GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Air Gun Gate => Tuners => Topic started by: tjsimmon on March 09, 2018, 12:50:10 PM
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I am doing some basic repairs and tunes and thought I should have some liability insurance. I have been told there is specific insurance for doing repairs and tunes. Can anyone give me some information and direction?
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I believe the NRA offers liability insurance for manufacturers and gunsmiths. Or they could be a good POC for another source. Sorry I don't have a link.
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Contact a local independent insurance agent in your area. Tell them you want to get a commercial general liability quote. They will send you a primary application to fill out, then the underwriter will probably send you what is called a supplemental application which requests more detailed information. Under the nature of business question simply describe in detail what you do for which you want to be insured. The underwriter will apply what is called a "class code" to the quote your receive, specific to your description. The class code is specific to the kind of work you do. It is all general liability coverage, you just want yours to take notice of your particular expertise. They got this...
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Almost forgot: Discuss with your homeowner agent what you are doing if you are doing it at home. You want him to "note the file" of your "quasi-business" that you are conducting from home. Should you have a home insurance claim later on you don't want the insurance company to be able to wiggle out of paying it by saying that you made a material omission which, had they known, they may not have offered you home insurance. They can do this. Whether they would, it is anybody's guess. De-horse them: tell them now. They will probably just endorse your policy to include a home office. If you invite clients onto your property to meet, that is a whole different situation. Definitely talk with your agent about that.
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Thank you Racer1 and Tonykarter, I will look into those options.
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Great advice from Tonykarter.
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If you’re open to the public (ie openly advertising services) then NRA coverage will only apply if you’re an FFL holder....
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Contact a local independent insurance agent in your area. Tell them you want to get a commercial general liability quote. They will send you a primary application to fill out, then the underwriter will probably send you what is called a supplemental application which requests more detailed information. Under the nature of business question simply describe in detail what you do for which you want to be insured. The underwriter will apply what is called a "class code" to the quote your receive, specific to your description. The class code is specific to the kind of work you do. It is all general liability coverage, you just want yours to take notice of your particular expertise. They got this...
We had insurance for another, totally unrelated business. We ran that business very successfully and paid our insurance premiums on time, every time for 15 years. Last year we were in the process of changing out this existing business to the more relaxed nature of air rifle tuning, so we contacted our insurance agent to tell him of the new business direction. When he heard the words "air rifle", he immediately told us our business insurance would be cancelled, effective at the end of the month. We tried to explain to him, we were talking about air rifles, pellet rifles. But no, he heard only the word rifle. We asked, "what if we stop the air rifle tuning and go back to the previous, established business?" He said, "still cancelled due to rifles, guns being at the location". Sure enough, near the end of the month we received a letter telling us the insurance was cancelled. Just like that!!!
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You started a new business, therefore you need a new policy. The existing policy is for the class code of your first business, the risk exposure of the nature of that business. Your new business is a different class code, therefore you must obtain a new policy. I have only seen a policy transition once in my career, and it was because the nature of the two businesses were similar.
Fifteen years in business: Over that amount of time you probably had transitioned to a policy from a standard market, and standard markets do not insure new businesses, not most of the time anyway. Certainly not new businesses that deal in guns. Or rodeos, or offshore drilling, or any other of a multitude of businesses that involve real risk, as opposed to the limited risk that your first business presented to the insurance company. So that is why your policy cancelled. Standard market policies are for businesses that are not especially risky. Those that are risky, and especially new ones, those businesses must start out with a policy from a surplus lines insurance company. They cover things no other company will touch. New ventures, new upstart businesses without a Dunn and Bradstreet always must start in the surplus lines market, and hopefully transition to a standard market after a few years.
That agent could have got you a quote for a surplus lines policy, but he chose not to. Why? Because surplus lines policies eat up a lot of an agent's time. MUCH more administrative paperwork, much more time invested, and lower commissions. BAD time management.
So please reread my previous post, and then go find you a hungry agent. Screw your other agent. There IS insurance out there for you, and surplus lines companies are chomping at the bit to get your business. Your new venture is no harder to insure than a rodeo. Or an offshore drilling venture. Or Burning Man. Not hard, but definitely expensive.
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I read your previous post and the last. Thank you.
The agent refused to discuss any policy of any type and of any different class code. Flat out refused. We called numerous insurance agents in our rural area and got the same response from every one of them, "NO!".
And for what is it worth, our previous business was risky due to the product we were selling - we originally had difficulties finding insurance for it, way back many years ago.
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Sounds like a buncha' lazy agents to me!
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I agree.
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I got the similar response "looks like a gun acts like a gun"!