Insurance For Tools And Cargo Trailer

john2kx

I signed up here a few days ago and this looks like a forum of folks who wear similar shoes.

My question is: I want to insure my tools and cargo trailer. I'm a trim carpenter and usually leave my equipment at the job site Mon.-Fri. I called a local insurance agent and asked for a quote to cover $8000 worth of tools and a $2800 trailer. It took two days and several calls to come up with a quote of $500 per year with a $500 deductable. That didn't sound bad until I pulled a few strings. What I found out was my equipment would be "depreciated" in the event of a claim and the agent could not give me any details, ie how much would they be depreciated per year, what guide lines I needed to follow as far as locking things up, would the tools need to be in the trailer vs. the house. I asked for a copy of the insurance policy that might provide the details I was after, and she said it may be 100 pages long and that she did not have one handy. I asked her to get one so I would know what I was signing up for. That's been two weeks ago and not a word since.

I would feel much better with a "replacement cost" type of policy and wanted to know if any of you out there could recommend a company.

The second phase of protecting my equipment will be installing some type of alarm system. I've seen a couple of posts where 6 or 12 volt batteries are used to power a system that would activate alarm. Have also seen where some can check "cargo" status and see if it has "moved". I'm familar with Lojack but would like to know if there are other system out there (and how they work). It would be great if my cell phone were to notify me that things are not normal.

Regards,

John (sweating in Ga.)

knothead

The only way to get an insurance company to pay up properly is to document everything.

Log all serial numbers mark your tools with your own phone number
Take pictures of everything and make sure that the picture has a date stamp imbedded in the picture. MY bigger tools I take several pictures from different angles but clean them up before hand and take the rusty blades off as well.

And you have to do this every couple of months to make sure your inventory is up to date. Keep every single receipt for everything including blades bits etc. I took inventory of my tools last month and recorded everything in the trailer and started assigning a value to everything only to find that I was WAY under insured.

But if the insurance company does not want to provide the documentation then try someone else.

Double-A

Welcome to the forums. Please edit your profile to add a location. Helps others answer questions, put your comments in context and the curious.

There have been some discussion here about this. I think Mike Finley looked into doing some alarming on his trailer a year or two ago. You might try some searching.

If your agent hasn't gotten back to you yet, its time to start rattling their cage. I tend to rattle at exactly the same time of day, usually 9:00 A.M. sharp, until I get an answer. That way they know I'm serious and have planned on getting an answer from them. Hold your agent responsible to you for professional and timely service or get a new agent. JMHO

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buildenterprise

Progressive can quote you right away on insurance for your trailer but NOT the contents, they will be providing tool insurance soon but not as of yet. Someone else on here mentioned an insurance co. that handles tools but I can't recall the name right now.

DeWalt Mobilelock is the GPS alarm that notifies you of movement/tampering via cell or email. You have to pay a monthly fee for the service.

Meetre

I have a rider on my GL for tools. Think the deductable is $250 or $500. My agent asked me the value of tools, I give him a number. If anything happens, they write me a check for that number, minus the deductable.

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john2kx

Thanks for the replys I've received so far. Actually, the agent I spoke with is not "mine". She was referred to me by the folks who insure my home, boat and car. Since they don't handle any type of business insurance, they provided me with a local agent who does (or should I say, has attempted).

What I am really after at this point is a insurance company name, website or phone number that provides replacement cost coverage on the equipment mentioned. My search on the net and several phone calls has produced nothing.

Thanks in advance,

John

Mike Finley

We have a marine rider policy for the trailer contents. Very simple policy, it covers up to a dollar amount we choose and there is really nothing to it. The insurance company doesn't seem worried at all. Do you want pictures? No. Serial numbers? No. Reciepts? No. And inventory list? No.

Whatever then. $500 deductible. Only stipulation is no single tool will be covered over $500 each unless you want to document it and insure it seperately. Policy costs under $300 a year and is just a rider on our GL insurance policy, which is probably why it is so inexpensive.

Shop around and around and around until you find what you want. Insurance is the biggest pain in the butt going, but it pays to keep digging and not giving up.

DO a search for trailer and alarms on these forums, there is lots of info posted by myself and others. Very simple to do, just need a battery and a solar trickle charger mounted on the roof to power your system.

john2kx

Mike,

You are the second person who has mentioned a rider on a "GL" policy. I assume that means general liability. I'm a one man show who is not required to carry such (for the company I do 99.9% of my work for). Do you or anyone else know another avenue? Again, a contact number would be great.

Meetre

John, get GL. Mine is under $700 a year for no employees, covers the tools as mentioned earlier, and your azz if someone decideds to sue you, someone wanders onto your job site and is injured, just a good idea for you and your customers. And with what i'm paying, tool coverage too. I have American family, have all my insurance with them. Don't confuse general liability with workman's comp. Just because you don't have employees(not needing comp. in some states) doesn't mean you shouldn't be insured to cover your work, or an accident on the job not involving a worker or you. What if the neighbor comes over to look at your work, they slip and fall and sue you? GL should cover you in this situation.

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orson

I second that, I'm in PA and my million dollars of coverage per incident costs under 700 a year.

In addition there is tool coverage included, although they don't tell you that unless you ask. All I had to do was list specific tools and the policy pays replacement up to some amount they don't disclose, but which is higher than the total dollars of tools on my trailer.

The trailer itself is covered under my auto policy.

Carrying general liability insurance is inexpensive and it's a really good idea even if not required by law or whomever you are subcontracting to.

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WarnerConstInc.

in-land marine policy here. Kinda of wierd but so is my ins. agent. I saved 150.00 year and got my tools covered, now if they can give me all that GL coverage why is it so hard to insure a vechile at a reasonable cost?

Hmmmmmm

Mike Finley

Most insurance for us (contractors) is by a local agent. My agent is not going to insure you out of state.

Let your fingers do the walking.

Double-A

Bingo, here is where I think the communication breakdown is occuring. You'll want to talk to your CPA about what I'm about to tell you, and by no means construe this as legal advice or financial advice.

If you suffer a loss and are covered, most of the time its for depreciated value. You say, "Wait, it costs me $400.00 to replace that saw, how can you only give me $200.00 for it?"

Good question. The reason is, insurance companies know that losses due to theft are general tax deductible. A genuine business expense, replacing stolen tools. So, IRS asks you, "Did you have any uninsured losses this year?" Your answer is yes. You get to itemize and deduct the uninsured part of your loss from your profit.

Now, if you have more losses than income (or, more likely the limits set by the IRS for a tax year) you can carry those losses over to the following tax year(s).

So in essence, you're getting your losses recouped to an extent, but just not from one pot and certainly not all at once. This is why capital reserve accounts are so important.

BTW, I agree with the others on suggesting you get GL. I would also suggest you get WC, even if you exempt yourself. The reason is, if you need it, it will save your ass. If you don't, your client is paying for it.

Mike, does your inland marine rider cover actual replacement value?

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"My clients’ wishes are the center of my attention." -- David Guido, a contractor in Woodstock, N.Y.
New York Times, July 20, 2006

Dan_Watson

For those who mentioned GL for around 700 would you mind naming your policy holder, or please PM me I am shopping around, and wondering id there are an companies I missed.

WarnerConstInc.

my in-land marine does in fact cover replacement value the exception is that the tool has to be over a certain dollar amount to be covered in full.

HHC

I am insured with State Farm and they cover tools at replacement cost, no depreciation. I have a contractor policy with them that you have to add tool coverage. Need receipts and list of tools you want covered. There is $500 deductible if something happens, but well worth it. There should be an agent near you, do an internet search.

john2kx

HHC,

It required some searching, but I found the same as you and made the switch to State Farm.

John

BCConstruction

I have tried 8 different places now. Not one would insure me for replacement cost, Not one would give me details on how they work out depreciation, They all wanted serial numbers, year, make, model from all tools over $100 which couldnt be listed under blanket cover and all tools over $500 had to be scheduled. One woman said deprciation was roughly 33% a year from purcahse date but she had never made a payout since she worked there so she was not 100% sure

If it was as much as that then most of my tools would be worth nothing by now. Lowest qoute was $410 with $1000 deductable and higgest was $875 with $500 deductable. I have now given up as it seems like im going to get arse ended if i need to ever make a claim.

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Cole82

Have you tried General Casualty. I have replacement cost on my policy.

Cole

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Cedar Rapids, Iowa

What is this "work" you speak of?

BCConstruction

Thanks cole i will try them.

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