There are more injuries in the logging industry than in just about any other industry. Loggers work in dangerous conditions, in remote locations with powerful equipment. They have a high risk of injury to both themselves and their property.
If you own a logging company or are thinking about starting a logging company, you run the same risk. To lessen your financial risk, you need quality logging insurance, from liability to log skidder equipment insurance to general equipment insurance.
If you’re unaware of what’s involved with logging equipment insurance, keep reading to learn everything you need to know about logging insurance.
Table of Contents
What is Logging Equipment Insurance?
Logging insurance covers a variety of elements in the logging business. Here are a few ways that logging equipment insurance covers logging companies:
- Policies specific to logging and lumbering industries specifically
- Policies specific to sawmills, wood yard, chipping, and land clearing operations
- Policies with first-party physical damage to machinery, tools, and mobile equipment
- Lawsuit coverage for forestry professionals and loggers
Logging equipment insurance is just one part of the full equation for logging industry insurance. You must consider insure your equipment and your workers because of the liability involved.
Logging Insurance Cost Factors
Like with all insurances, several factors come into play with the premium costs. These are a few cost factors specific to the logging industry:
Work Risk
Loggers carry a tremendous amount of liability. Even when they follow safety protocols and use the most advanced safety equipment, they take perilous risks when they show up for work every day.
Loggers risk injuring themselves and others’ property by doing their job of cutting down trees. A felled tree can damage nearby property, the equipment used in the cutting process, and the person cutting down the tree.
Logging industries mitigate the risk of injury and accident by controlling the process as much as possible. Loggers have safety protocols they must follow and receive specialized training on felling trees.
The risk of theft, vandalism, and fire also plays a part in the cost of insuring logging equipment.
Need Risk
Logging companies need up-to-date and properly working equipment. This equipment does a dangerous job, and malfunctioning equipment poses a higher risk to the operator.
Plus, these tools are expensive.
Thus, the need for quality, expensive tools plays into the cost of insurance. Replacing these tools costs a big chunk of change, thus insuring those tools will cost more than the average insurance policy.
Liability
Logging companies are not a one-man operation. They require a team of skilled workers. Thus, you need hefty worker liability insurance.
Many things can go wrong in the logging industry. Your equipment can break down, an employee can sustain an injury, or someone can file a lawsuit against you for doing their property harm. Each of these problems costs money and can lead to financial disaster for a company that does not have proper logging insurance.
The company with the best logging insurance will lessen the financial impact of these problems. Logging company owners can rest easy knowing that their logging insurance will cover their specific needs.
Logging Equipment Insurance
The logging industry involves more than just a logger with an ax. You need trucks and tractors for transporting timber and equipment.
Thus, you need to insure this heavy equipment. It’s going to be in some backwoods areas with rough terrain. Logging equipment insurance can cover the unexpected damage that occurs because of logging equipment.
You need your equipment to run a normal logging operation. Thus, if the equipment is damaged, logging insurance will help you get that equipment back up and running. You’ll have peace of mind knowing that insurance will cover you should something go awry on the job.
Find a company that understands the logging industry. Logging insurance can cover specific items such as feller bunches, processors, sliders, and slashers.
Insurance For Everything
Anytime you own a business, you carry the potential for liability disasters. You are responsible to a degree for the things that your company does.
Logging companies, thus, need heavy insurance to make sure they cover the potential disasters their company could cause.
Insurance companies specialize in logging company insurance, understanding the need for logging equipment insurance along with everything else in the logging business.
Here are a few of the types of insurance you’ll need for your logging business in addition to logging equipment insurance.
Cargo
The moment cargo goes on your trailer, you’re responsible for it.
You will also need to insure your cargo as well as your transportation equipment. Cargo insurance will cover the cost of your cargo. It will not cover any damage the cargo may cause if your logging truck has an accident.
Pollution Liability
With a growing concern for environmental health, our world does not look too highly on the logging industry. The logging industry historically has contributed to environmental pollution.
Thus, you will need pollution liability insurance.
This insurance will cover any spills or accidents that negatively affect the environment. Pollution liability insurance covers the cost of cleanup when such an accident occurs.
Workers’ Compensation
Loggers need peace of mind knowing you have them covered should they sustain an injury on the job. Workers’ compensation insurance gives you peace of mind that you can care for them.
Most states already require workers’ compensation for just these reasons. The logging industry comes with high risk, so even if your state doesn’t require workers’ comp, you should have it.
Logging a Log Equipment Claim
The answer of how to log insurance claim looks no different than any other insurance claim process.
If you have to log a logging equipment insurance claim, start by contacting your agent. Do this as soon as possible after the accident occurs.
Make sure you write down the name of the agent that you speak with and any other pertinent information. The agent will ask you several questions. Have all of the information about the claim ready such as when the incident occurred and what exactly happened that led to you filing a claim.
The agent may then send out an insurance adjuster who will visit with you and inspect the equipment involved. The adjuster makes the recommendation on how much the insurance company will cover.
Protect Your Business
Logging equipment insurance will take a chunk of your operating budget. However, replacing logging equipment would take more. So protect your business and insure your logging equipment today.
If you enjoyed this article, keep visiting our site.