On Sun, 30 Dec 2012 15:22:16 -0800, Mike M
wrote:

On Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:54:28 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Sat, 29 Dec 2012 00:49:10 -0800, Mike M
wrote:

On Fri, 28 Dec 2012 15:59:35 -0800, Larry Jaques
wrote:

Business insurance has cost me between $750 and $1,200 per year for
half a million liability, and that's with zero claims against it. They
want to double it if I do roofing or framing. You have it lucky up
there in Canuckistan. Hell, our ins guys want almost $10 for a
zeroxed copy of our own policy.

I haven't worked since I got hurt in 2009, but I wish my insurance was
that cheap. I'm just one state north of you and I had 2 million with
another 1 million umbrella policy. I paid $24,000 per year in 2008
for business insurance. Now I did have 2 bucket trucks, a boom truck,
6 vans, a box truck, and a pickup. I also had 8-10 employees and was
doing commercial industrial electrical work but man that seems cheap
for your insurance cost. My contracts usually had 4-8 clauses just to
deal with insurance and indemnification.

Yeah, everything in your biz reeks of risk. I'm glad handymanning
doesn't carry that insurance price. But I'm required to have a
contractor's license and continuing education to do work here. That
and insurance/bonding bring me up to several grand every 2 years.

I'm still doing CE's to maintain my master electrician license just in
case I have to work, but in Wa. electrical contractors get a break as
we only have to carry a $6K bond. A lot of the cost is being in
commercial & industrial where everyone wants to be named as an
additional insured. Just a hint use caution if your ever working
around navigatble waters. This requires an entire other insurance
policy.

OK. I already learned that I couldn't clean up an overgrown yard on
the river without a grant from GOD himself. I pass on those requests
any more.

I got stuck for $1,000 for the $5k bond my first year. After that,
they said I could have it for "only $800." I looked around and the
next company said $180 total for a THREE YEAR CONTRACT. I've never
wanted to nuke a bonding company before, but that first one surely
needed it. And the worst part: I couldn't put up the money for the
bond myself. Some married contractor's ex-wife had her attorney steal
the money from his bond account and the guy was forced out of business
until he could come up with a bond. After that, the state said "bonds
only". I'd rather do superb work and warranty it with a satisfaction
guarantee.

I got a surprise the first time I wanted to advertise as a handyman.
The newspaper said "You have to give us your CCB license number before
you can advertise." I learned then that I needed to be licensed,
bonded, and insured before I could go inside someone's house and
squirt graphite on a hinge. Major surprise!
2 months and about $2,500 later, I was. Egad...


On the other hand the guy
who ran me down only had 100K in insurance which covered my first 5
days of hospital time. I guess what I paid was worth it as I was able
to collect on the underinsured motorist part of the policy.

Wouldn't you like to find him some night in a dark alley, perhaps with
a loose 440V line in your gloved hand? "Here, hold this."

Actually I saw the guy that hit me being held back. After the EMT's
gave me the good stuff I think he was in more pain then me. He was 84
and had lukemia and prostate canser. He died the next month. I was
lucky it happened on the job. All I can tell you is good insurance
will save your family a lot of trouble if you can do it. Sadly once
the lawyers are involved there is no conversation.

Ayup.


--
You can ignore reality, but you cannot ignore
the consequences of ignoring reality.
--Ayn Rand