers – 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 lower 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 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 real estate appraisers 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 merges commercial property and public liability insurance by packaging 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 often the right choice for small and medium-sized real estate appraisers 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 risks.
Also, the size of your business will rule whether you are eligible to take out BOP cover.
The typical business that is eligible for a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual sales.
Plus, you must separately take out the mandated worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.
Workers Compensation insurance for your real estate appraisers business employees
In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your real estate appraisers business has one or more employees.
Workers compensation insurance covers the operation 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 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 permit coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.
In these states, you may not get your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.
Workers compensation rates are computed 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 real estate appraisers insurance need 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 a broker what’s relevant for your business.
The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your real estate appraisers businesses needs.
Types of insurance | Price range |
Product liability insurance | $235 – $875 |
General liability insurance | $690 – $830 |
Commercial insurance | $1090 – $2595 |
Equipment insurance | $305 – $1280 |
Public liability insurance | $285 – $755 |
Commercial vehicle insurance | $1795 – $3475 |
Cost of insurance for your real estate appraisers operations depends on many different factors.
We have estimated these figures for small self-employed real estate appraisers businesses.
In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like Oregon, they will be about 20%-30% lower.
The location and size and type of your real estate appraisers 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.
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In addition you can let the internet do the work for you by enquiring about 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 real estate appraisers operations?
This is a general term used to describe common insurance policies designed to protect real estate appraisers business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.
Does my real estate appraisers 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.
Several other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.
What does a small real estate appraisers business insurance policy cover?
Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a customer 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 real estate appraisers insurance.
How much will real estate appraisers business insurance cost?
As well as 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 real estate appraisers, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.