Crane insurance question

[tmc_31]

Hi guys,

I am putting together a business plan for a lighting maintenance company that will utilize a crane to service the lighting systems for baseball, football, soccer etc. fields. The height range is typically from 60' to 100' . I am looking at purchasing a 25-30 ton boom truck with 100' main boom and a 45' jib. It would incorporate a 2 man tip mounted basket and electronic remote controls.

The machine would be operated as an aerial basket about 90% of the time. the other 10% of the time it would be operated as a crane to support my sports lighting installation business. My company is based in Texas and will cover all adjoining states and Colorado. One of the many questions I have is what will the insurance cost for this type of venture? How much liability should I carry? what will the annual premiums be?

I have a little experience operating various cranes, I have been working around them for the past 10 years. I have done rigging to lift light poles and other tall structures. That said, I would hire an experienced operator to run this machine.

I have heard the term taxi crane before. I think it means a "crane for hire" (please feel free to expand on this or correct me if need be). The crane I am looking at will be used only to support my own business. Will this make any difference in the insurance costs.

Finally any suggestions as to reputable insurers experienced in the crane industry would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Tim

 

[liebherr1160]

Speaking based on what other companies i have worked for carried ..

replacement value of the machine .
1 million for each man in the bucket+the operator in your case
3 million on the hook
5million public liability

 

[heavylift]

I've alway heard bosses talk in the millions when it insurance coverage...
so Liebherr probably has a good number ....

The bosses say that certain places require more insurance to be allowed to enter the plant... that was when I did a lot of refinery work....
Don't know if that's still the case..

I did work for a company that had their assets split into different so called companies and owners.... Just as a precaution if something ever happened and they were sued... There would only be so much they could take..
But that was over 30 years ago... unknown if one could even do that now...

 

[liebherr1160]

Should also mention ..most of these policies are well just paper ..the deductable on a 5mil policy can be upwards of 2.5 mil..Its like anything the rates are aften dependant on what deductable you chose ..

If your gonna get your own crane ..You may be able to work out with the insurance compant what insurance you need..because hoisting on your own terms versus renting the crane commercially opens you up to alot more liability ..

 

[Impact]

I own a construction business. The cost of insuring the crane for my own use isn't that great. The actual numbers? I don't really know..a few grand a year I think. Whenever I had it insured, one thing I found interesting was, the lady told me it was covered as long as it wasn't overloaded. I was quick to tell her, Almost ANY accident I'd have with the crane, is because it's over loaded. Her response?...As long as you don't pick up over 50 tons. Seems she doesn't understand the principals. Finally after much discussion and a phone call or two, we had to add additional insurance to cover the boom itself from overload."For Hire" work. That's a different story. Tens or hundreds of thousands, and VERY high deductables.