Refuse and Recyclable Material Collector Insurance – What Kind and at What Cost

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, refuse and recyclable material collector insurance must be near the top of the list because you can’t always know exactly what can happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by insurance against accidents and all the other sorts 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 refuse and recyclable material collector enterprise, you must consider how much financial danger you are taking on.

Business Insurance for refuse and recyclable material collector

If your refuse and recyclable material collector business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a total 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 possible, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector business?

What this means, for any refuse and recyclable material collector 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 refuse and recyclable material collector 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 New Jersey, 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 duty 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 refuse and recyclable material collector operations, you can’t avoid responsibility for the outcomes of your actions.

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

What does refuse and recyclable material collector insurance protect you from?

For your refuse and recyclable material collector business, the most important sorts of insurance are intended 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 refuse and recyclable material collector business owner should know when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main headings of insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any refuse and recyclable material collector business is dealing directly with other people, and that means you generally have the danger that some accident can happen to them bodily or else something of theirs can be spoiled.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your refuse and recyclable material collector business covers you against claims coming from injury to customers or damage to their property.

It protects your refuse and recyclable material collector business from the claims themselves and in addition to any follow-on 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 demand proper liability insurance.

The average level of general liability insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector 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 refuse and recyclable material collector insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your refuse and recyclable material collector business for them, you can quickly have to fight a monetary claim.

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

Every small refuse and recyclable material collector 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 refuse and recyclable material collector insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that what you delivered didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice 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 liable for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for refuse and recyclable material collector

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

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

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector business

Be careful! – practically all 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 direct commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial van policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the car 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, insist on this type of insurance.

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

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your refuse and recyclable material collector 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 tools 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 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 any equipment needed to keep your refuse and recyclable material collector 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 refuse and recyclable material collector business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any refuse and recyclable material collector business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

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

Your physical building location needs to carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against accidental occurrences like fire and storms, and against man-made damages like theft and vandalism.

If your refuse and recyclable material collector business works in areas of high risk, like Florida or South Carolina, extra 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 refuse and recyclable material collector business premises, there is a need for more additional 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 refuse and recyclable material collector insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your refuse and recyclable material collector business

Is your refuse and recyclable material collector 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 refuse and recyclable material collector – 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 the same risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you pay for 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 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 refuse and recyclable material collector business

You have the chance 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 cover you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized refuse and recyclable material collector 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 risks.

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 no more than one hundred employees, and maximum five million dollars in annual revenue.

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

Workers Compensation insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector business employees

In almost all states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your refuse and recyclable material collector 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 include medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws 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 authorize coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you cannot take out your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

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 refuse and recyclable material collector insurance level 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 an agent what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have collected for the main types of insurance your refuse and recyclable material collector businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $650 – $865
Commercial vehicle insurance $1760 – $3145
Product liability insurance $285 – $530
Equipment insurance $450 – $1475
Commercial insurance $950 – $2960
Public liability insurance $255 – $580

Cost of insurance for your refuse and recyclable material collector operations depends on many different factors.

We have estimated these figures for small independent refuse and recyclable material collector businesses.

In larger states like Texas, 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 refuse and recyclable material collector 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 reliable source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your town.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for refuse and recyclable material collector operations?

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

Does my refuse and recyclable material collector business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds 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 refuse and recyclable material collector business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a client 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 recommended policies for refuse and recyclable material collector insurance.

How much will refuse and recyclable material collector business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, some 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.

You can search for more information insurance for refuse and recyclable material collector, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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