Did you know that what you do can affect how your insurance protects you? If you are wrapping vessels, you may need specialty Marine insurance. No worries, Marshall & Sterling Marine has your insurance know-how covered with this shrink wrap insurance step by step guide!

1. Things you do: Liability. Shrink wrapping vessels, buildings and equipment are each a great income stream. But what if something happens and you are sued? Liability insurance protects your assets in event of a lawsuit for a covered loss. General Liability is designed to cover you for your operations on land. However, when you shrink wrap a vessel, it is left in your care, custody, and control for you to work on it, and this is typically excluded under a General Liability policy. If something happened to the vessel due to your work, and the customer sued you, an unendorsed General Liability would not cover you. How do you fill the gap? Either a specific endorsement or a Marine General Liability policy. A specialty Marine agent can help you obtain the right coverage and explain how it applies to your circumstances.

2. Getting covered for things you do: Eligibility. It’s your responsibility to talk about the work you do with your insurance agent. You should explain your percentage of marine and land-based work. Also, explain the scope of work. There is a big difference in eligibility from wrapping farm equipment compared to wrapping scaffolding on a 20-story building. What you shrink wrap and the scope of your work will determine your eligibility with different insurers.

3. Have a good conversation: Partnership. You know your business operations today and your plans for growth. A specialty Marine agent will understand the types of questions to ask you about your operations. Your agent will work with you, and match your needs to the right coverage and insurance carriers. This can mean a combination of General Liability and Marine General Liability, with your agent matching your operations to the policy or policies that best fit you and your business. 

4. Extra layers of protection: Umbrellas and Bumbershoots. Once your agent works with you to determine the right types of liability policies needed, the next question is – how much asset protection do I need? You can increase the limits of insurance protection over your business with an umbrella – which provides additional general liability limits. Marine coverage limits can be increased with a Bumbershoot. Limits are purchased in million-dollar layers. 

5. Stuff you own: Buildings, Contents, Tools and Equipment. Your building and its contents are insured on a property insurance policy. The expensive equipment and tools you own will need to be scheduled on a special policy called an Inland Marine, which protects high value items that move around from perils such as theft and damage.

6. Men and women at work: Workers Compensation. Most states require that businesses with even one or 2 employees have Workers Compensation insurance in place. This pays for medical bills and loss wages from injuries workers suffer on the job. Workers are classed based on what they do. For example, it is less expensive to insure a worker on the ground compared to a person who works from heights. Your insurance agent will help you determine the proper classes for employees for the correct coverage and state compliance.

7. Don’t forget your wheels! A vehicle wrapped with your logo, or a fleet of business trucks all require Commercial Auto Insurance. Auto liability to others and physical damage coverage for your vehicle are both available.