Insurance Companies in FL

D

Dr. Cornwallis

New member
Location
Tampa
For those in Florida, who do you use for your insurance? I've been calling around and it sounds like none of the big name companies cover arborists or people doing any above ground tree work in Florida.

I'm a career municipal Firefighter and like pretty much every Firefighter, I have a second job. For me it started out as lawn care several years ago and over the last three years I've discovered a love for arboriculture that I never knew I had. I really enjoy taking care of trees as well as doing highly technical removals. With as much as I hate to see a tree go, the technical aspect of high risk take downs is really rewarding for me as I'm a very OCD, methodical thinker who enjoys problem solving. Also, who doesn't love heavy machinery?

I'm also very fortunate in that I have an ISA certified arborist who I work with at the fire department who has held my hand and taught me a lot a long the way. The man is also an open book with all things rope.

For the past several years, my insurance was incidental for tree trimming. I was adequately covered for climbing, crane usage etc... however, tree trimming is only supposed to account for up to 15% of my business. I have now completely eliminated mowing and and any landscaping from my schedule, focusing my business entirely and completely on trees. As a result, I need to buy the appropriate insurance, which is proving hard to find.

Googling "Tree trimming insurance," "Arborist insurance" etc... turns up sketchy sounding results from companies I've never heard of. I don't skimp on my equipment, and I definitely don't want to skimp on my insurance.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
cerviarborist said:
Call Bill Wanless of Mutual Insurance in St. Petersburg. You'll find he's become a go-to guy for buzzers in Florida looking for good GL coverage at a reasonable price. 727-896-0006 or wwanless@mutualinsuranceinc.com I've let Bill take care of my insurance needs for 8 years now and have nothing but good to say about him.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll five him a call today. The difficulty I've had in obtaining the appropriate insurance makes me wonder how many "tree services" are actually appropriately and adequately insured as it appears none of the major companies offer job specific insurance for full time arborists in Florida.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm interested in your results. I'm on the LEO side and do tree work on the side. I've found that after Hurricane Matthew, the rates have gone up so much that even the insurance people are telling me the rates are ridiculous.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm still waiting to hear back from Bill, I received a quote from another agent who is selling insurance through a company called "Western World. It's $680 a year for $300,000/ $600,000 and $1200 a year for $1mil/2mil.

I'm waiting to hear back from her again though because it states on the policy that it covers "Tree Pruning, Dusting, Spraying, Repairing, Trimming or Fumigating.

No where does it state that it covers removal or felling, which is a problem as I told her I would be. Also, I have no intent of doing any fertilization, spraying or fumigating.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm in SW Indiana and pay $1130/year for my $1M/$2M policy so that is a decent rate. Come to think of it, that might be the same underwriter that my policy is through.

I vaguely remember the policy having some weird spraying stuff too.

Hope that helps.

--andrew
 
Western World is the underwriting company that Bill uses. He explained to me sometime back that if someone gets a quote on a Western policy from another agent, he's not allowed to give a second quote. It's the same company as I have my policy with. The policy cost is the same agent to agent. Bill really shines in helping with customer service, but you might be locked in now with the other agent, since you've had them give you a Western quote. You'll need to make a list of the specific services you provide and have your agent call the underwriting company (Western) to make sure that those services are covered under your policy.
 
cerviarborist said:
Western World is the underwriting company that Bill uses. He explained to me sometime back that if someone gets a quote on a Western policy from another agent, he's not allowed to give a second quote. It's the same company as I have my policy with. The policy cost is the same agent to agent. Bill really shines in helping with customer service, but you might be locked in now with the other agent, since you've had them give you a Western quote. You'll need to make a list of the specific services you provide and have your agent call the underwriting company (Western) to make sure that those services are covered under your policy.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize that. I actually called this other agent first, just from google, prior to posting this thread. I'm happy with the price and would buy from bill if I still can. Bill was a lot more knowledgeable over the phone and asked a lot more pertinent questions. Hopefully I didn't screw him/myself.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Then call Bill back and see if he can write you a policy. I know he's set up one of my arborist buds in the Orlando area and they were able to take care of everything through the mail and over the phone. Like I said Bill can really make life easy for you when a client asks for special services and you have to say "Let me confirm with my agent that I'm covered for that" or any other particulars. In addition, when your clients need additional coverage, or to be named on the policy, he's great at expediting those additions so that you can seal the deal. Once I had a single handed fender bender that made it temporarily unsafe for me to re-enter the cab of my truck to get my insurance paperwork. I felt certain that first responders would want to see my insurance so I gave Bill a quick call. He had copies of my commercial vehicle policy emailed to my phone prior to the arrival of the first responders.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom