Insurance quotes for a one man electrical business are all over the place

Luis Mendoza· Licensed electrician going out on my own after nine years with a contractor· Registered, Trades & Contractors·Jul 31

Filed the LLC in the spring, got the EIN, opened a business checking account last month. Now I'm trying to get insured properly before I take my first job under my own name, and the quotes I'm getting make no sense to me.

Same coverage described three different ways, and the annual numbers are more than double from one end to the other. Three quotes, three shapes:

general liability only
general liability bundled with tools and equipment
one that spent twenty minutes on something called completed operations, which is apparently about work I finished years ago coming back on me

One agent also asked about my truck and told me my personal auto policy won't cover me once it's lettered and full of my own material. Another never mentioned it at all.

Nine years I worked for a contractor and never thought about any of this once, because it was somebody else's problem.

What I'm asking is what a solo licensed trade actually needs on day one, versus what's being sold to me. And did anyone find that a broker who works with contractors was worth it over just calling the big names? I've got my first real quote sitting unsent while I sort this out.

4 replies

Jamal Carter· Open·Jul 31

Two years in with three techs and the commercial auto thing is real. The day I lettered the first van my personal carrier was very clear that they were done with me. Don't take one job in a lettered truck on personal auto with a load of copper in the back.

Broker over big names, in my opinion, but specifically a broker who insures trades in your state. Mine knew without asking that my county requires a certain liability limit to pull permits, which saved me buying the wrong policy twice. Ask what it costs to add a tech later, as well, because you will.

Brianna Sato· Open·Aug 1

Moving rather than electrical so my mix is different, but on the quotes being double: make all three quote the same limits and the same deductible, then compare. Half the spread I saw turned out to be one agent quoting a much higher limit and not saying so.

The other thing that moved my premium more than anything was how I described what I do. Being precise about residential versus commercial, and what I never touch, changed my number meaningfully. Vague answers get priced as the worst case, because from their side you might be anything.

Luis Mendoza· Registered·Aug 2

Apples to apples on limits and deductible is obviously the right way to do it, and I hadn't done it, which is embarrassing for a man who spends his life reading specs. I've sent all three the same set of numbers to requote. And I'm calling my auto carrier tomorrow, before the truck gets lettered rather than after.

Rob Mackenzie· Open·Aug 2

Been through three of these now. The thing I'd add is to sort out your certificate of insurance process early, because the first commercial customer who asks for one will ask on a Friday and want it before Monday. Know how to get your broker to send one with the customer named on it, and know how long they take to do it.

That request is a good sign, by the way. It usually means the job is bigger than the ones you've been doing. Bad week to be shopping for a policy.

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