Farm dozing work liability

[DMiller]

I had tried to start a sideline mechanic business years ago. Did alright for a few years scraping a few extra hundred on odd jobs so considered opening my own shop. As all can see I did not, could not afford the startup costs; EPA write-ups, certifications of facility, tax estimate prepays, insurance for starters. Then had base utilities, shop costs, extra tooling expenses where I just threw in the towel before stepping into the ring. Was told by a few older hands that had established business that they got lucky getting their start twenty to forty years prior with some inheriting family shops that were grandfathered by ownership. Costs back then were next to nothing where dealers and major suppliers were squalling for vendors to shop their wares with all sorts of cuts and kick backs, not so today.

 

[D6c10K]

My biggest fear would be injuries and being sued. Car insurance liability minimum is 1 million bucks. I always went with the minimum. My wife's 18 year old son took my Mustang GT and put it over an embankment, just inches away from 80 feet of water. He was fine, but he had a 16 and a 17 year old girls with him. They all walked away, but a few weeks later my insurance information me that the 16 year old is showing signs of PTSD. My million dollar minimum did not cover it, and 4 years later I or should I say her son is still paying for it. So you never know.

Yikes...how can you plan for something like that?......That's what I'm mostly concerned about ....getting someone hurt. You never know when a kid might come out to watch you work, you don't see them, and they get a little too close.
Depending what I hear from my insurance company next week, this may put an end to my desire to do custom work.

 

[td25c]

D6c10K , check with your currant farm policy holder . They may have a provision for doing work off your farm .

Farm Bureau insurance used to have that , may still .
I never used them for excavating but remember it was not that expensive to add it to the existing policy .

If you mentioned crane , boom , or winch they slammed the phone down . LOL !

 

[CM1995]

Yikes...how can you plan for something like that?......That's what I'm mostly concerned about ....getting someone hurt. You never know when a kid might come out to watch you work, you don't see them, and they get a little too close.
Depending what I hear from my insurance company next week, this may put an end to my desire to do custom work.

Well in short, you can't. You plan the best you can and get the insurance to cover what you will do, it's no different than regular life, as cutting edge's post demonstrates.

There is risk with owning a business, getting married, having children, driving your car to the grocery store and with everything you do every day. You want to minimize risk as best you can and roll the dice - being scared of what could happen shouldn't keep you from giving it a shot. I don't go to Web MD anymore, my finger can be hurting and within 15 mins of reading, I'm going to die in 6 months..

There are many ways to minimize your risk or exposure in business. First and foremost have the insurance coverage you need for the jobs you will be doing. At the end of the work day look around your job site and safe up any hazards you see. For me that means any open manholes are covered with plywood or stakes with caution tape. If you have a cut bank over 2' of depth either caution tape it or park your equipment around it with tape in between to keep someone from driving or walking off the edge. That works OK for a small site but a challenge for a larger site.

If you can block entry to the job site from vehicles and pedestrians that is the best option but rarely possible. A couple of cheap plastic signs warning "Danger construction area do not enter" also goes a long way to reduce risk.

These precautions are not only to protect the public but also yourself. Showing an effort to protect your job site from hazards to the public is helpful in the unfortunate event someone gets hurt on your job site or a "slip and fall" professional targets your site.

If one only contemplates how things could go wrong then there is no time to contemplate on how things can go right.

 

[crharms]

Since I am new to dozer ownership I asked my agent the same thing. I have a couple neighbors that think its great that I bought a dozer and they have a few small jobs they want me to do. I haven't told them yes or no at this point but I asked the agent what the coverage was. They told me as long as I was doing the good neighborly deed and not doing it as a full time venue that I was fine. They said if I was to do something and need the insurance that my farm policy would cover it at that point. The one thing that my agent did stress is that you don't let the neighbor operate the machine at all even if it is a short "hey do you mind if I give it a try?" The answer is always yes I mind because I have no insurance once you step on this thing to run it. The exact words were that "your @$$ best be in the operator's seat at all times or don't call me if something goes wrong when if someone else is running it." My agent and I get along great... there is not one bit of sugarcoating on anything. It is told exactly how it is.

 

[DMiller]

One other almost forgotten note is the DNR group of your state, the Departments of Natural Resources also generally control runoff issues as mud or ditch damage from excess materials slippage. Check on if you are required to use 'Mud Fencing' around roads, road ditches, neighboring homesites or running streams as many states as MO requires the excavating 'contractor' to control any and all materials in an excavation.

 

[td25c]

Since I am new to dozer ownership I asked my agent the same thing. I have a couple neighbors that think its great that I bought a dozer and they have a few small jobs they want me to do. I haven't told them yes or no at this point but I asked the agent what the coverage was. They told me as long as I was doing the good neighborly deed and not doing it as a full time venue that I was fine.

That's cool crharms !
Yeah , don't be afraid of helping neighbors with tasks . Might be something simple like grading the driveway or after a tornado go's though and need help moving trees off the road .

Take care of neighbors and they will take care of you .
They are the first people that will show up & help in any situation good or bad and won't ask why ?

Insurance agents are for after the dust settles .

Take care of the neighbors first bro .

 

[D6c10K]

Talked to my insurance guy and found out a little info.
If you just do $1000 or less for hire work / year, my existing farm policy would cover me.....but one job will likely go past that amount.

At that point you're into what they're calling an "Ag Max" policy that covers for-hire work. They move my existing umbrella liability over to the Ag Max policy, increase the liability coverage on all of my vehicles and supposedly I'm good to go.
The net increase in my overall insurance should be in the $400-500 range.
They're going to get back to me with a specific quote in a few days.

I do need to clarify if it would cover me if I was working on a project that wasn't "farm" related.....ie. doing work on a rural residential acreage. I have no intention of doing any work inside a city limit....way to many hazards in that.

 

[Hobbytime]

Since I am new to dozer ownership I asked my agent the same thing. I have a couple neighbors that think its great that I bought a dozer and they have a few small jobs they want me to do. I haven't told them yes or no at this point but I asked the agent what the coverage was. They told me as long as I was doing the good neighborly deed and not doing it as a full time venue that I was fine. They said if I was to do something and need the insurance that my farm policy would cover it at that point. The one thing that my agent did stress is that you don't let the neighbor operate the machine at all even if it is a short "hey do you mind if I give it a try?" The answer is always yes I mind because I have no insurance once you step on this thing to run it. The exact words were that "your @$$ best be in the operator's seat at all times or don't call me if something goes wrong when if someone else is running it." My agent and I get along great... there is not one bit of sugarcoating on anything. It is told exactly how it is.

ask your agent to put that in writing, so when you have a claim you will have proof of your conversation..I dont care how good a friends you are , that will change if a large claim comes in against you..