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Author Topic: liability insurance  (Read 5186 times)

Offline metzelplex

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liability insurance
« on: January 23, 2009, 01:57:21 am »
Has any body ever heard of or used WESTERN VALLEY apiary insurance or heard of any other insurance company that might sell liability insurance for beekeepers ?

Offline rdy-b

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2009, 07:42:03 pm »
check out your local FARM BUREA they have policies but they may want you to add it to there farm and ranch policies-what exactly where you looking for as far as coverage -RDY-B

Offline metzelplex

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2009, 12:50:36 am »
just hoping to get some cheaper insurance on my boom truck and maybe something in case someone gets stung and decides to sue a few years ago in corning ,ca. some bees stung a llama and killed it and the beekeeper got sued and had to pay about 6 or 8 thousand dollars my yards are really isolated and I've never had that kind of trouble but you never know.   metzelplex

Offline Greg Peck

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #3 on: January 27, 2009, 11:41:56 pm »
I am also looking for insurance. If you come up with something please let me know. I will do the same.
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Offline BjornBee

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #4 on: February 05, 2009, 09:13:39 am »
I had insurance through "The Hartford" out of Texas. This is the same insurance advertised in the bee mags through one of the national honey associations, but for less than half price of what they sell it for. You get 1 million general liability, and two million product liability. (Or the other way round, I can not remember) I think it was around 350-450 last time I checked.

The problem was it did not go beyond the bee business and honey sales. Once I got into soaps and candles, I tried to add a rider, and they do not allow it.

So I went with insurance through the "Hancrafted Soap Makers Guild". If you make one products with your hands (soaps, candles, etc.) you qualify. The standard policy they use does not cover honey, but a quick call to the company agent, and they happily added honey to the insurance policy.

These are additional insurances and not connected to your home, vehicles, etc. If you can get coverage with your farm, that may be the way to go. But if you can not get insurance for a small home based business, and want coverage, this may be the way to go.

I do not have the contact info in front of me. I think all the paperwork is at the farm. I'll see about finding it.
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Offline watercarving

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2009, 11:29:48 pm »
Bjornbee,

How much did this insurance through the soap guild cost? I'm helping my girls start a home business and we only plan to sell $1,000/year of stuff. $400.00 would eat all the profit.

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Offline rdy-b

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2009, 11:59:29 pm »
talk to your agent about adding it to your home owners -might be least expensive-$400 is cheap for the coverage he speaks of -I pay $650 for a products liability coverage of $500,000 -this is for honey sales-there are some that get cheaper coverage buy obtaining flavored syrup policies (for shaved ice-sno cones :) ) but when i need it i will be glad i did not skimp-never know i might drop a quart jar on some women's toe and get sued- 8-) RDY-B

Offline BjornBee

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2009, 09:10:21 am »
Bjornbee,

How much did this insurance through the soap guild cost? I'm helping my girls start a home business and we only plan to sell $1,000/year of stuff. $400.00 would eat all the profit.



A real catch 22 for small home business. You open yourself up to liability, but yet, the coverage is too expensive off the profit margin. I think many small business do not have liability. As you grow, your liability "risk" also grows. At what point do you cover yourself? Insurance certainly makes you sleep better.  For me, I actually talked to several retailers that would not take my product without coverage. One place would not take my honey without having a proper honey house certification. So, the insurance does do more than just cover you. It also opens up otherwise closed doors of opportunity if you expand to that point. Certainly, many small operations and for those who sell the product themselves, insurance is seen less worthwhile.

I checked my invoices. In 07, I had "The Hartford" insurance and it was $350.00 for the honey operation liability (stings, accidents, etc.) and product liability (honey). 1 and 2 million in coverage.  As I mentioned , this was the same coverage advertised in the bee mags through one of the honey boards at $850 or something like that. Problem is, they do not cover beyond honey. (No candles, soaps, lipbalm, etc.)

In 08, I changed over to HSMG (Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild) and the cost was $480.00  It covers everything possible you make. Candles, lipbalm, soaps, facial products, etc. It did not come with honey, but they gladly added it to the policy with no additional fee. This fee also includes the membership into the HSMG, which I think was 75 or a hundred. So in reality, the coverage was so much greater, without much more cost. (soapguild.org)
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Offline JayC

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #8 on: April 05, 2009, 01:10:31 pm »
But does the soap makers guild insurance cover stings and accidents?  Or only liability concerning the hive products themselves?

Offline johnnybigfish

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #9 on: April 05, 2009, 10:41:29 pm »
Great question about the liability insurance!
Ive been wondering about liability Insurance myself after reading an article in the Bee Journal about bee and horses.
My nabor has horses worth a small fortune(show horses...only 2 or 3 right now). The article mentioned how horses sweat triggers the bees defensive action.Pigs, cows and sheep dont do this like a horse does. The article mentioned that bees have been known to kill horses( european bees)..One dead horse it mentioned had like about 5 lbs of bees in his lungs and stomach!
Sooo...Liability insurance might be worth looking into for me.

your friend,
john

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2009, 11:27:37 pm »
Most probems between bees and horses (as with other livestock) is one of proximity.  Both horses and cows will use the bee hives for rubbing posts.  When the hives topple they then eat the brood and honey.....moral: don't put bees and livestock in the same pasture without installing a bear fence.  Sweaty horses have a faomy lather that drives bees insane, it's bad enough for humans, so having sweaty horses within 100 feet of a bee hive can be problematic.  Goats will use the hives for a jungle gym set, play king of the hill, and butt it now and then, when the hive topples they will eat everything, wood and all.  Horses and cows at least leave the boxes, tops, and bottoms for future use.  Sheep are not usually a problem unless they produce a lot of lanolin, which iritates the bees similarly as horse sweat.

Check your home owners insurance 1st, some policies already cover things like bee stings as part of its property liability coverage.  Those that don't can have it added for a reasonable amount.  Some insurance companies refuse to offer this coverage out of the same kind of prejudice that most people, uneducated about bees, have.  In that case find a new insurance agent.
If you have bees as a business then obtaining a separate insurance policy for the business is necessary.  If you operate bees along with a candle/soap making business you can usually combine the 2 into one policy.
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Offline Kathyp

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2009, 11:43:35 pm »
Quote
how horses sweat triggers the bees defensive action

this is not my experience.  not only do my horses pasture right next to my bees, but my open arena is next to them also.  the horses stand right by the fence in the flight path of the bees and don't seem ever to get stung.  i have never had a problem in the area with bees and sweaty horses....only flies  :-)
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Offline Rebel Rose Apiary

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Re: liability insurance
« Reply #12 on: May 02, 2009, 07:12:59 pm »
I was just reading this about the sweaty horses and bees. I shampoo my horses and spray them well with horse spray (scented) to keep flies and mosquitoes off of them; we have West Nile in my area. Maybe horses that are kept clean do not bother the bees?

I too have horses close to my bee yard and so far, no problems at all.

I am going to check my insurance policy to see if my bees and honey sales are covered. 

Brenda