Building Material Yard Insurance

The lumber and building materials industry is worth about $120 billion, and experts predict it to grow even more as construction picks up in the coming years (Source: Principia). This means there is a good chance your building material yard will continue to get more business. But if even one customer gets hurt on your property – and you don’t have a building material yard insurance policy in place – you could be shut down fast. That’s why it’s a good idea for you to learn about the coverage you need in this field.

Building Material Yards Need The Following Insurance

Business Liability Insurance (GL): Having a lot of building material on your business property might make you one of the best yards people can go to when they need materials of all kinds. But it also makes your business property a risk for visitors, since it’s easy for them to trip over materials, cut themselves, and sustain other injuries. When this happens, you will have to pay for their medical bills, except for when you have liability coverage as part of your building material yard insurance policy. This coverage is also meant to pay for repairs when someone’s belongings become damaged after a visit to your yard. So if a customer runs over a nail on your property and needs a new tire or other repairs, your liability coverage can cover the costs.

Business Personal Property Insurance: If you want to remain in business for long, you need to welcome people to your building material yard on a frequent basis. Because of this, it needs to be kept in the best condition possible, even after it is damaged in any way. This is why you should get BPP when you obtain building material yard insurance, since it will pay for the repairs your yard might need after a disaster on your property. It can even pay to replace any products that are stolen or damaged.

Workers Comp Protection: If you employ anyone to work at your building material yard, you need to make sure they are covered by workers comp. The reason your employees need this coverage to be part of your building material yard insurance policy is that it will take care of their doctor bills if they ever get hurt during the workday. It also applies to illnesses that are caused by their job. For example, if they develop health problems after years of working near asbestos, lead, or other hazardous substances, workers comp will apply. In addition, it can reimburse them for the money they miss out on while they take their time to heal after their work injury.

Umbrella/Excess Liability: Having liability coverage on your building material yard insurance policy is not always sufficient to avoid having to pay for expensive claims on your own in case they go over your limits. This is why you are advised to get excess liability, too. Getting this coverage on your policy is as simple as choosing the amount you want, usually in increments of $1 million. The more you get, the lower the chance you will have to put your own money toward liability claims against your building material yard.