Pest Control Insurance

What insurance does a pest control business need?

Is trying to figure out commercial insurance bugging you? We can help with that. There are more risks you need to worry about than rodents, bed bugs and termites when you run a pest control business. Keeping residential homes, retail buildings, and restaurants free of pests comes with risks every day you’re on the job. Here’s a very simple breakdown of pest control insurance.

While all forms of business insurance have benefits, you should think about workers’ comp, liability, and commercial auto first.

Pest Control Liability Insurance

General liability insurance is not a one trick pony. But the two biggest perks are protection against third-party bodily injury and property damage.

You most likely need this coverage since you work on other people’s property. Interaction with the public is one of the biggest reasons exterminators should consider getting a policy.

While workers’ comp protects you and your employees, general liability insurance covers medical costs in the event that someone else, like a client, is injured as a result of your operations. It also covers others’ property from damage.

Claims Examples:

• Let’s say you’re working in a client’s living room and your sprayer goes haywire and damages your client’s leather sofa, Turkish rug, and fine art. Your policy would cover the replacement or repair costs.
• A client trips over a piece of your equipment and fractures their wrist. Your policy would help pay for the medical treatment.

It also covers copyright infringement, advertising injury, libel, and slander. For example, if you create a logo or advertisement that’s too similar to one in existence, you’ll be protected if someone takes action against you and your business. You’ll also be covered if you write or say something about a client that makes them come after you.

Pest Control Workers’ Comp

The main reason to get workers’ comp insurance is to protect you and your employees in the event of a workplace injury. As a pest control business, you and your employees face physical risks each day. It all comes with risk –everything from spraying chemicals around a home to crawling into tight spaces to deal with termites.

One of the downsides of getting hurt are the medical expenses that come with it. Without workers’ comp, if you get hurt on the job you could be expected to pay for the losses out of pocket. Instead, workers’ comp pays for all the medical bills related to a workplace incident.

Workers’ comp claims examples:

• Spraining an ankle while spraying the exterior of a home
• Suffering a shoulder injury due to repetitive motion
• Falling ill due to the inhalation of harmful chemicals

If an employee gets hurt on the job, you will likely be held liable. Even worse, they may file a lawsuit against you. Alternatively, your workers’ comp policy would pay for their medical bills as well as court costs, lawyers fees, and settlements.

It will also help cover lost wages if you or an employee gets injured to the point of needing time off work to recover. This is a huge benefit. Imagine being told you can’t work for seven weeks due to an injury. Immediately, you start worrying about your loss of income. With workers’ comp, you can recover with a peace of mind knowing that you can still put food on the table. Especially if you have a family.

In addition, claims of negligence or an unsafe work environment are also covered. And, in extreme cases, if you or an employee dies due to a workplace accident, funeral expenses will be taken care of.

Minimum Premium Workers’ Comp

If you work for yourself and have no employees, you may be eligible for the cheapest workers’ comp options on the market.

Solo I is designed to cover a one-person business with no employees. Because workers’ comp rates are dictated by payroll, all you have to pay is the baseline rate set by your state, without the additional costs associated with added payroll.

If you don’t want to cover yourself, but still need a Certificate of Insurance, a ghost policy is a great minimum premium workers’ comp option. Apply Now

Exterminator Auto Insurance

Getting around to job sites with all of your equipment would be nearly impossible on foot, which is why, we assume, you rely on a truck. Just like you, your employees, and your clients, it needs protection too. That’s where business auto insurance comes in.

Business auto protects your ride when you’re using it for work-related purposes. Whether you’re running to the bank, on your way to grab lunch with a client, or popping into Home Depot for some materials. If you face an accident while driving for business without this policy, you will have to pay for damages out of your personal pocket. But if something happens and you have commercial auto coverage, the expenses will be taken care of. It’s important because your personal auto policy does not cover work related accidents.

If you borrow, rent, or hire vehicles for work, your commercial auto insurance will not cover them. In order to have the right protection, you would need hired and non-owned auto insurance. Hired and non-owned auto insurance also covers your personal vehicle when you use it for work related purposes. Additionally, if you have staff using their personal trucks on behalf of your business, this policy extends liability coverage.

Business Property Insurance

Exterminators can’t do the job without tools and equipment. The cost of sprayers, chemicals, repellents, and traps can really add up. If you want to make sure it’s all covered from things like damage and theft, consider business property insurance.

It covers:

• Your Building or Leased Space: Protection for the building you own or lease.
• The Contents of Your Building: Protection for supplies, equipment, tools, inventory, and furniture– from things like damage, theft, or natural disasters.
• Income From Your Business: If there’s a disruption, you may be covered for expenses needed to continue business– such as like net income, payroll costs, or even temporary business relocation.

Commercial property insurance covers things at your business premises. Because you take your supplies and equipment with you to job sites, you may also want to consider inland marine insurance. It protects your business items while in transit.

Umbrella Insurance

A little extra cushion never hurts. That’s why it’s common for business owners to add umbrella insurance on top of an existing policy.

Let’s use commercial auto as an example. Say it covers $500,000 in damages. If you get into an accident where the claim totals to $575,000, your insurance carrier would pay for the $500,000 loss. However, you would have to pay the extra $75,000. That’s a big chunk of change.

It’s not unusual to think accidents won’t happen. But when they do, isn’t it better for someone else to cover the bill? Most small businesses pay around $600/year for umbrella insurance. In fact, 56% pay less than $1,000 for this policy. Not too bad, considering it can really save your business from a huge loss.

General Liability Insurance Cost

Many pest control contractors pay around $550/year for a general liability insurance policy with a limit of $1 million per occurrence. But the price will depend on a lot of factors. Some of those factors include your policy limits, size of business, years in business, number of employees, and location.

Looking to save? You may want to think about a business owners’ policy, or BOP. It combines general liability and commercial property insurance into one bundle at a cheaper price.

Workers’ Comp Costs

Workers’ comp is one of the hardest types of insurance to predict a price without knowing anything about your business. Everyone has a unique situation. But there are a few key factors that determine the cost of workers’ comp for a pest control business.

• Your line of work: What you do for a living has a big impact on how much it will cost. It’s all about risk, so the riskier your job is, the greater your rate will be.
• Your number of employees: The main factor in the cost of workers’ comp is your payroll. The higher your payroll, the higher your cost.
• Your loss history: If you have had claims in the past, they may come back to haunt you in the form a more expensive policy.

Lastly, there’s the expense constant, which covers the admin fees. It tends to average around $200.

Want to learn more about the factors that drive insurance costs? Check out our guide on pest control business insurance costs.

Learn more about about the costs of business insurance:

• Contractor Insurance Cost
• Workers’ Compensation Cost
• General Liability Insurance Cost
• BOP Cost