Plow Insurance

[NNJSnow]

I'm a little confused about plow insurance. If i wanted to do commercial and residential plowing I know I would need probaly a 1 mil. policy. But if I just wanted a plow on my truck so to speak would I need a mil. policy or jus a different policy. I'm all confused and I'm sure you're all confused as well after ready this one ha. Thanks

Jeff

[Mick]

Insurance seems to be a very confusing issue, for some reason. First, let's do away with a couple of misconceptions:

1. There is no such thing as "plow insurance". There is Commercial Vehicle insurance which covers damage done by your vehicle while you are operating it. There is also General Liability insurance. This covers "completed operation". Things like slip and falls on places you are responsible for clearing. The amount of Commercial Vehicle insurance is usually set by your state, similar to your regular car coverage. The amount of GL is usually set by you and your agent depending on the type of accounts you will have. Companies for which you work/plow may also require a certain amount of coverage.

2. "if I just wanted a plow on my truck so to speak" Does this mean you will have the plow on your truck so you can look at it? If you accept compensation (money, beer etc) for plowing, you are commercial and can be held responsible for action/inaction taken. Exception (in Maine, anyway) is plowing your own driveway or a place you rent out.

Now, on your General Liability insurance policy - it will also specify the types of accounts for which you are covered. Examples - Residential, Retail, Industrial. Check with your insurance underwriter (not your agent) as to what exactly each category covers.

Other specific questions, perhaps I, or someone who knows more than I do, can help

[andrewcanada]

Originally posted by Mick
Exception (in Maine, anyway) is plowing your own driveway or a place you rent out.

[/B] I am almost ready to plow with my '83 Chev 1/2 ton, a large lot behind an apartment complex that my wife and I just bought. She owns one building and I the other. I snowblowed the BIG storm of mid December, but that took hours and hours . So not having a mortgage on the propertys, I'm always insuring as much as possible. A friend of mine lost everything because of insurance lapse/slackness. So I emailed GEICO yesterday, and they wrote back that I'm not covered, even on my own property. One could argue that plowing would be a commercial activity, as everything one does on their rental is obviously for profit/commercial. but we don't charge extra or exclude anyone for a discount. I have now asked them for the specific text, and what about my home, also a duplex? Is all they want more money/upgrade policy? They have already told me that any renovation work that I do is covered, as are workers, with contract, or so-called volunteer/$5hr. itinerant types. Andrew

[andrewcanada]

:headwall Ignore the last sentence in my previous post. That statement refers to a different ins. company. To quote GEICO. "Under the terms of the Family Auto. contract, GEICO Co. only writes private pass. vehicles. If you're using the 1983 Chev. to plow snow of the driveways in your apt. buildings it would not be acceptable because it would involve public streets and right of ways into other business', this would be considered commercial exposure." I'm not sure where the "right of ways" comes into play. All of my propertys are "free standing", but they never discussed that issue at all. Oh boy .:headwall

[Mick]

Like I said in another post - everything is different from State to State and even regions within a State. My rental (which is now my office) is covered for liability to include plowing under my homeowner's insurance. Damage to the truck itself would be covered under the vehicle insurance. In Maine, you do not need commercial vehicle insurance if you travel a public road for going to and from the nearest gas station to refuel.

To take this further, it gets even weirder. My rental is a seperate address from my home (229 & 231), but they share a boundary and a driveway (the boundary has been surveyed as going up the middle of the driveway - I had to deed a right-of-way to myself so I could get to my own house). My homeowner's insurance covers the rental unit for liability because they are connected, but not for fire. Fire requires a separate policy.

[BRL]

"I'm not sure where the "right of ways" comes into play. All of my propertys are "free standing", but they never discussed that issue at all."

If there is a road, driveway, parking lot, or sidewalk between the public raod & the door to the rented unit, that is the "right of way", or the access to the rented unit. And if you clear the snow from there, you are engaging in commercial enterprise according to them. What a PIA, as you may actually find it cheaper to hire another insured contractor to clear the snow, than pay for the commercial insurance.

NNJ,
You say "or just hang a plow on the truck". In that scenario, why are you hanging the plow there, to clear your driveway & grandmom's house? Or to make money with it? If it's the first, then you don't need liability insurance & you don't need commercial auto either. But if you are going to sub your truck out, or do driveways or lots for a fee, then here in NJ you will have to get a commercial auto policy AND a general liability policy that includes "completed operations" as Mick explained. You do not have to get a $1 million policy, they can be purchased as low as 300 grand of coverage and the sky's the limit as for how high you can go. That is up to each individual's level of liability comfort basically.

Mick,
If you end up having to go to court with the neighbor over that right of way, make sure you play nice! :grinz

[Mick]

BRL, think of a "Y" with the single leg coming from the street and branching to two seperate residences - each is a seperate address/deed. It was originally one property but I bought it as two. I then built the second house on what had been undeveloped land. But to get the mortgage, I had to have "access to the mortgaged property". Hence - right of way over my own land.

I may be sueing myself pretty soon, actually. The common leg is getting to need some gravel. Now, since the original place is my place of business, how much of it can be written off on taxes? I may just take the whole thing and let the IRS sort it out.:rolleyes: